In this stage, I tested hand-painted, Van Gogh–inspired textures for The Last Harvest. The goal was to make the 3D assets feel “painted” rather than realistically shaded.
I started with two key props—the tractor and the wooden fence—because their clear shapes and large surfaces make it easier to evaluate brushstroke and color style. My process was simple: 1. Block in large color shapes to establish form and lighting. 2. Add directional brushstrokes to emphasize structure (wood grain direction for the fence, surface turns for the tractor). 3. Introduce subtle hue variation (small warm/cool shifts and hints of complementary color) to create a more lively, painterly flow.
After applying the textures to the models, the assets immediately moved away from a realistic look and closer to a soft, expressive “digital oil painting” style, matching the dreamy mood of the project.
I did a small stylized material test in Unreal Engine. The goal was to build a basic “brushstroke” structure first, as a foundation for a more painterly/oil-painting look later.
Core Idea
I split the material into two main controls:
Brushstroke texture (TS_Stroke): shape + surface feelThe RGB channels provide the base texture detail. The Alpha channel works as a mask so the material only shows the brushstroke area, creating a silhouette that feels like a patch of paint applied on the surface.
Noise texture (TS_Noise): irregular variationI introduced a noise texture as a “random control source,” and scaled it with UV × parameter to control the noise grain size. Later, I’ll use this noise to perturb the outline width or edge thresholds, making the edges more natural and brush-like.
Next Steps
Next, I plan to add an irregular black outline and subtler color variation (e.g., a slight hue shift) to push the overall look closer to a painterly, hand-drawn style.
Over the past stage of development, I have made steady progress on The Last Harvest, focusing on both conceptual clarity and visual exploration.
First, I refined the project background and story outline, framing the environment as an abstract meditation on time, nature, and dissolution rather than a narrative-driven world. This helped clarify the emotional direction of the project.
Second, I produced a series of visual reference sketches to explore color relationships and painterly mood. Based on these references, I then designed multiple camera shots, experimenting with framing, depth, and rhythm to support a cinematic flow.
In parallel, I began building the environment assets in Maya, focusing on the overall scene layout and spatial structure. These assets were then imported into Unreal Engine for material and look-development testing. Within UE, I experimented with stylized rendering approaches, exploring how lighting, color grading, and material behavior could support a painterly, non-realistic aesthetic.
The Last Harvest is an Unreal Engine environment project inspired by Van Gogh’s abstract expressionism, transforming a cornfield into a living, breathing painting.
Through flowing brushstrokes, rotating light, and gentle pastel tones of gold, light green, and pink, the project visualizes a poetic farewell between humanity and nature at the end of time.
It is not a realistic depiction of a farm, but rather a metaphor of memory, time, and emotion — a digital canvas where nature and human consciousness intertwine.
Inspirations:
Vincent van Gogh — The Starry Night (1889): swirling brushwork and emotional color dynamics.
Interstellar (2014, dir. Christopher Nolan): the symbolic image of the dying Earth’s farm and the tension between survival and time.
The Krakow Farm (2020, documentary): the poetic rhythm of labor, nature, and decay.
Philosophical Core:The final harmony between humanity and nature — harvest as both a material cycle and a spiritual return.
Narrative Concept:
The scene unfolds like a dream:
golden and light-green corn sways gently in the wind, while a pink dusk sky spreads across the horizon.
A windmill turns slowly in the distance, and the farmhouse glows softly, like the last ember of memory.
Tiny light particles drift through the air as night approaches.
The entire space breathes like a painting — a visual poem about “the final moment of time” and “the lingering warmth of light.”
Visual & Mood Direction
Element
Description
Color Palette
Dominated by gold, light green, and pink, symbolizing hope, tenderness, and renewal; supported by touches of orange and off-white.
Lighting
Soft volumetric lighting and color fog simulate painterly glow and fluid brushstroke-like motion.
Composition
A vast cornfield stretching to the horizon, centered around a windmill and farmhouse; no clear boundary between sky and ground, evoking harmony and rhythm.
