The Mermaid Cave

You, curious boy. You know it's risky, but you can't resist and a mysterious force pushes you to go and see.

01. References and Storyboard

I chose to get involved with storytelling, trying to enhance all the elements I worked on with a simple but engaging story. 

I opted for creepy atmospheres, achieved with colors, lighting and sound design. With these shots, I wanted to show a few different aspects that would immediately explain what's happening.

02. Metahuman Characters

The boy has to be a beach guy, a normal guy, who anyone could relate to. With the vivid colors of those who remind us of the sun.

The mermaid is beautiful, but has the contaminated charm of someone who lives in the darkness of the abyss. I chose the braided hairstyle for practicality, so as not to have to animate long wet hair.

03. Facial Expressions Animation

I animated the characters' expressions myself, because it was engaging and a good way to practice. I also decided to modify the material of the mermaid's eyes by setting the change with the timeline.

I worked on the transition from an innocent face to a threatening and determined one, and from a curious explorer to an amazed and worried one.

04. Retargeting

The best way to animate the walk was to retarget it from a Mixamo animation on my Metahuman. Then I traced it along the path to follow, trying to respect the timing of the steps.

05. The Ocean Foam

I was obsessed with the fact that the Water Body Ocean didn't simulate the impact with the shoreline, so I searched online for different ways to deal with the situation, finding how to at least set the foam on the surface near the rocks.

This effect is achieved by modifying the nodes of the water material parent and then adjusting some parameters in the foam section of Water_Material_Ocean.

06. Lighting and Post Process Volume

Inside the cave, the challenge was to resolve the influence that the directional light had on the water. The surface was bright and enchanted, so I preferred to deactivate the directional light when the boy comes in and recreate the effects it gave to the rest of the environment with a post process volume. So the atmosphere is still enchanted but darker.

The purpose of lighting is to help us during transitions.

At the beginning outside it is warm, but saturated, sickly and greenish, because it must prepare us to be alert.

The border between the beach and the cave is divided between a magical blue that calls us inside and the warm orange that lets us know that the safe place is outside.

The mermaid is surrounded by darkness and magic, rays of blue light and fireflies enhance her fairy appearance.

But in the end the danger is felt and the contrast with the red takes over. Everything is black and we get the not-so-happy ending.

07. Other Shaders

Volumetric Fog that changes its offset over time.

Reflection of the caustics moving along the walls of the cave.

Some types of flickering neons obtained by combining the flow of time with different sinusoids.

08. Elements of the Environment

Worksite Props, Vegetation and some Decals from Megascans library.

Ferris Wheel from "Hillside Sample" by Epic.

Rollercoaster, Circus Pavillion, Signs, Mermaid's Bra modelled by me. I also made the Pier, from Megascans' wooden boards.

Cliffs from "Nordic Coast Collections" of Megascans.

Fireflies from "Particles and Wind Control System".

Sound Effects from Pixabay.

09. The End

This is my first Unreal Engine project and it inspired me to explore all aspects of game development, from the environment to the characters and everything in between. I liked telling a story through this work, trying to involve the viewer and leaving the ending open to your interpretations.

Thanks for watching, 

see you soon for another adventure:)