How to Create an Immersive Abandoned Living Room Scene in UE5

Introduction

Hi! I hope everyone reading this is doing well. My name is Mustafa. I'm from Iraq and currently live in Turkey. I am a computer engineer and a self-taught Senior 3D Artist with over 7 years of extensive experience in the game art, film, and CG art industries.

Throughout the years, I have worked with great teams on notable games, such as Aether and Iron, Farcana, Cardanocity, and many other projects. As a freelancer, I have worked on environmental assets, props, weapons, and vehicles.

I chose Unreal Engine because of its powerful capabilities and versatility. One of the aspects I appreciate the most about Unreal Engine is its advanced real-time rendering, which allows for high-quality visuals and efficient workflows. Additionally, Unreal Engine's community and documentation make it easier to troubleshoot issues and learn new techniques. Overall, the combination of these features makes Unreal Engine a compelling choice for both game development and 3D projects.

Blockout and References

I am thrilled to share my workflow for creating the Abandoned Living Room scene in this article. The first thing I did was to look at numerous references to clarify and understand the type of room and vibes I wanted to present. My main inspirations were The Last of Us and The Division.

I began by creating the blockout in Unreal Engine, iterating on the layout and room structure several times to achieve the desired vibe. Next, I modeled the final structure in Blender. I textured the doors and windows using Substance 3D Painter. For the walls and floor, I utilized textures from the Quixel Library, combined with EasyMapper — a Master Material setup that supports World-Aligned/Triplanar texture projection, Nanite Tessellation/Displacement, and Advanced Vertex Blending. This setup allows blending up to three materials seamlessly, simplifying texture blending across assets. For the vegetation, I chose to use foliage painting within Unreal Engine, incorporating Megascans by Quixel.

Modeling and Texturing

I created several assets myself, including the TV, table, bookshelf, wall clock, guitar, sofa, carpet, fabric piece, heater, antique globe, and TV antenna. I used Blender for modeling both high-poly and low-poly versions, as well as for unwrapping. For UV packing, I relied on the UVPackmaster addon. I primarily used Marmoset Toolbag for baking and Substance 3D Painter for PBR texturing.

When it comes to materials, I either use pre-made materials I've developed over the years or ones I've purchased online, which I then tweak by adding, removing, or adjusting elements until I achieve the desired result.

A few assets that I made for the project:

A quick tip for animating the fabric inside Unreal Engine: I used a simple node setup as shown below:

Compositing and Detailing

I assembled the final scene in Unreal Engine by carefully planning and executing the composition. I began by placing the major elements — such as the walls, floor, and large furniture pieces — to establish the basic layout. However, it wasn't a straightforward process — it involved a lot of back and forth.

To add more depth and realism, I scattered various details, like smaller props and decorative items throughout the scene, as well as for decals like dust, dirt, leaves, and debris, and with this, I relied on Megascans by Quixel. I used a combination of manual placement and foliage painting tools within Unreal Engine to distribute these details naturally and realistically.

Lighting

When dealing with the overall design, I focused on creating a consistent and immersive environment. I paid close attention to lighting, color balance, and the placement of assets, to guide the viewer's eye through the scene. I also ensured that the textures and materials were consistent and complemented each other to enhance the overall aesthetic.

For the lighting setup, I focused on creating a realistic and immersive atmosphere. I used a combination of Directional Light for the main light source and Ambient Light to fill in the shadows. I also made use of Volumetric Lighting to add depth and a sense of realism to the scene.

Rendering

When approaching rendering, I utilized Unreal Engine's powerful rendering features, including ray tracing, Lumen, and Nanite to enhance the visual quality. Some tricks I used included adjusting the light intensity and color temperature to match the desired mood and using reflection captures to improve the reflections on surfaces. I also carefully placed light sources to avoid harsh shadows and to create a more natural look.

Here are the rendering settings I used for the project:

Post-production is done within DaVinci Resolve. I made several adjustments to enhance the final output. I tweaked the exposure settings and color grading and added a vignette effect to draw attention to the center of the scene.

Also, I highly recommend utilizing the Node Editor for non-destructive workflow. It's basically a layering system, but in a node way:

Conclusion

The entire process of creating the piece took me approximately two months on and off from start to finish. The main challenges during production included achieving the desired level of realism, balancing the composition, and managing the technical aspects of the project.

Throughout this project, I learned several important lessons. One key takeaway is the importance of iteration and being open to making changes. It's crucial to constantly review and refine your work to ensure it meets your vision.

For beginners, my advice is to be patient and persistent. Great art takes time and effort. So, don't be discouraged by setbacks. Focus on mastering the fundamentals of modeling, texturing, and lighting, and gradually build up your skills. Take advantage of the wealth of tutorials and resources available online, and don't hesitate to seek feedback from the community.

I would recommend the following sources for learning and inspiration:

• ArtStation Learning: Offers a variety of tutorials and courses from industry professionals.
• William Faucher's YouTube Channel: Provides valuable insights and tutorials on using Unreal Engine.

Mustafa Shukri, Senior 3D Artist

Interview conducted by Gloria Levine