As a 3D Generalist and Technical Artist, I often need to showcase scenes or assets like static meshes, skeletal meshes, and materials in Unreal Engine. My usual workflow involved rendering an object with an alpha mask and then adding a background or other elements to enhance the image. While it might not sound complicated, this process can be quite time-consuming, especially when preparing consistent images for a portfolio. I needed a more efficient, customizable, in-editor solution. So, I created an easy-to-use Blueprint that lets you create fully procedural, layered backgrounds in Unreal Engine using just post-process materials.

The Background Creator blueprint lets you create cool backgrounds in matter of seconds. The system uses screen space post-process materials so you can move your camera and position it whatever you like.

With the layer system, you can blend up to 3 textures together to create interesting patterns. You can even add your logos or labels directly, saving you extra work in Photoshop or Affinity.

The fake shadow effect is a cool feature that works independently of your scene lighting. It uses custom stencil masks, so make sure you have that enabled in your project settings.

Make your gradient more stylized by enabling the color banding feature. This feature limits the colors in your gradient to the number of bands you specify.

I’ve included several example templates you can use as a starting point. Just drag and drop any template into your scene and modify it however you like.

The Background Creator is available on the Unreal Engine Marketplace: https://www.unrealengine.com/marketplace/en-US/product/background-creator