I Finally Discovered AI Lighting for Unreal 5: A Game Changer

Today we’ll be covering Skybox AI from Blockade Labs which gives 3D artists access to instant skybox generation. I'll also show you how to set up these skybox/HDRI's in Unreal Engine 5 and Blender in a very beginner friendly walkthrough.
Welcome to the Future Familiar KZbin channel where we explore the news and give reviews of the latest tech shaping the future of world building.
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█ CHAPTERS █
0:00 - Beginning
0:40 - What excites me about AI
1:24 - Preview of AI skybox in UE5
2:15 - Skybox/HDRI Overview
2:50 - Reasons to use a Skybox
4:20 - Built-in solutions
5:05 - The problem with HDRI's today
6:50 - Skybox AI Walkthrough
11:02 - AI Skybox setup in Unreal Engine 5
19:35 - AI Skybox setup in Blender
20:36 - Final Sci-fi scene in UE5
24:37 - Free HDRI download pack
24:50 - INSANE new Copy/Paste into Unreal 5
26:00 - The future of worldbuilding in 5 minutes
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Blockade Labs
Tileable Textures
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Reverie AI
Blockade Labs

[@blockadelabs]

Awesome feature! Love seeing our HDRIs at work and presented so well. Added to our community tutorials playlist. 👌✨

[@culpritdesign]

I remember in the early 2000s taking photos of a scene and then stitching and warping them to fit into an equirectangular panorama to be used as an hdri skybox. Times have changed for the better.

[@arturochomyszyn5751]

you still need to take 360 panoromas mixing vfx with real footage. First spherical panoramas where taken in the mid 1800 and with no stitching.

[@SamEmilio2]

As quick and convenient as this new stuff is, I can’t imagine how much you must’ve learned from the “old” way of doing things

[@KUREHA3D]

this is an amazing resource. thank you for sharing your findings with us!!

[@Fireonutube]

Great work, compliments. Thx 4 all!

[@RemDovans]

This is a video I didn't know I needed to watch, thank you

[@marcus_ohreallyus]

I think a lot of people who use hdris always go for the overlit look. I like mine to be 75% dark with 2 or 3 light sources so I can get some dramatic lighting contrast in my Redshift scenes. Im going to try this tool to make some new onrs. Looks cool

[@AlTheRize]

Love the style of your vid - nice simple production / art direction / great work

[@futurefamiliar]

Very much appreciate the support!

[@NickBryant-jj5rx]

A fresh start of AI informative newsletter, keep up with that Bro. I've already signed up and downloaded the assets. Thanks!

[@futurefamiliar]

Thanks Nick appreciate it will do!

[@SomersetWilliam]

Fantastic work. Very informative. I learned something new 😊

[@futurefamiliar]

awesome glad to hear it, thanks! 😀

[@JDAeroVR]

Very nice! Always interested in learning something new. Thank you!

[@futurefamiliar]

Thanks glad it was helfpul!

[@nicole_boehm]

So helpful. Thank you so much for this awesome tutorial.

[@futurefamiliar]

No worries Nicole I'm glad it was helpful!

[@VERTEPR]

Excellent explanation man, wish you success in your KZbin Journey! Dont Quit!

[@futurefamiliar]

Appreciate the support, comments like this mean a lot!

[@quietlyworking]

👏Excellent content! You have a gift to inspire and teach. Excited to share your work with our students. 🖖👊

[@futurefamiliar]

Thank you, I very much appreciate that!

[@bendvfx]

This was so informative with great practical examples, As a 3DS Max and Blender Veteran newly started to learn Unreal Engine it is so great to see what is the possibilities in UE5. Thanks for content!

[@futurefamiliar]

Awesome I appreciate the comment, glad you found it helpful!

[@ohheyvoid]

So cool. Thanks for sharing this fantastic video. Definitely gonna try this workflow. :)

[@futurefamiliar]

Glad you found it helpful!!

[@ceenbutnotheard]

This is brilliant. Thank you so much!

[@futurefamiliar]

No worries glad it was helpful!

[@animarch3D]

yoo great video man! I was really hoping someone did a video on "that" AI plugin. I got you subbed dude!

[@futurefamiliar]

Ay thanks I appreciate it!

[@Romeo615Videos]

i tried this but for a different reason, might give this a shot on another project just for light/reflections

[@tearsinrain8002]

Great video! Very informative!

[@futurefamiliar]

thanks I'm glad you found it helpful!

[@akiracorp.1665]

Thank you very much for mentioning Reverie, I just sent you an email about it.

[@adriangabrielgramada1016]

Just wow :)

[@MXK_EDITZ]

Thank You ❤

[@futurefamiliar]

My pleasure!

[@johnathonvought7407]

Very cool. It's been decades since I was in school, so would have liked having this for work even 6 months ago! Making or finding good HDRIs even remotely close to what we need was always such a pain. We used to make 3d scenes and create skybox/hdri that way. Generate reflection maps and put them as maps models to run realtime etc. Im really looking forward to finally being able to quickly "art direct" my environment/lighting this way. One thing I'll be testing on my end is how far you can push the effects for a VR game running on the quest2 from Unreal.

[@futurefamiliar]

Thanks! Very much agreed on the HDRI pain as I'm sure came through in the video 😅 Good question on the VR side, drop a comment if you end up giving it a shot on your side I'd be curious to test that as well

[@_casg]

i belive Nvida canvas you can paint with a brush AI hdri in a 360 panorama , but this is more advanced due to the options of training models

[@3djimmy]

Great stuff, very helpful many thanks.

