LogInDenis Sarto shared with us a step-by-step tutorial on creating an old, abandoned gas station, which is modeled in Maya and rendered in Unreal Engine, and explained how to add depth and dynamic to the scene.
Introduction
Hello! My name is Denis Sarto, and I'm a 3D Artist. My passion for 3D art began when I was 17 years old, when I started exploring the world of 3D as a self-taught artist. This initial curiosity grew into a deep interest, and thanks to my time at the Italian Videogames Academy (AIV), I had the chance to study and develop skills in something I was truly passionate about.
During my studies, I had the opportunity to work on numerous projects, from hard surface modeling with Maya and sculpting using ZBrush, to texturing and rendering using Substance 3D Painter and Marmoset. However, I quickly realized that my true passion is environmental art. I'm obsessed with the details of my works, and creating immersive and detailed environments on Unreal Engine excites me the most.
About The Gas Station Project
The Gas Station is the result of the third-year project in AIV, which consists of creating an entire playable environment from scratch using Unreal Engine. I have always been fascinated by the idea of a post-apocalyptic world, and so I wanted to represent this idea. Inspired by Mauricio Casiraghi's concept, I collected a ton of references from various aspects, like the materials, props, vegetation, and overall mood of the scene. Finally, I used Miro to organize all these references.
Blockout
I started by sketching a blockout directly into Unreal Engine of the main forms and shapes of the environment. That early stage was really important in defining the overall layout and making it feel like a well-composed scene. My main focus was to have main structures and leave the fine details for later stages, which really let me experiment with scale and placement before digging into more intricate aspects of the scene.
Modeling
My workflow began by figuring out how to divide all the structures into modular pieces that would work. Once I had the modules planned, I modeled them in Maya, ensuring the UVs were laid out in a way that allowed the base textures like plaster and wood to tile. For the other props (boat, gas pump, benches, tires, pipes, etc.), I took a different approach. I first modeled and sculpted the high-poly versions in ZBrush, then baked the details onto the low-poly models in Substance 3D Painter. I packed the UVs of the props together to optimize and texture them easily.
Texturing
For the main structures of the environment, I started creating base tileable materials of plaster, metal, and wood axes, which allowed me to cover large surface areas efficiently. Once this was done, it was time to add details and complexity to the surfaces by adding decals and grunge effects directly in-engine, which really helped me introduce dirt, cracks, and other imperfections that gave the scene a much more realistic and worn look. For the props, especially for the more complex ones like the boat, I created dedicated textures in Painter.
Assemble the Final Scene
The final assembly and composition of the scene are my favorite parts of the environment creation because it's the moment when everything truly comes to life. Initially, the final shot was going to be at water level near the station, but after reflecting and with the precious advice of Simone Silvestri, I realized it would be more impactful to create a path from scratch that the camera would follow, building anticipation before reaching the final reveal of the station. The path is done along with the vegetation via Unreal Engine's Foliage Tool; for the pebbles and rocks, smaller details were needed, so I used the Physical Layout Tool, which allowed me to distribute the details as realistically as possible.
Lighting & Rendering
My goal with the lighting and rendering was to create an atmosphere where time feels almost frozen. I chose Unreal Engine for this project because of the freedom it offers. To capture this feeling, I played a lot with the Volumetric Fog and the color grading. I also added a background element, a mountain, which helped give the scene more depth.
To make the scene more dynamic, I animated objects, such as the rotation of the windmill, the boat gently bobbing on the river, birds flying over, and leaves falling down the path. I also applied a slight camera shake effect — in my opinion, it added that final touch to the feeling of immersion in the final video.
In framing the final shot, I followed the rule of thirds as much as possible to make the composition balanced and pleasing to the eye. Together, the factors helped me get that timeless, abandoned atmosphere that I had in mind.
Summary
This was quite a huge challenge for me since it was the first environment that I completely created on my own. I learned many lessons thanks to Simone's guidance. The most important thing, in my opinion, is how an environment's visuals are nothing compared to the feelings and emotions of the player who experiences it. Of course, that may be important, but it is more about carrying that through to an emotional resonance with the player. I think that is what elevates it. My advice to fellow artists is to remember to pay attention, not just to the technical and visual details, but also to how your environment makes the player feel.