As a Environment designer, I always enjoy a good challenge, and the creation of the Fir and Pine Forest scene certainly provided one! The scene features a massive landscape with animated trees, and required careful optimization to ensure that it was still able to be rendered smoothly. To tackle this project, I utilized some of the amazing content available on Polyhaven, which helped me to achieve a realistic and detailed look for the scene.
The sheer scale of the scene and the use of animated trees made it a technical challenge to optimize and render efficiently. But with persistence and experimentation, I was able to achieve a good result that I’m proud of.
While creating the scene, I realized that the many techniques and workflows I was using could be extremely valuable to other Blender users. So, I decided to turn it into a comprehensive course that covers all the facets of creating such complex scenes. Although making the course was not my initial goal, I saw an opportunity to help other Blender users to learn new skills and techniques.
In addition to the challenge of optimizing the scene, another aspect that required careful planning was the creation of the modular paths and rivers. These elements were designed to be easily interchangeable and customizable, allowing users to create their own unique forest environments. To achieve this, I used a combination of curves and geometry nodes. The modular approach not only allowed for greater flexibility but also made it easier to manage the scene’s complexity.
I am thrilled with the final result of the scene, I hope that this scene serves as inspiration for other Blender artists to push their skills and tackle challenging projects.
Short tutorial:
I live near one, but I don’t yet qualify to make a tutorial of my own — and most 3D artists out there appear to be a decidedly temperate bunch. 