[@ivanna4349]

Thank you for the information! It helps a lot. I'm new to Unreal and I was wondering if it is possible to use these tools for indoor scenes? Not only outside scenes

[@futurefamiliar]

No problem I'm glad you found it helpful! First off, welcome to learning Unreal :D To answer your question, yes you can use this method to light both exteriors and interiors. Though like I mentioned in the video it's by no means a replacement for actual scene lighting, moreso just to get a quick look early on as you're "blocking out" your scene to get a feel for the mood. I don't currently have in depth lighting tutorials on the channel but I'd highly recommend www.youtube.com/@WilliamFaucher if you're looking to learn lighting in Unreal specifically!

[@halimgarciagendis248]

Awesome!!!

[@futurefamiliar]

thank you!

[@TheTchaume]

Thanks! Sorry for the question but at 19:43, which add-on of blender did you use to extrude so fast…. 😮

[@futurefamiliar]

Hey! Its Boxcutter by TeamC blendermarket.com/products/boxcutter

[@user-zg1hn6qc2w]

can the AI HDRI Generator generate an HDRI out of an existing image?

[@GoodguyGastly]

Yo. I subbed to your newsletter. How do I download the sky boxes? PS: Great Video! EDIT: I got em! Thank you a ton!

[@futurefamiliar]

Hey yeah unfortunately it takes a few minutes to get there, glad it arrived though, enjoy!

[@ScottBarrettihq]

at 23:49 the solar panel on the rover is filled with noise. I'm experiencing that too, with scenes with reflective surfaces AND that noise is appearing in renders. Is this a bug? Do you know how to curb this?

[@futurefamiliar]

From what I've gathered from different forums this is kind of just a Lumen thing in its current state when there isn't much direct lighting on the surface. Generally Lumen GI has a really tough time with glossy reflections (between .2-.4) and the denoiser has trouble with them which gives you all the flickering. The most recent workaround I've found are in this link here with some console commands. Settings to reduce Noise with in Lumen Reflections: r.Lumen.Reflections.MaxRayIntensity=3 r.Lumen.Reflections.BilateralFilter.SpatialKernelRadius=0.01 The defaults for these values are: r.Lumen.Reflections.MaxRayIntensity=100 r.Lumen.Reflections.BilateralFilter.SpatialKernelRadius=0.001 Source: forums.unrealengine.com/t/lumen-having-a-lot-of-noise-in-reflections-in-dark-areas/749276/4

[@Abdul_Rahman11]

Hi I've subscribed your channel from India...

[@futurefamiliar]

thanks glad to have you!

[@Drakmour666]

Is it possible to make an anime style lighting? The ones with more sharp shadows and more warm\cold light? I've seen tutorials about such kind of lighting the scene without changing the realistic textures of the environment objects. And the scene becomes more anime like just with lighting.

[@futurefamiliar]

You can definitely generate color palettes that would feel anime inspired, they even have dedicated styles for both anime and manage. As far as shadows go I don't think you'd be able to pull off that look with skybox lighting alone since by its nature its generally an incredibly large source of light meaning shadows it casts are quite soft (but I haven't tried replicating the style myself)

[@Drakmour666]

@@futurefamiliar Thanks! I'll give it a try to make street location more anime like with it.

[@alxleiva]

Hi, yes, stylized content will be next. I'm focusing on realistic first.

[@Drakmour666]

@@alxleiva Gr8 news! Looking forward to it!

[@drekenproductions]

interesting. i prefer a real sky for games but for renders this could be good.

[@I3ordo]

well i tried it but the styles are behind paywall, so... back to ansel and watchdogs legion for those nice urban sphericals.. :)

[@borissolaris4421]

Is it possible to use animated HDRI in UE?

[@futurefamiliar]

Not that I'm aware of at the moment

[@osvaldoalfaro136]

What browser is that?

[@futurefamiliar]

It's Opera GX

[@51Daedalus]

Are these actually true 32bit files with full dynamic range?

[@futurefamiliar]

Unfortunately they aren't true 32bit HDRI's, the way they word it on the welcome screen is "Skybox AI creates equirectangular images that can be wrapped as a skybox HDRI in any 3D scene. However, while we don’t currently export true HDRIs with 32 bit depth high dynamic range, they can still be converted to 32 bit and used to light scenes like HDRIs." so generally the way I use them just to get quick looks in Unreal they have held more than enough information but for anyone really looking to push the dynamic range further these wouldn't quite cut it for that (at least for now)

[@51Daedalus]

@@futurefamiliar cheers man, appreciate the reply!

[@marcus_ohreallyus]

I don't think my hdris are 32 bit, and no client has ever complained that the range wasn't dynamic enough in the finished video

[@chasingdaydreams2788]

​@@marcus_ohreallyusyoure missing the point of why hdri's need to be 32 bit. Using a jpg to light your scene literally means the brightest part of the image has an emissive value of 1 which is extremely low thus itll look dull, diffused and lifeless. If you add a traditional lights to your scene, it is equivalent to clamping all those lights to a much lower value and then altering the exposure of the overall image to compensate.

[@samu7015]

It's very nice but you gotta pay for it really. There's gotta be a way to turn any ai generated image into an HDRI image

[@billB101]

I still find it mad this this is real time. I mean, bye C4D.

[@futurefamiliar]

Yeah Unreal is definitely getting pretty wild, will be putting in a lot more time to learn it more in depth the coming year so I can fully move away from rendering inside Blender/Marmoset

[@Sky-hl8iw]

looks like reverie is nothing no development, like its just a scam to get the epic megagrant

[@Ariapeithes_]

I follow you on Istangram man. Love you're work as a huge Sci-Fi fan!

[@futurefamiliar]

Really appreciate that glad to have you here as well!