Author: Siyu Chen

I attempted the first lighting pass. The result was fairly close to the reference image, but the overall lighting lacked focus. While the worn texture of the floor is noticeable, the tile material reflects too much light and doesn’t harmonize well stylistically with the wooden structures in the room. Therefore, I plan to switch the flooring to wood as well to maintain visual consistency.

I watched a few more indoor lighting tutorial videos and plan to have the light pass through the large window on the second floor, focusing on the central theme of this piece—namely, the mermaid inside the aquarium.

I noticed that in many references, indoor lighting often comes from a spotlight shining through the window, as it creates a more impactful and atmospheric effect.

After determining the scene to be an indoor Victorian-style building, I also gathered some references. For example, the video reference in the screenshot, which is a player-created scene from the Resident Evil game, helped me gain a clearer understanding of the interior style of the building.

On this basis, I constructed a draft of my scene. To ensure the architectural proportions remained balanced, I placed a basic character model for reference.

I’ve gathered some image references for my UE5 rendering project, drawing inspiration from Millais’s “Ophelia” and a fantasy story I once came across online.

The story is set in Victorian London, where keeping mermaids as pets became fashionable among the wealthy. Affluent families would adorn these mermaids with expensive jewelry and display them at banquets. However, since mermaids couldn’t survive long away from the sea, they eventually perished.

The scene I want to create is set in a decaying, opulent mansion. In the hall at the top of the stairs, a mermaid is kept in a glass tank, weighed down by heavy jewelry. Light streams through the windows, illuminating her aquatic enclosure.