Basilica Tenebris

This is my second time creating a cathedral environment. The first one was developed during my foundational course at Think Tank Training Centre, and this new project was created at SCAD. It took about two weeks to complete. The piece is titled Basilica Tenebris. I have always been drawn to the atmosphere of dark fantasy worlds, and with this work, I wanted to design a cathedral that feels mysterious and slightly unsettling. At the center of the scene stands a statue of the Virgin Mary, representing pure love and divine protection. The contrast between the sacred figure and the dark surroundings creates the central tension of the narrative, where love and light begin to emerge from within the shadows. I was responsible for the full visual development of this project, including the concept art, modeling, and texturing.
Big thanks to Professor Shami for the guidance and feedback throughout this project.

Documentation : Process

I began by blocking out the modular kit in Maya, refining the details, and unwrapping the UVs before bringing everything into Unreal Engine. I created low poly hero assets using Maya and ZBrush, then baked and textured them in Substance Painter. The Virgin Mary statue was retopologized in ZBrush, while the altar and pews were modeled in Maya. After completing the assets, I developed five materials in Substance Designer and applied them as tiling textures in Unreal Engine. The stained glass was made procedurally using a Voronoi shader, and C++ was enabled through Visual Studio for additional control. I used foliage mode to scatter broken tiles and decals to add cracks, dust, and blood stains for realism. Finally, I set up HDRI lighting, arranged camera angles, and added storytelling props such as candles, knives, and the blood stained table to enhance the dark atmosphere of the scene