Student Lisette van den Dolder: An aspiring environment artist

What was the assignment for this project? 

Lisette: ‘For this project, we were given a generator with a list of things that we could get, a random combination of words, and we had to create a scene from that. The words that I got were Mediterranean, island, sunny, fantasy, and brutalism. I needed to make a combination of these things to create my artwork.’ 

What did the process look like? 

Lisette: ‘In week one, I collected photos for the different parts of the brief, made a selection, and decided on the style that I wanted. Then, I started making blockouts, creating small buildings with basic shapes, and working out the composition. After that I started to add small elements to make it more interesting. When I was done with that, about one and a half weeks later, I started working on the base materials to cover the majority of my scene, and then I worked out all the models, texturing each small piece of detail of the building one by one. In between, I also worked on the lighting in different stages. It was something that was continuously ongoing while I was doing the other things, until the end.’ 

‘I used a combination of tools like Maya, Substance Painter and Designer, and a bit of Zbrush. First, I created the rough version of the building, without details, and then I added the largest materials, such as marble and stones on the walls. I created these in Substance Designer, and then I went through all the individual pieces and created them with Substance Painter. I worked in Unreal Engine to create the whole scene.’  

‘This was an individual project. I went to campus two days a week, on Mondays and Wednesdays, to meet with my classmates and lecturers for feedback. I also had one-on-one meetings with my lecturer during the block.’ 

What is the thing that you remember the most about this project? 

Lisette: ‘I only started with 3D art at the beginning of this study programme. But I'm very happy with the outcome of this project. I am most proud of the lighting, which turned out well.’ 

'The biggest challenge within this project was the time we had for it. The assignment was pretty big for one block, which is eight weeks. That's why I am going to continue working on this piece, for my portfolio.'   

What are your plans for the future? 

Lisette: ‘I want to keep my focus on environment art. After graduating, I would love to get a job at a triple-A studio to learn more from other specialists and gain more experience. I also want to specialise more in certain aspects of environment art.’ 

Would you like to see more of Lisette's work? Go to her ArtStation profile or connect with her on LinkedIn.