Welcome back for another Dev log on this swamp environment in EU4! This week I was experimenting with Cel shading and displacement materials on the trees. To start this process, I followed the advanced Cel shading tutorial by PrismaticaDev. He demonstrates an excellent workflow that removes typical cel shading issues like colored lights and refraction. Immediately applying this post process material to my scene resulted in this look:

   It's very possible to work with this look, especially since the current state of my project is still in its infancy. However, due to the painterly nature of the concept art, I don't think it's worthwhile. This piece relies on soft color grades, and while it may be tempting to achieve a stylized look immediately, I believe it will be ultimately more effective to simply use painterly textures.

However, the vines are an exception. The way they are shaded within the concept could not naturally be recreated in 3D without some serious distortions in the albedo map. I also do not have the option of using z axis normals, as they are fully 3-dimensional, and not foliage cards. In this instance, cel shading may be the best option. I will keep this in my back pocket for now. It looks awkward at the moment, but with the completed scene, who knows?

Thank you for reading. This project will continue to be in what I like to call "the kitchen sink" stage, where I mass as much content as possible before refining after a few weeks. Please stay tuned for next week's demo on sculpting.