Hyper Modularity and Dynamic Materials in the Style of Thomas Kinkade
Yi-Jou“ Joanne”
Yi-Jou“ Joanne” HO
Art Creation
Hyper Modularity and Dynamic Materials in the Style of Thomas Kinkade
My thesis is a small, human-sized treehouse village built around a massive ancient tree. The goal was to apply hyper modularity techniques to build the village and integrate magical elements using dynamic materials to enhance the atmosphere and storytelling. It was then styled to match Thomas Kinkade’ s painting style.
As an environment artist, I am passionate about creating immersive and fantastic environments. I chose this project to challenge myself both creatively and technically. Learning how to work with modular kits improved my ability to create large scale environments efficiently. I also developed a deeper understanding of how to analyze an artist’ s art style. By applying different techniques for various elements in the scene, I was able to better match Thomas Kinkade’ s style.
The scene contains three unique dynamic materials: a frozen flower that is triggered by a waterfall, growing mushrooms activated by spreading moss, and a crystal tree that lights up when night falls. Creating these effects helped me to improve my skills in blueprint and event triggering within the Unreal engine.
The entire project took around 10 months to complete. It gave me greater confidence in my abilities as an environment artist. I not only gained experience in creating large environments with a cohesive visual style, but I also began exploring the technical aspects of Unreal Engine. This project has laid a strong foundation for me as I continue pursuing a career in the video game industry.
8 ART CREATION