Fish Galaxy
UE5 Environment VFX, 2024
This personal project explores environment VFX, with a focus on Niagara to control the fish movement. It also serves as a practice of material creation and light design. The inspiration for this project stems from the glowing fish in Chinese lantern festivals, which I reimagined and extended into a cosmic, galaxy-themed scene.
Role
VFX Artist, 3D Environment Artist
Software
Unreal Niagara, Maya, Substance Designer, Photoshop, Premiere
Reference & Iteration
Reference Board
Iteration
Fish Flock
Fish Material
This custom fish material consists of three key elements: vertex animation, a Fresnel effect, and a Screen Position texture.
Flapping Animation: I used a gradient map to control UV coordinates to achieve flapping animation. The result is applied to the World Position Offset node to animate the fish's body/
Fresnel Border Highlight: A Fresnel effect highlights the fish’s border, adding depth and enhancing the fish’s silhouette against the environment.
Galaxy Texture Effect: For a unique, ethereal look, I designed a galaxy and star texture based on screen position, creating a flowing cosmic effect within the fish’s body.
Vertex Animation
Screen Position Galaxy Texture
Niagara Fish Movement
I wanted the fish flock to ascend from the sea to the moon in a captivating spiral motion. To achieve this effect, I applied a vortex force in Niagara System to produce this spiraling effect.
Niagara System
Fish Vertex Animation
Fresnel Effect
Fish Movement in Niagara
Galaxy Environment
Milkyway Texture
Using Substance Designer, I crafted a custom Milky Way texture inspired by references. The texture features a hollowed center and layered cloud effects.
Unreal Galaxy Material
Milkyway Texture
Dynamic Elements in Galaxy
To enrich the environment furthermore, I also added niagara for shooting star, blinking star and the moon with rotation.
Moon Material
Moon Rotation
Substance Designer Node
Parallax Effect
I used a material to create the galaxy for the environment. It is the main environmental element. Based on the reference, I created the Milkyway in Substance Designer. Then to allow the galaxy to have more depth, I also utilized a parallax function to create the depth.
To enhance the sense of depth and immersion, I implemented a parallax function,
Parrallax Effect Node