Initial Approach
I started the environment by modelling parts of the lab directly in Maya. The original plan was to build two full floors and create every asset manually. I blocked out the rooms just to understand the basic structure, but very quickly it became clear that modelling, unwrapping, and texturing the entire environment would take far more time than the project allowed. The blockout stage was useful for planning scale, but I decided not to continue modelling everything inside Maya and instead focused my time where it mattered more.
Transition to Unreal Engine
Because of the workload, I shifted the environment production into Unreal Engine. This immediately gave me more flexibility, especially for handling large spaces and experimenting with lighting. Unreal allowed me to assemble the scene much faster while keeping the visual quality high. I spent time searching through Fab and other asset libraries for pieces that matched the clean, controlled sci-fi aesthetic I wanted. The goal was a lab that felt modern and almost sterile, with surfaces that looked engineered rather than decorative.
Even though I used ready-made assets, I didn’t bring them in as they were. I mixed elements from different sources, replaced materials, and adjusted proportions so that everything followed a consistent visual language. The space needed to look believable inside a military-scientific facility, so I stayed close to neutral colours, clean panels, reinforced structures, and lighting fixtures that matched the tone of the story. Using kitbash pieces helped accelerate production, but I made sure the overall design still felt curated and intentional.
To maintain cohesion, I imported several assets I had already modelled in Maya. These were mostly smaller mechanical parts and props that supported the lab’s function. Bringing a combination of custom models and library assets into Unreal helped the environment feel less like a collection of prefabs and more like a space built for the specific narrative. The hybrid approach allowed me to keep creative control while still meeting the time constraints of the project.
Final Layout and Cohesion
Even though I changed pipelines, I preserved the general layout from my original Maya plan. Keeping the structure of the lab and computers consistent prevented issues later in animation, especially since the mech had a specific height and required enough room to move.