Preparing a 3D Scene for Emperia’s Art-To-Experience Contest
This project is actually based on a personal passion project I’ve been developing since 2022 – a Brazilian City Kitbash. The idea came to me during the 2022 FIFA World Cup, when I built a stylized Brazilian street scene in Unreal Engine – with painted asphalt, colorful decorations, and the energy of a real neighborhood celebrating the tournament. The response from the Brazilian community was overwhelming. Many people asked me to turn it into a commercial asset pack.
At the time, I had just lost my job, and we were still dealing with the global challenges that started back in 2019. I decided to take a leap and fully commit to developing it as a product. But the scope quickly became massive – I realized that if I tried to release it all at once, it would never be finished… and it wouldn’t be affordable for most users either.
That’s when I decided to split the kit into volumes that complement each other. The largest one is called Neighborhoods, which represents a typical suburban area, very much like 60-70% of the real streets in Brazilian cities. The demo showcases local businesses, daily life, and authentic visual cues. The feedback has been amazing – people would say, “This looks exactly like my neighborhood!”. I also saw the opportunity to start working on my small art solo store on the Unreal Engine Marketplace, since there were close to no Brazilian and Latin American stylized assets packs, since every single pack there was focused on European, Asian, and North American cultures.
Technically speaking, I begin every project with a strong planning phase. I gather references, organize them into groups, and then begin modeling and sculpting. Once the assets are ready, I move into texturing and material work. For Unreal Engine projects, I always block out the full scene using placeholders, then gradually replace them with final assets. I also create an asset showcase map before I start the environment layout – it helps me stay organized and test everything easily. My main tools are Adobe Suite, Blender, and Unreal Engine.
As for Emperia, I honestly thought I wouldn’t be able to submit the project in time. I was very close to the deadline, and my PC couldn’t render the panorama frames required for the experience. Luckily, a friend stepped in and helped me render everything, and from there, everything flowed smoothly!
