ARCANE CHEST
BACKSTORY
One of the High King’s personal vault-chests, this Arcane Chest was forged in tandem with Vae’Brukh - to carry the spoils of battle. Crafted by dwarven gearwrights and sealed with the same runic dialect inscribed on the legendary blade, the chest was designed to house royal tithes, tribute, and enchanted coinage collected from the outer provinces.
Its mechanism is layered: rotating gearlocks sync with a rune alignment tab that only responds to sigil-bearing gauntlets of the royal line. Though a treasure chest in form, its function was ceremonial and strategic—used in coronation processions and war-camp rituals to fund legions and impress vassals. The gilded interior was lined with soft rune-cloth to prevent magical resonance from igniting volatile relics stored within.
When Vae’Brukh vanished from the royal vaults during the fall of the Bellgrave stronghold, this chest was believed lost with it. Yet here it stands - its glyph-ring still faintly humming, and flecks of gold dust still trapped in the padded seams—waiting for the next hand bold or foolish enough to break its seal.
DESCRIPTION
Hard Surface Model - Interactive Prop
A stylized arcane storage chest built as a hero prop for fantasy pipelines, this asset focuses on layered mechanical detail, embedded narrative design, and optimized topology for real-time rendering. Designed for Unreal Engine 5 and stylized workflows, the chest combines magical motif and functional logic through intricate gearwork, a locking tab system, and serialized elements.
Total Poly Count: 12,726 (game-ready; high-poly sculpted for baking)
Render Engines: Substance Painter Iray (for wireframes) & Unreal Engine 5 (for rendering and in-world integration)
Render Engine: Substance Painter Iray (real-time ready for UE5 or stylized pipelines)
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Modeled in 3DS Max with clean modular forms, bevel passes, and mechanical subassemblies
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Textured in Substance Painter with stylized material breakup, emissive rune markers, and subtle grime pass
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Custom baked curvature, AO, position, and thickness maps to support stylized mask-driven texturing
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Internal locking plate and gear-driven visual storytelling convey purpose, age, and magical safeguarding
Solo-developed to explore stylized prop storytelling, the Arcane Chest blends function and fantasy—every part was built to imply wear, containment, and importance. The padded interior, emissive glyph marker, and engraved serial plate serve as quiet indicators of history and use, designed to support visual storytelling within RPG environments.
ROLE: Solo project — modeled, UV’d, baked, and textured as a stylized hero prop
TOOLS: 3DS Max (low/high-poly modeling),
Substance Painter (baking, masking, emissives, wear)
PURPOSE: Designed as a hero prop for fantasy RPGs; focused on stylized mechanical storytelling, material breakup, and visual lore integration in real-time engine workflows.
MODEL VIEWER TURNAROUND
CONCEPT
I want to design a small, heavily protected treasure container that blends fantasy technology with arcane security. This is not a simple chest — it’s a vault built by dwarves or engineers who treat magic and machinery as one and the same.
The box should feel mechanically secure, but also magically aware — like it only opens if you meet some strange requirement. I imagine it sitting in vault rooms, dwarven banks, or scattered across ruined cities — still locked, still humming.
REFERENCES
Visual Influence & Direction
Drawing from the following visual references:
CONCEPT
DESCRIPTION
Mechanical Locking System
I want exposed gears and locking teeth — something that clearly rotates or clicks into position. The idea is that unlocking it isn’t just magic; it’s a mechanism.
Arcane Inlay
I'll include glowing sigils or runes embedded into the plating. These aren’t just decoration — they act as magical identifiers or biometric seals.
Reinforced Housing
Thick walls, protected corners, and layered materials make it look secure. I want bevels, bolt plates, and panel breaks that suggest careful construction.
Hidden Core / Payload
When the lid opens, it should reveal something — whether it’s coins, relics, or pure magical energy. I want there to be a contrast between the hard outer box and the ornate or glowing inner space.
Industrial/Fantasy Fusion
It’s built like something dwarves or arcane engineers would make — practical, heavy, and overdesigned in the best way. Think copper-bronze, matte black, faded steel, glow channels.