Jan Zepp drew before he modelled. For Iomall, an unreal engine stylised environment built in Unreal Engine 5, sketches set the direction for the 3D work that followed.
Zepp entered the games industry five years ago as an environment artist. He studied environment concept art and practised sketching, which drew him toward stylised worlds. He now works across Zbrush, Unreal Engine, Gaea, Blender, Photoshop, Substance Painter and Designer, and Maya.
Sketch-first planning is a staple of game production, and city street concept art for AAA games shows how early visual work shapes the final scenes.
Iomall takes its inspiration from Yehliu Geopark and Seceda Mountain. Zepp built it in Unreal Engine 5 with Lumen, the engine’s real-time lighting system, and Nanite Foliage, its method for rendering dense vegetation.
Sketching two biomes first
Zepp set out to create two distinct biomes within the same environment. He started with a series of simple sketches for each one. Each sketch set the concept, materials and colour palette for its biome.
Zepp says this approach helped minimise unnecessary iterations in 3D. It also kept every element working together from the start. He used Nanite for both the vegetation and the rock assets.
Terrain and cell bombing
The landscape shader combines Global Albedo Maps, Nanite Tessellation, Runtime Virtual Texture (RVT) blending, height blending and cell bombing. Each technique handles a different part of the surface.
Cell bombing is a method that varies repeated textures. Zepp used it to reduce visible tiling across large landscapes, a common challenge in any unreal engine 5 environment. Large surfaces can then be covered with fewer material layers while still looking natural.
Once the 3D stage begins, lighting and texture choices carry the mood, as seen in Peter Tarka’s surreal CGI worlds built for Apple and Nike campaigns.
Lessons for building a stylised world
You can see more of Zepp’s work on his ArtStation profile. The sequence is the practical takeaway: settle the concept, materials and palette first, then build in 3D.
H/T creativebloq.com
Frequently asked questions
How did Jan Zepp plan the two biomes for Iomall?
Zepp started with a series of simple sketches for each of the two biomes in Iomall. Each sketch set the concept, materials and colour palette for its biome before the 3D work began. He says this approach helped minimise unnecessary iterations in 3D and kept every element working together from the start.
What engine and rendering tools were used to build Iomall?
Iomall was built in Unreal Engine 5 using Lumen, the engine’s real-time lighting system, and Nanite Foliage, its method for rendering dense vegetation. Zepp also used Nanite for both the vegetation and the rock assets.
What is cell bombing and why is it used?
Cell bombing is a method that varies repeated textures. Zepp used it to reduce visible tiling across large landscapes, which allows large surfaces to be covered with fewer material layers while still looking natural.
What inspired the design of Iomall?
Iomall takes its inspiration from Yehliu Geopark and Seceda Mountain.
More in
Digital Art
All Digital Art
More like this
New Zealand Artist Crafts Visionary Mechs and Robotic Vampires Using Blender and Photoshop
Monumental Monoliths and Lone Travelers: How Martin Deschambault Frames Halo and Assassin's Creed Wo...
Italian Digital Artist Leonardo Borazio Transforms Traditional Techniques into Futuristic Worlds
Discover Narciso JG's Cinematic Illustrations from Murcia
Pavel Hristov: From Street Photography Passion to Crafting Compelling Digital Characters
