Game Art Direction · UE5 Cinematics

spaceminers

Game Art Direction & UE5 Cinematics

Spaceminers is a sci-fi game project where I led art direction and delivered cinematic content across concept, storyboard, UE5 sequences, and final motion design — from world building through to cinematic output.

gold discovery marketing cinematic — UE5.

world building, lore, concepts, storyboarding.

To ground the universe, I developed a reference-driven world building system covering silhouettes, materials, architecture, characters, props, and faction visual language. A mindmap mapped the Spaceminers universe and visual art direction for the story — ensuring we could design new content fast without drifting stylistically.

Spaceminers universe mindmap — world building mindmap.

Spaceminers environment concept — settlement 1

Spaceminers environment concept — settlement 2

Spaceminers primitive world market scene — world market scene.

Spaceminers Great Wall environment concept

Spaceminers miner amphitheatre concept art

Spaceminers rising red planet concept art

Spaceminers rising red planet concept art variant

Spaceminer riding a hoverboard in the desert — hoverboard desert concept.

Visual rules for shape language, colour, and materials
Environment themes and mood exploration
Key locations, props, and world logic reference boards

storyboard: bringing Spaceminers vision to life.

Storyboards were used to lock pacing, clarity, and camera language before UE5 production — keeping production efficient and reducing iteration time during cinematic build. Storyboards by Michael Papanicolaou.

Spaceminers storyboard frame 1 by Valentino Laz and Michael Papanicolaou — storyboard 01.

Spaceminers storyboard frame 2 by Valentino Laz and Michael Papanicolaou — storyboard 02.

Spaceminers storyboard frame 4 by Valentino Laz and Michael Papanicolaou — storyboard 04.

Readable action beats and composition
Camera continuity and transitions
Shot lists that map directly into UE5 sequencing

concept art showcase: crafting the world of Spaceminers.

I directed concept development to expand the universe while keeping it production-friendly — designs that translate cleanly into 3D and read well in cinematic framing. With Giorgos, Alp, and Daniel.

Underground cave gold discovery concept art

Spaceminers game poster 3 — game poster 03.

Spaceminers game poster 4 — game poster 04.

Spaceminers game poster 5 — game poster 05.

Characters, suits, and accessories
Environment mood and set dressing
Vehicles, props, and equipment design

UE5 cinematics and motion design.

Cinematics were produced in Unreal Engine 5 using a real-time pipeline that enabled fast iteration and consistent lighting. Focus on cinematic pacing, motion language, and trailer-ready polish. A collaboration with Ruslan.

Spaceminers UE5 cinematic survey frame — UE5 cinematic frame.

cinematic animation — Valentino Laz.

gold discovery marketing cinematic.

dance animation sequence.

dance animation sequence 2.

door open animation.

Sequencer assembly and cinematic timing
Camera language, transitions, and motion systems
VFX integration and compositing polish
Final edit support for trailer and marketing use

VFX asset prototyping.

Early VFX asset tests and prototyping for Spaceminers — exploring real-time effects, particle behaviour, and look development in Unreal Engine before final cinematic integration. R&D passes like this kept iteration fast across marketing cinematics and in-engine scenes.

VFX asset prototypes — UE5 R&D.

level design prototyping.

I implemented spaceship mechanics using Blueprints in Unreal Engine 5, prototyping the functionality early in production. I personally playtested the blocked-out level before collaborating with modelers and texture artists to replace the initial primitive boxes with final game art.

level design prototype — blockout & Blueprints.

Blueprint prototyping for spaceship movement and interaction
Greybox blockout and level flow validation
Handoff to modelling and texturing once gameplay read clearly

in-engine level.

After blockout and final art passes, two views of the Unreal Engine 5 level — a camera flythrough for environment scale, lighting, and set dressing, plus a gameplay run-through showing navigable space beyond the marketing cinematics.

level flythrough — in-engine camera path.

level run-through — in-engine gameplay.

characters & accessories.

Character design and asset work was guided by a consistent visual system — assets that read clearly in cinematic framing and support the world's story and tone. Art direction drew inspiration from Imario (The Mandalorian).

Casa Spaceminer full character turnaround — casa — full turnaround.

Secares full character turnaround — secares — full turnaround.

Sedu Spaceminer full character turnaround — sedu — full turnaround.

Servus full character turnaround — servus — full turnaround.

Tribus Spaceminer close-up — tribus — close-up.

Consistent silhouette language across suits and gear
Material definition for readability and realism
Presentation-ready renders and cinematic shots

tools and pipeline.

Production-ready pipelines across real-time, offline, and compositing workflows — with template-based motion systems and reusable project structures to speed up delivery.

Valentino Laz — Spaceminers creative director and art director — creative & art direction — Valentino Laz.

Unreal Engine 5 — cinematics, sequencing, real-time lighting
After Effects — compositing, motion graphics, polish
Houdini / Cinema 4D / Redshift — FX and animation
Photoshop / Illustrator — concept support and graphics