My first scene, environnement and steps into Unreal Engine

HashBrownHamish

So I've planned to make my first scene and i wanted to post updates to get tips and critique from you guys. I didn't put it in 3d art showcase cause i foresee this post being a lot more of me asking questions when i'm stuck on something (i will probably post a showcase when done).

So my plan for the scene is a lone scottish cottage in the highlands. Perched on a hill with mountains in the distance. Graphic style i'm going for photo realistic mainly because it what i have always done and i want to push image quality.


So first off is the terrain. I've looked into how Unreal Engine handles terrains and i'm currently learning on implementing my idea. I have made a basic sculpt but to add further detail and to make it natural i'm stumped. I'm looking into World Machine to generate what i want but that will take more learning and i don't know if it is necessary or Unreal's tools will suffice?

So i guess my first main question is how do i go about making nice terrains? Does anybody have links to some extensive tutorials? Also, should i try and make my own grass, rock etc.. if i intend to put this in a portfolio? (i've looked at most of the basic ones)

Here are a few screens of my whiteboxing elevation etc.. :

kurt_hectic

Use their wiki, is awesome: https://docs.unrealengine.com/latest/INT/Engine/Landscape/index.html

and youtube.

HashBrownHamish

Learn't to use world machine to get my basic terrain down and this is what i got