Stylized Japanese Temple Environment With Day & Night Lighting In UE5

Introduction

Hi! My name is Nikita Kabral, and I'm 31 years old. I'm from Ukraine, but currently living in Spain. My journey into 3D graphics began around three years ago. I started by learning the basics through YouTube tutorials. Over time, I realized that in order to keep growing, I needed not only to continue practicing but also to receive feedback from more experienced professionals. That's when I decided to take a course that offered mentorship, direct communication with instructors, and a supportive community of like-minded artists.

From the very beginning, I was especially inspired by stylized environment art. I loved looking at these scenes – observing how shapes, colors, and lighting were handled. I tried a few times to create my own stylized environments, but honestly, the results didn't match the vision I had in mind. Looking back, I understand that I simply didn't yet have the technical or artistic skills I needed.

Getting Started

This project began when I came across an amazing concept that immediately caught my attention. The artwork was by Cycle Circle, and it inspired me to create my own interpretation of the scene. After choosing the concept, I gathered additional references and started to define the mood and atmosphere I wanted to convey.

I've always been drawn to anime aesthetics, particularly the work of Hayao Miyazaki. His worlds are filled with warmth, imagination, and a strong connection to nature. That's the kind of visual approach I aimed to reflect in this environment – bright, stylized, with a warm and slightly magical atmosphere. To help plan out which materials I'd be using and where, I made a paint-over of the scene in Photoshop. This helped me organize the workflow and avoid confusion during the texturing and asset development stages. It made the process more structured and intentional.

Texturing

The core focus of this scene was material creation in Substance 3D Designer. I was particularly inspired by an article from the developers of Immortals Fenyx Rising, where they shared insights into their material pipeline. I highly recommend checking it out – there are a lot of great ideas in there.

The materials in my scene aren't overly complex from a technical standpoint, but I wanted to give them a distinct visual character. I used stylized grunge textures, generated with AI tools, to create a hand-painted brushstroke feel and visual variety.

One of the tools I used was EZ Splatter V2, a custom node by Robin Rebiere (available publicly). It allows for controlled chaos in textures, especially effective when combined with nodes like Slope Blur or Warp. It's important to keep balance, though: the goal isn't to overcomplicate the texture, but to add subtle variation and richness.

Since I planned to use the Displace modifier in Blender for adding geometry detail, I created custom height maps tailored for this purpose, keeping them simple and clean, without unnecessary noise.

Blocking the Scene

For blocking, I used Blender. Because the scene was intended to be rendered from a single fixed camera angle, I focused only on the areas visible in frame. This saved time and allowed me to avoid working on out-of-view geometry.

To prevent the scene from looking flat or uniform, I added volume by applying the Displace modifier using the height maps created in Substance 3D Designer. This gave more depth to the surface and helped define a stronger silhouette.

Since this wasn't a game-ready scene, I didn't focus on mesh optimization. Instead, I used the Decimate modifier to reduce geometry density while still preserving visual readability and form.

Importing into Unreal Engine

Once all the assets and materials were ready, I began assembling the scene in Unreal Engine. For the vegetation – including trees and grass – I followed tutorials by akbutea. I really like her visual style and the clarity of her explanations – they're well-structured and easy to follow.

To bring more visual variety and artistry into the scene, I used Vertex Paint and Decals.

For creating decals, foliage elements, ofuda (paper talismans), the monk character, the kitsune, god rays, and clouds, I used ChatGPT to help generate base images and textures that aligned with my concept. I then refined them in Photoshop and adapted them for use in Unreal Engine.

I created a simple shader with adjustable alpha strength, emissive intensity, and color controls. I duplicated and color-variant the ofuda to add diversity and visual rhythm.

To add narrative depth and atmosphere, I introduced two characters – a monk and a kitsune. I felt they naturally fit into the environment and added a subtle storytelling element, enhancing the sense of a mythical world.

Lighting

For lighting, I used the Ultra Dynamic Sky plug-in, which made the setup process much easier. I disabled the default plugin clouds because I wanted to use my own custom textures and achieve a more stylized sky. I also adjusted the sky color manually to match the scene's mood.

In the daytime version of the scene, lighting was used very sparingly. My main goal was to highlight areas that felt too dark or flat. I added point lights only where necessary. The night version required a more extensive lighting setup to build the right atmosphere. I used more light sources, with warm yellow glows for lanterns and cooler blue tones to simulate moonlight across the scene.

Final Touches

The final step was post-processing. There are no real secrets here – it just takes time and iteration to get the right result. I tweaked the color palette, slightly brightened the shadows, added bloom, and increased scene contrast to achieve the mood I envisioned.

Closing Thoughts

This project took me about a month and a half to complete, working in the evenings and on weekends alongside my full-time job. It was a fantastic opportunity to push my skills further – I learned a lot in the process and gained a deeper understanding of tools and techniques I hadn't used much before. Now, I feel ready to take on something even bigger and more ambitious.

To anyone just starting out in 3D: practice consistently and develop your visual literacy – study the work of experienced artists, analyze their techniques, and pay attention to both style and execution. Don't be afraid to ask questions or seek feedback. Being open to critique is essential for growth. And finally, find a community – having a group to grow with, share knowledge, and stay motivated is incredibly valuable.

Special thanks to 80 Level and Gloria Levine for the opportunity to share this project – it truly means a lot to me and inspires me to keep growing.

Nikita Kabral, 3D Artist

Interview conducted by Gloria Levine