This week, we revealed our latest #KB3DChallenge: "Secrets of the Luminara." In this challenge, we invite creators like you to embark on a journey like no other with Secrets of the Luminara, a free Kit designed to inspire epic stories and breathtaking worlds. This time, the stakes are higher than ever, with a mountain of glittering prizes up for grabs. But before you dive into your creative process, let’s explore how this extraordinary Kit came to life.
Drawing from centuries of myth and legend, Secrets of the Luminara offers an array of assets designed to fuel your storytelling imagination: from majestic temples and ancient aqueducts to mysterious tombs and hidden treasures. Every element has been meticulously crafted to evoke the rich, untold history of a shadowy society said to have shaped civilization itself. Their legacy lives on through grand structures—colonnades, stone walls, ruins—and fantastical vehicles like airships and blimps, waiting for adventurers like you to bring them to life.
To help tell the behind-the-scenes story of developing the Kit, we sat down with the talented team of KitBash3D artists who poured their creativity into each detail. You'll hear how they worked to balance the ancient and the fantastical, blending architectural majesty with adventure-ready props like rope ladders, torches, and off-road vehicles. As they share their process, you'll gain insight into how they crafted a world ready for you to explore, uncover, and bring to life in your unique storytelling.
Ready to uncover the secrets? Let’s dive behind the Kit and discover the artistry that built the Secrets of the Luminara!
What was your favorite part about working on the Secrets of the Luminara Kit?
"Finding ways to make it feel like it could fit into many different genres and eras across time. This Kit is meant to inspire the imagination and provoke feelings of adventure, no matter the location. Designing around those thoughts and ideas was a ton of fun!" - Mike Reese, VP of Kits
"This being a contest Kit, we really wanted to design and provide a set of assets that would spark the imagination of everyone who decides to be part of the challenge. Looking back to how artists used Mission to Minerva, we decided to push the idea of having modules further and then build the different prefab temples with those modules. It was very fun to work with Fabio throwing ideas back and forward to define the different pieces, how they connect, and how to hide repetition as much as possible. Having pieces generic enough that users can use them as a base to create more complex ones or easy-to-create variations while having enough detail to work out of the box." - Luis Tornel, Asset Supervisor
“Being able to push and improve my design abilities in order to create a lego-like set of temple ruins. This type of content is quite common within the entertainment industry, and this was a good opportunity to add my spin to it. It was also pretty exciting to research and gather a ton of references in order to break down the elements and create a whole Kit that is both functional and meets the requirements of the contest.” - Fabio Fernandes, Concept Artist
“Working with the knowledge that it was going to be a contest Kit! I loved seeing all the different content the community made with the previous contest Kit, Mission to Minerva, and so naturally I'm quite excited to see the results of this one.” - JD Havenga, 3D Modeler
“I've always loved Indiana Jones and the Uncharted series so getting to work on a Kit with a similar aesthetic was a ton of fun!” - Brandon Acree, 3D Modeler
What was the most challenging part about creating the Secrets of the Luminara Kit?
"Narrowing it down to exactly what we wanted to provide! We went through many iterations of what kind of assets and vehicles to include that would be enough for everyone to create their adventure." - Mike Reese, VP of Kits
“Creating the Airship was quite challenging. To simulate around the rope and make it believable, it was a combination of playing with the settings in Marvelous and then adjusting in ZBrush. In the end, I’m quite happy with how it looks.” - Dan Ene, 3D Modeler
“The number of elements that needed to be textured. The trims and tiles techniques, as well as some custom scripts for Maya and custom nodes for Substance Designer that I created, helped in automating a lot of the tasks.” - Aleksei Druzhkov, Texture Artist
“One of the design requirements of this Kit was making sure the architectural style would be dynamic enough to work well with snapping as opposed to bashing. The ornaments within the architectural style would have to be created in such a way that they wouldn't overlap with each other to avoid any texture flickering when combined.” - Fabio Fernandes, Concept Artist
“Getting a decent amount of damage to the structural assets, without ballooning the polycount and without being inefficient, was quite a challenge. We overcame this by setting a standard early on, and using a few test pieces to create an efficient workflow which we then applied to all the modules.” - JD Havenga, 3D Modeler
“It's always a challenge to balance the amount of detail with the time you have but I think I was able to strike a good balance to bring this to life.” - Brandon Acree, 3D Modeler
What was the biggest thing you learned while developing the Kit?
