Roberto
Costas

Lofty adventure ‘LEGO Wing Walkers’, which arrived in Fortnite on May 16, is an action-packed game, with a co-op option to test teamwork, navigating a turbulent flying course. Teams of up to seven players must balance on the wings of a plane to steer it through the sky, carefully avoiding obstacles like clouds and flying pigs and collecting coins along the way.

I directed and led the project while producing the majority of its art. I worked closely with the LEGO team throughout production to ensure the creative vision aligned with their visual identity, brand guidelines, and values.

To accelerate environment production, I developed a procedural Houdini tool that automated the creation of assets using official LEGO bricks and approved colors. This allowed us to rapidly build and iterate on the environment while maintaining consistency with the LEGO aesthetic.

Small project I did during my spare time in UE4, inspired by an image I found in a youtube thumbnail of the Nakagin tower.

Created as a technical presentation for Unreal Fest 2023, this project explored how stylization can be used to give an island its own distinctive visual identity.

The goal was to demonstrate how traditional materials and post-process techniques can be combined to create a cohesive and unique art style in UEFN. Together with Roel Bartstra, I explored different material techniques and approaches to push the visuals beyond standard rendering and achieve a strong, recognizable visual direction.

While Roel Bartstra developed the amazing main hero shader that brought my art direction to life, including the effect of projecting the 3D diorama onto a 2D screen, I was responsible for producing all of the art for the project.

My work covered the entire art pipeline, from concept development and modelling to texturing, rigging, animation, lighting, framing, and camera work.

The first project to integrate Unreal Engine into The Mill’s production pipeline, delivering final pixels that combined high-quality 3D assets with live-action plates. Working in Unreal enabled us to lead multiple attended 3D previs sessions with Sky, allowing for rapid real-time iteration and creative exploration throughout the process.

Mercedes car modelling, UVs and texturing; Ferrari modelling support; cars shading; lighting; track FXs; and final rendering.

A personal 3D homage to a character originally designed by my university teacher, John Nevarez. I wanted to reinterpret his original 2D design as a fully realized 3D character while staying true to the spirit and visual language of the original artwork.

The character was modelled in Maya and ZBrush, groomed in Maya using geometry cards, textured in Substance Painter, and rendered in Unreal Engine 4.

Created for a live event hosted by Corona in Mexico City, this project aimed to inspire people to step away from the stresses of urban life and reconnect with the outdoors. We combined theatrical performance, VR, and interactive set design to immerse visitors in a surreal natural mirage, transporting them into a hidden paradise.

• The Secret Party at Gral Prima in Mexico City with Multiple Themed Rooms Secret Location-Based Interactive VR Experience was visited by 3,000 people over 6 nights with 887M social media impressions
• ‘Paraíso Secreto’ received a VES Award nomination in the category of Special Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project

I was responsible for developing the VR experience in Unreal Engine 4, including gameplay programming, VFX, AI-driven creatures, level optimization, and the integration of OSC to connect the virtual experience with physical stage elements such as fans and heat lamps. This allowed the digital and physical environments to react together, creating a cohesive and immersive experience for visitors.

The Mill BLACKBIRD® VR Experience allows users to explore all of the configurable features of The BLACKBIRD®, allowing users to interact with the unique rig functions including the bespoke systems created by The Mill, used to capture light and reflection data.

I was responsible for programming, lighting, shading, texturing, and optimizing the VR experience, ensuring both the visual quality and technical performance of the project.

Mill+ partnered with Imagination to create Jaguar 'Catwalk', an interactive installation featuring a CG jaguar that reacts to the audience in real-time using AI gesture recognition.

The brief was to design a reactive character to personify abstract ideas of the car’s key performance. The Jaguar needed to seem as real as possible while in reacting in real-time and staying on-brand, so it couldn’t appear tame, docile or playful. The team made a completely independent and responsive character, incorporating machine learning pose recognition into a traditional VFX pipeline.

I was responsible for retopology, texturing, shading, and grooming of the Jaguar, as well as the environment layout, shading, lighting, and particle FXs. During the final stages of production, I also developed and implemented the trigger events that drove the Jaguar’s various interactions.

A promotional film created by The Mill in collaboration with Epic Games, showcasing Unreal Engine as a tool for creating extraordinary levels of detail and interactivity across industries including games, film & TV, architecture, and automotive.

I was responsible for the robot and girl sequences, taking them from asset preparation through to final rendering. This included retopologizing the robot and environments, creating new UV sets, reprojecting and developing textures, as well as layout, shading, texturing, character lighting, camera setup, animation sequences, and rendering.

I worked across both the artistic and technical aspects of the sequences, ensuring the assets were optimized for Unreal Engine while maintaining the visual quality required for the final shots.

Ballistic is an adrenaline-filled, round-based 5v5 competitive game mode where strategy, tactical teamwork, and individual prowess are essential for victory.

I was responsible for creating the main rift crack ground effect for the bomb sites, as well as helping with the placement and visual treatment of neon signs, banners, and building windows throughout the map.

The Fortnite x Daft Punk Experience was an interactive, multi-room musical event and virtual playground in Fortnite that celebrated the legacy of the legendary French electronic music duo.

Together with Michael Hunault, I was responsible for the Monolith, a mysterious prop placed on top of a mountain in the Battle Royale island, hinting at the arrival and beginning of the special event. I handled the asset’s geometry, shading, and texturing, as well as creating the opening door effect for the pyramid. I also contributed to optimizing the experience to ensure it ran smoothly across all the different hardware.

Fortnite Airphoria is a sky-high celebration of sneakerhead culture and a crossover experience created by Nike in collaboration with Epic Games and Beyond Creative.

I was responsible for rigging, animating, and shading the NPC characters. I also contributed to the modelling, shading, texturing, and lighting of the environment, helping bring the experience’s distinctive visual style together.

Lunar Horizons is an educational Fortnite island that simulates a futuristic European Space Agency (ESA) mission to the Moon’s south pole.

I was responsible for the initial project setup, developing a vertical slice to establish what the lunar mission area could look and feel like. I also set up the materials and project structure to provide a solid foundation for the team taking over production.

Towards the end of production, I rejoined the team to support the project with lighting and optimisation.

“Pod, a 3rd person game about games, goats, the purpose of friendship and taking your first steps in a bright, colorful, lonely future.”

POD is the story of Carl. Carl lives a life of cheap thrills and easy comfort. His life is suddenly turned upside down when the power of his home mysteriously goes out. On his journey to restore his power he discovers a friendship. Will his quest jeopardize the only true friendship Carl has ever known?

My main responsibilities included programming the core gameplay mechanics and events, as well as developing the open-world lighting, character materials, animation systems, and NPC AI. I also modelled and textured the main character.

One of my first projects at The Mill: a fully CG commercial featuring five distinct characters in a wind tunnel. Working alongside director Jimmy Kiddell, our team pushed the boundaries of The Mill’s bespoke fur simulation pipeline to achieve new levels of detail and realism.

Responsible for the texturing and shading the interior mouth details for the pig and squirrel, as well as the frog's throat pouch.

Official reveal video for the Huawei Mate 9 commercial launch.

Handled full-shot execution (including camera movement, animation, lighting, shading, and compositing) for the opening and closing hero phone CG sequences.