Starting my Diorama Project

Modelling The Main Assets

First thing I started off with was one of the main focuses of the diorama. I went with a relatively small temple/shrine. I also have a bridge and gate entrance. The four plaques around the temple will host statues of the warrior monks that once meditated here.

I felt like the inside of the temple definitely needs some kind of details or assets inside. The floor will have a unique normals map in the future and there will be shaolin weaponry on the weapons rack, totems and prayer objects on the table, etc.

Bad Compositon

After modelling the temple, I had to idea to create a landscape with a round moat surrounding it, with some trees and bamboo in one corner and a waterfall in the other. After getting very useful feedback, I realized that there is literally no composition to this at all and its very boring. So I needed to make a change.

Sculpting the mountain

After exporting a basic cylinder and few boxes in Maya, I converted then object into a dynamesh and started sculpting the main shape of my mountain using mostly the clay buildup brush. I also used the inflate tool to fix some parts where I dug too deep, etc and the faces got too close together. This achieved a more natural shape compared to the original round, cylindrical one.

Putting It All Together

This was almost the final step. After putting it all together, I now need to export it and do some simple renders in unreal with some lighting. I feel like it's starting to come together but lighting will really add to it.

Unreal Render

This is what it looks like with a little bit of lighting. Nothing is finalized. I'm hoping to have light possibly coming through the tree during the sunset. There will also be animations for the willow tree and small shrub hanging off the cliffside. There will also be a waterfall underneath the bridge and I want a war banner blowing in the wind, tied to the wooden gate.