"One of the biggest challenges for this Kit was modeling and texturing the vehicles. Each of them was very detailed and had their separate challenges. We wanted them to be useful for many situations while feeling fun and unique while still fitting thematically into many different genres." - Mike Reese, VP of Kits
"Making things modular and making them look good is hard! Also when you add damage repetition is easier to see AND the polycount goes up very fast. keeping all these things in mind during the development of the Kit was a big challenge." - Luis Tornel, Asset Supervisor
“It was awesome to be able to practice some modularity principles during the creation of this Kit, as we wanted the structural pieces to be able to fit together in a way that made sense.” - JD Havenga, 3D Modeler
“Coming from primarily land based vehicles just learning about airplanes, what all the bits and bobs do and how to make things look genuine was a great learning opportunity for stepping outside of my normal niche.” - Brandon Acree, 3D Modeler
Is there anything about the Secrets of the Luminara Kit you'd like to highlight or shout out?
"Huge shoutout to the modeling and texturing teams for making the temples so detailed and fun! I have always wanted to do a temple Kit and this one fits so many different scenarios. I can't wait to see what creators do with them." - Mike Reese, VP of Kits
“Shout out to everyone involved in the Kit! It looks epic, and I can't wait to see what the community creates for the challenge.” - Dan Ene, 3D Modeler
“I’d like to shout out the amazing work the 3D modelers did to enhance the concepts and push the believable aspects even further. The interior and exterior details on the vehicles are incredible!” - Fabio Fernandes, Concept Artist
“I'd like to shout out Dan and Brandon, my fellow modelers, for the epic work they did on the various vehicles in this Kit. They did an amazing job in my opinion, and I can't wait to see those be the centerpiece of many of the contest entries we will receive!” - JD Havenga, 3D Modeler
“Fabio did such a great job with the overall modularity of the Kit, allowing people to really rework a scene and build out what they need.” - Brandon Acree, 3D Modeler
Was there anything that surprised you about this theme or the Kit while you worked on it?:
"I was surprised with how many different temples and types we could lean into. There's almost an endless amount of possibilities with this Kit and it was very difficult choosing one direction and sticking with it." - Mike Reese, VP of Kits
“While working on this project, it was exciting to immerse myself in the ancient ruins of the great cities of antiquity, studying their patterns and architecture. Empires like the Aztecs, the Amazonia, and the Mayans. Places like Machu Picchu, Chichen Itza, and Angkor. And finally, countries and cultures like Mexico, Guatemala, India, and Myanmar.” - Aleksei Druzhkov, Texture Artist
“One small thing I can point to which turned out as a surprise or what in concept stage we refer to as an "happy accident." One of the temples looks like two crocodile heads with their mouths open. These types of outcomes, when intentional, are commonly known as using "form language." Designers use form language to enhance the visual interest of their designs. However this was not intentional. 😄” - Fabio Fernandes, Concept Artist
“Honestly, just how much we were able to fit in there! 3 vehicles and many options for temples is a lot of great material to work with.” - Brandon Acree, 3D Modeler
Now that you’ve seen the magic behind Secrets of the Luminara, it’s time to embark on your own journey. Head over to the Secrets of the Luminara challenge page, where you can explore the Kit in detail and download Cargo to get started on your #KB3DChallenge entry.
Whether you’re building temples shrouded in mystery or uncovering hidden treasures, your story is waiting to be told. Join the community of creators and help piece together the legends of the Luminara. The echoes of history are calling—will you answer?
