These tree models are studies based off of the Bristlecone Pine trees (Pinus longaeva) that grow in the high elevation mountains of California and Nevada. They are some of the oldest living non-clonal organisms on Earth.

These trees are thousands of years old, so I really wanted to make them look gnarled, ancient, and almost magical. The unique “hero” tree is based off of a particular tree named Methusaleh. The other tree is a more modular tree that could be used in a high alpine environment repeatedly.

I sculpted the high polys in Zbrush, retopologized the lower poly models in Maya, baked the high poly maps in Marmoset Toolbag, and textured in Substance Painter. Final texture tweaks were done in Photoshop.

I set up the scene in Unreal Engine 5, utilizing the terrain sculpting, painting, and foliage placement tools to build the forest. The additional tree and rock models were sourced from Quixel Meganscans. I used a combination of directional lights, sky lights, post process volumes, and point lights to light the scene. I played with the volumetric cloud material to achieve the overcast, stormy clouds that I wanted to further set the mood.

The programs used to create this project:

Autodesk Maya, Zbrush, Substance Painter, Photoshop, Marmoset Toolbag, and Unreal Engine 5.

No Generative AI was used in the making of this project.

Thanks for reading! :)

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Kwakwaka'wakw Honouring Pole Study

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1950's Wurtlizer Jukebox