Dark Souls Inspiration: Anor Londo

Environment Art Study – Dark Souls Inspired Cathedral
This month, I chose to audit an environment art class to focus on a personal goal and push my skills further. I wanted to take on something ambitious, so I challenged myself with building a cathedral environment inspired by the dark, atmospheric style of Dark Souls.
The project began in Maya, where I handled the core modeling of the cathedral. The structure proved to be complex in several areas, but I worked through those challenges by refining hard edges and developing efficient modular workflows. The walls and interior elements were built modularly, which took a couple of weeks to establish and refine into a cohesive space.
For texturing, I used Substance Painter alongside Marmoset Toolbag to achieve the worn, moody look I was aiming for. These tools allowed me to bring out the fine details and surface variation needed to match the tone of the environment.
The chandelier asset was first modeled, then taken into ZBrush for high-resolution detailing before being brought back into the scene. To enhance the atmosphere, I implemented VFX using Niagara, including subtle hanging particle effects that help bring life and movement into the space.
Lighting was approached with a mix of warm tones to create contrast against the darker environment, helping emphasize depth, mood, and focal points throughout the cathedral.
Overall, this project was a rewarding challenge and a great opportunity to refine my workflow across modeling, texturing, and real-time environment presentation.
Special thanks to the senior environment artist that I borrowed the concept from I just wanted to make sure that I thank him for that https://www.artstation.com/artwork/WmQ86X