Into the Birch Forest

For this project, I set out to capture the eerie, disorienting feeling of being lost in an enchanted forest, the kind steeped in Russian folklore where danger and magic lurk behind every tree.

I designed a moody birch forest environment with Baba Yaga's iconic chicken legged hut as the centerpiece. The stark white birch trees became my canvas for experimenting with lighting, using it to create pockets of shadow and fragmented light that disorient the viewer and evoke that unsettling fairytale atmosphere. I wanted players to feel both drawn in and cautious, never quite sure what's waiting deeper in the woods.

Working on this project allowed me to explore how lighting and composition can tell a story on their own, how they can make a space feel alive, mysterious, and just a little bit threatening. It was incredibly rewarding to blend my cultural heritage with environment storytelling and push myself to create a space that feels as enchanted as it does dangerous.