WIP - Desert Communication Relay – Environment Scene
Hey everyone, starting a new environment project and wanted to share the process. 
The scene will be a small-scale desert communication relay setup, focused on a contained area (~25x25m) with a strong focal point and clear composition.
For this project, I’m focusing on improving a few key areas:
- Stone sculpting and organic forms
- High to low poly workflow and baking
-
LOD creation and performance-aware asset design
The environment is inspired by Utah desert and canyon landscapes. The setup will remain minimal and functional, avoiding large structures or heavy narrative elements to keep the focus on asset quality and composition.
Lighting will be simple and controlled, using a clear daytime setup with calm conditions to maintain a focused scope.
Planned assets include:
- Communication dish / antenna (hero asset)
- Power unit / generator
- Supporting elements such as cables and control units
- Sculpted rock formations and a plateau-based terrain
I’ll be starting with blockout and layout, then moving into asset creation and sculpting.
Here are my current references on my PureRef board, along with an initial AI-assisted concept sketch.
Feedback and any ideas are very welcome! 
Replies
Good point, early on I was considering a more stylized / slightly sci-fi (Martian) direction.
But I’ve since shifted toward a grounded, real-world approach, leaning into a Utah canyon environment.
The goal now is to keep the assets believable and based on real equipment, and focus more on composition and atmosphere.
An updated board with more references, as well as some more concept sketches.
Currently working on some hard surface sculpting, focusing on rocks and rock formations for this environment.
Here are a couple of the pieces so far. I’ve been aiming for shapes that feel structured and work well within the scene.
Feedback is always appreciated, especially on shape language and readability.