Unreal Engine Has a Problem…

When making films in Unreal Engine, no matter what, there is a sharp, game-like, quality to the images It produces. I always end up adding distortion filters, radial blurs, lens flares and film grain to make it look more natural. This can take a ton of extra time…but there’s a better way.

To get truly realistic images we need to simulate the actual process of taking photos.

What Is Virtual Glass?

I have modeled a set of 3D virtual lenses that work in Unreal Engine and create realistic optical refractions, emulating light passing through real glass.

The Virtual Glass set consists of a 24mm, 35mm, 50mm and 85mm lens. Each can be attached to the front of an Unreal Engine cine camera, and with the Unreal Engine Pathtracer activated we can re-create all of the interesting imperfections that you expect from photographic and vintage lenses. The results are truly beautiful.

It has been a long journey but I’m really happy to finally release these into the world. I hope they help you bring a new and interesting look to your work in Unreal Engine.