Stargate

This Stargate was created for The Rookies Monthly Challenge, based on the theme "Ancient Artefacts, Forgotten Technology." After discussing ideas, my wife suggested creating a Stargate, and it immediately felt like the perfect fit for the brief.

The project had two primary goals. The first was to continue exploring the use of trim sheets to create a detailed yet highly optimised asset suitable for use in a real-time environment. The second was to tell a story through the environment, making the Stargate feel like an ancient machine that had remained hidden for thousands of years, slowly weathered by the elements and reclaimed by nature.

To create the Stargate, I first modelled a high-poly trim sheet, which was then baked down to a low-poly version and textured in Substance 3D Painter. I then returned to Maya to model the Stargate itself, unwrapping the UVs and alligning them to make full use of the trim sheet. Finally, the asset was imported into Unreal Engine 5, where I built the environment and produced the final renders. Particular attention was given to the stone wear, moss, and surface variation to reinforce the sense of age while retaining the iconic silhouette of the Stargate.

Alongside the Stargate, I also created a second trim sheet for the pedestal it rests upon. This trim sheet was inspired by Mayan and Aztec architecture, with a focus on weathered stone carvings and aged surface detail to complement the ancient aesthetic of the scene.

The remaining environment assets were sourced from Sketchfab. To ensure they blended naturally with my own work, I created a custom material that allowed the meshes to seamlessly transition into the landscape. This was an important part of the project, as without it the pedestal, Stargate, and third-party assets looked as though they had simply been placed on top of the terrain. The material added a natural blend of dirt and ground buildup around the base of each asset, helping to unify the scene and create a much more believable environment.