Into the Forest - Beech Forest (Nanite Workflow)

This is an extension of Into the Forest, building on the shaders and PCG tools developed in the base course while also serving as the foundation for future Nanite-based extensions.

All required resources are included to support the workflow, with no additional tools needed.

From building a full vegetation set using a Nanite-based workflow to final scene composition in Unreal Engine 5.7.4, every step is covered.

You will create a complete set of assets, including beech and birch trees as well as ground vegetation, for a total of 19 models. The course also covers advanced shader work, including adding Parallax Occlusion Mapping support to the procedural terrain shader from the base course and adapting vegetation shaders for a Nanite workflow.

FoliageLab can be used to accelerate parts of the asset creation process, but all required elements are provided to support vegetation creation and allow the course to be followed without it.

The course concludes with the final scene composition.

What you will learn:

In SpeedTree 10:

• Create beech and birch trees using a Nanite-compatible workflow
• Build foliage cards and branch structures adapted for Nanite
• Create ground vegetation based on atlases and optimized for real-time use
• Understand how to structure vegetation assets for efficient integration in Unreal Engine

In Unreal Engine 5.7.4:

• Set up a Nanite-based workflow for vegetation and environment assets
• Adapt vegetation shaders from the base course to work with Nanite
• Extend the terrain shader from the base course with Parallax Occlusion Mapping support
• Use anchor points on custom meshes to control vegetation placement
• Build and refine the final scene composition (layout, density, variations)
• Use PCG tools from the base course to scatter vegetation and details
• Adjust lighting and atmosphere to support scene readability

Which chapters are available

1. Beech Trees (SpeedTree 10 – Complete Workflow) - (8h10 / 4h34 depending if you use FoliageLab tools or provided assets)
2. Birch Trees (SpeedTree 10 – Complete Workflow) - (3h24)
3. Ground Foliage (SpeedTree 10) - (2h56)
4. Scene Assembly & Final Composition (UE5.7) - (1h48)

What you will get:

• ~13 hours of step-by-step video content (using the provided assets)
• ~17 hours of step-by-step video content (with FoliageLab workflow)
• 4 downloadable chapters (.zip)
• 1080p / 30 FPS

Software used:

• SpeedTree 10.0.1 (compatible with 10.1.0)
• Unreal Engine 5.7.4

Level

• This course is intended for artists with a basic understanding of Unreal Engine who want to refine their environment creation workflow.
• Familiarity with the workflows introduced in Into the Forest

Prerequisites

• A computer running Windows 10/11
• Unreal Engine 5.7.4 installed
• SpeedTree 10.1.0 (or a compatible 10.x version)
• WinRAR or 7zip to extract files

New users can access both the base course and this extension through the Into the Forest - Modern Workflow Bundle

Important note before starting

This course was created in Unreal Engine 5.7.4 and requires the same version. Using a different version may result in issues not covered in the course.

Refund conditions:

• Due to the nature of downloadable content, refunds are not available once files have been accessed.
• Price changes after purchase are not a valid reason for a refund.

VERSION 1.01 IS NOW AVAILABLE

Before I go into detail about this (small) new version, let me thank you for the warm reception you’ve given this course! It’s truly amazing, so thank you to each and every one of you for your support; it means the world to me.

Update:

• Fixed the “01.04_FirstTree_Foliage” video, where two sections were reversed, causing an inconsistency in the workflow.

Thanks to Kanzari on Discord for bringing this error to my attention.

If you already have this chapter, please download it again