Ukrainian 3D environment artist Alexander Maznev has demonstrated how to create stunning painterly effects in digital landscapes, successfully transforming realistic 3D scenes into artwork that resembles traditional paintings. His latest project, "Last Days of Warmth," represents a significant departure from photorealistic rendering, instead embracing an expressive and raw artistic style inspired by classical painting techniques.
Maznev, who specializes in natural environments, began his career creating realistic game environments influenced by the German Romantic school and artists like Ivan Shishkin. However, growing tired of strict realism, he embarked on a personal project to explore more expressive visual storytelling. "Last Days of Warmth" serves as the inaugural piece in this new artistic series, combining traditional painting aesthetics with cutting-edge 3D technology.
The primary inspiration for the project came from a vibrant painting by David Mensing, characterized by rich colors, expressive brushstrokes, and bold knife work. Maznev also drew creative influence from the visual styles of "Arcane" and "Disco Elysium," particularly for the sky elements. The artist acknowledged the significant challenge of recreating painting-like qualities in 3D while maintaining both softness and textural roughness simultaneously.
Vegetation played a crucial role in the composition, with trees serving as structural pillars throughout the scene. Maznev developed a sophisticated multi-layered material system using broad strokes to define color gradients, bark knots, and natural details without creating excessive visual noise. The foundation consisted of simple noise maps overlaid with subtle bark details, all blended together using generous amounts of slope blur to achieve the desired painterly effect.
For the foliage textures, Maznev employed a streamlined approach based on a single texture foundation. He experimented with slope blur and level adjustments, incorporating brushstroke patterns and organic leaf shapes into cluster textures. All color work was completed within Unreal Engine, allowing for real-time adjustments and fine-tuning. Grass textures required additional complexity, featuring 2-3 layers including opacity maps, ground gradients, and color variation data, all hand-painted in Adobe Fresco and processed in Substance 3D.
The modeling process for trees followed realistic workflows while focusing on authentic details such as dead branches, peeling bark, and small twigs near trunk bases. Leaves were stylized as brushstrokes and placed procedurally, with larger strokes at branch bases and smaller ones extending outward. Additional floating leaves were added to break up silhouettes and create more dynamic compositions. Maznev created custom shells around tree canopies in Blender to project normals onto foliage, while ambient occlusion was baked into vertex colors to drive color gradients from bright yellow to orange.
Rock formations were constructed using spheres modified with Worley Cellular noise in Houdini, with color masks painted in Substance 3D Painter for in-engine color control. The lighting setup remained deliberately simple, utilizing a single directional light source. The sky composition featured panning smoky textures combined with hand-painted colorful clouds and brushstroke-like fog elements, all created as cards to maintain stylistic consistency.
Post-processing techniques included subtle saturation and contrast boosts, tone mapping adjustments, gentle color correction, and shadow grain addition. Combined with bloom effects and increased fog density, these elements contributed to a more expressive and atmospheric mood. Maznev implemented a stylized fog post-process material to enhance the overall visual impact and achieve the desired painterly aesthetic.
The project represents a successful experiment in bridging traditional art techniques with modern 3D rendering technology. Maznev described the work as refreshing and educational, providing valuable insights for future projects in the series. He is currently developing the next piece, aiming to push the stylized approach even further while incorporating architectural elements that share the same artistic direction as "Last Days of Warmth."
