TP — Stylized Diorama (Unity / URP)

🎯 TP Objective

Create a diorama-style scene (a small miniature world) in Unity using URP, working on:

visual composition (staging, readability, focal point),
rendering (lighting, materials, post-processing),
and an initial tech-art dimension (Shader Graph and/or VFX).

The final result must be visually coherent: even if you use external assets, you must harmonize their materials and the lighting atmosphere.

📌 Mandatory requirements (common core)

Your scene must include the following elements:

1) Composition / environment

A readable diorama-style scene (miniature scale, clear framing, focal point).
You may use free assets (Asset Store, Kenney, Poly Pizza, etc.),
but you must modify their materials to ensure visual coherence.

2) Lighting

At least 3 distinct light sources, for example:
- Directional Light (sun),
- Spot Light (to highlight an object),
- Point Light (local ambiance).
Expectation: clear intent (warm/cold atmosphere, contrasts, visual hierarchy).

3) Skybox / environment

A Skybox (HDRI or procedural).
Environment settings (Ambient Light, Reflections).

4) Visual effects

At least 1 Particle System (Shuriken) integrated into the scene
(smoke, dust, snow, fireflies, sparks, bubbles…).
At least 1 URP post-processing Volume, including at minimum:
- Bloom or
- Color Adjustments.

5) Materials and shaders

Use at least one standard URP Material (Lit).
Create at least one custom Shader with Shader Graph, and apply it to an object in the scene.

🧩 Optional features

These options allow you to go further depending on your level and creativity.

A — Advanced Lighting (recommended)

Baked or Mixed lighting.
Use of Light Probes and/or Reflection Probes to improve rendering.

B — VFX Graph (or advanced particles)

An effect using VFX Graph (if compatible with your Unity version),
or an advanced Particle System (collision, noise, trails, forces).

C — Cinematic (Timeline)

A short cinematic of 5 to 10 seconds including:
- camera movement,
- reveal of the focal point,
- variation in lighting or effects.

D — In-editor modeling (ProBuilder)

Create at least two decorative elements with ProBuilder
(base, stylized rock, arch, wall, bridge, platform…).

E — Simple interaction

Implement one basic interaction, for example:

day/night toggle,
color palette switch,
enable/disable particles,
opening a door,
turning on a lantern.

F — Sound atmosphere

Add:

an ambient soundscape (wind, forest, sea, factory, city…),
at least one 3D spatialized sound effect.

🎨 Theme ideas (optional)

To avoid too many similar scenes, you can draw inspiration from these ideas:

Miniature workshop (watchmaker, alchemist, tinkerer).
Ruins in a bubble (temple, statues, vegetation).
Miniature subway station (neon lights, smoke, reflections).
Snowy cabin (snow + warm interior lighting).
Stylized underwater scene (bubbles, simulated caustics, particles).

You may also propose your own theme, as long as it follows the diorama spirit.

📦 Expected deliverables

1) Unity Project

Main scene named: Diorama.unity
Functional project in URP.

2) README (1 page max)

To include in the project (Markdown or PDF):

Title and theme of the diorama,
Checklist of the 5 mandatory requirements,
List of the 2 chosen options (with short justification),
Sources of used assets (links + licenses).

3) Presentation image or video

one fixed “beauty shot”,
one short camera movement (pan, rotation, or tracking shot).

🧮 Indicative grading scheme

Criterion	Weight
Composition & artistic direction	30 %
Material coherence	25 %
Lighting, Skybox & Post-process	20 %
Shader Graph (quality + integration)	15 %
Chosen options (relevance)	10 %

Bonus: overall polish (small animations, details, simple optimization).

📚 Useful resources