Spioenkop Wenduine
Look to the left and discover what the dunes used to look like
Look right and discover scenarios for future coastal protection
About 3D image creation
Home
Have a look at the past
Discover what the dunes and wider environment looked like in the past
Roman period
Middle-Ages
Home
What about the future?
Have a closer look at possible scenarios for future coastal defense
To the future
Home
Middle-Ages
Back
In the early Middle Ages (550 - 750 AD), the coastal floodplain started drying up due to natural processes. As sea levels continued to lower naturally, sand and mud accumulated along the channels, allowing land to gain more and more space. Human-led land reclamations, starting from 10th century onwards, accelerated this process. By the 14th and 15th century, rising sea levels due to natural processes led to erosion/wearing down of the coast, moving the coastline and dunes further inland. This dune migration was increased by the loss of natural vegetation from cattle overgrazing and people collecting dune grass and wood to build and heat their homes.
Home
Roman period
Back
In the Roman period (1st - 4th century AD), the coastline was several kilometres seawards, due to lower sea levels resulting from natural processes. Belgium’s coast formed a naturally dynamic floodplain composed of water channels, mudflats and saltmarshes. The mudflats along the channels flooded daily with the tides. Parts of the saltmarshes, beyond the mudflats, also flooded during spring tides and storms. Human activity also affected the landscape. People dug out large amounts of peat from the saltmarshes to serve as fuel for salt mining, a key trade product. This peat extraction locally lowered the floodplain, making it more vulnerable to flooding.
Coast - current situation
Home
Here is a typical view of the existing beachscape at the Belgian coast. Today because of climate change, we are facing greater risks of flooding by the sea. A number of possible coastal defense scenarios for the future have been elaborated. What solution would you prefer?
Do nothing
New dunes
Higher dikes
Coastal defense - do nothing
Home
Back
Scientists predict that sea level will rise by about 1 meter on average, and up to 3 meters in the worst case, over the next 100 years. They also expect more frequent and severe storms. This combination of events will cause sudden and catastrophic flooding in our coastal region.
Higher dikes
New dunes
Coastal defense - higher dikes
Home
Back
To protect our coast against the increased risk of flooding, we can build higher, more than 10 meter high, dikes at vulnerable spots. These dikes would also provide space for commercial and recreational activities.
Do nothing
New dunes
Coastal defense - new dunes
Home
Back
To protect our coast against the increased risk of flooding, we can create new, more than 10 meter high, grassed dunes at vulnerable spots. To keep these dunes stable, we need to increase the beach by moving the shoreline 100 meters out to sea. These dunes would also provide space for nature and recreational activities.
Do nothing
Higher dikes
3D image creation
The 3D visuals and images in this application were created by HOWEST department of Digital Arts & Entertainment. Before starting the creation of the images, a visit to the Spioenkop was necessary to take photos of the location from the exact point the visitor would look at the landscape. These images were then used as references for perspective, scale, and viewing angle. These images were essential for accurately recreating the environment in 3D. Using Unreal Engine, to build the scenes of the past, all the historical data that was provided by historians was incorporated. This data encompasses almost every element present in the scene such as the breed of cows, the type of grass, the story elements, the shape of the dunes...etc. For these models, a mix of library meshes, and custom-built assets were used to fill the scene. The use of a 3D environment also allowed us to place multiple cameras to capture different angles so each key activity in the scene could be highlighted.
After rendering* the 3D scenes, all the renders were manipulated in Photoshop for better results. Modifications that were implemented ranged from colour correction to image enhancement to AI generations to fill in missing models. An example of these missing models are the humans found in the scenes. Modelling these individually, creating custom clothing fitting the specific time period and posing them in the scene would take way too much time for 1 person to create in a short period of time. So, to avoid empty scenes and add life to the environments, AI was used to create a more immersive image containing humans. Every, element added after the rendering then had to be integrated with photoshop modified manually or painted by hand to seamlessly fit into the environment.
For the future scenes, a different approach was taken. The original pictures taken on location were used to keep a sense of presence. Then possible future was predicted with the information from the research of Kustvisie. The changes were less dramatic, so Photoshop was the best option for to quickly obtain results. Again, multiple techniques were employed such as blending AI-generated elements and hand painting to create a believable vision of the future. Furthermore, since the images would not contain story elements or defined (economic) activities no other camera angles were needed.
* Rendering can be compared to taking a picture of the scene and printing it out in your computer. Going from a 3D environment/software to a picture that can be manipulated in Photoshop or printed out.
Credits
https://www.digitalartsandentertainment.be/
The creation of 3D images
The 3D visuals and images in this application were created by HOWEST department of Digital Arts & Entertainment. Before starting the creation of the images, a visit to the Spioenkop site in Wenduine (Belgium) was necessary to take photos of the location from the exact point the visitor would look at the landscape. These images were used as a reference for perspective, scale, and viewing angle, and were essential for accurately recreating the environment in 3D.
https://www.digitalartsandentertainment.be/
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Created on February 17, 2025
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Transcript
Spioenkop Wenduine
Look to the left and discover what the dunes used to look like
Look right and discover scenarios for future coastal protection
About 3D image creation
Home
Have a look at the past
Discover what the dunes and wider environment looked like in the past
Roman period
Middle-Ages
Home
What about the future?
Have a closer look at possible scenarios for future coastal defense
To the future
Home
Middle-Ages
Back
In the early Middle Ages (550 - 750 AD), the coastal floodplain started drying up due to natural processes. As sea levels continued to lower naturally, sand and mud accumulated along the channels, allowing land to gain more and more space. Human-led land reclamations, starting from 10th century onwards, accelerated this process. By the 14th and 15th century, rising sea levels due to natural processes led to erosion/wearing down of the coast, moving the coastline and dunes further inland. This dune migration was increased by the loss of natural vegetation from cattle overgrazing and people collecting dune grass and wood to build and heat their homes.
Home
Roman period
Back
In the Roman period (1st - 4th century AD), the coastline was several kilometres seawards, due to lower sea levels resulting from natural processes. Belgium’s coast formed a naturally dynamic floodplain composed of water channels, mudflats and saltmarshes. The mudflats along the channels flooded daily with the tides. Parts of the saltmarshes, beyond the mudflats, also flooded during spring tides and storms. Human activity also affected the landscape. People dug out large amounts of peat from the saltmarshes to serve as fuel for salt mining, a key trade product. This peat extraction locally lowered the floodplain, making it more vulnerable to flooding.
Coast - current situation
Home
Here is a typical view of the existing beachscape at the Belgian coast. Today because of climate change, we are facing greater risks of flooding by the sea. A number of possible coastal defense scenarios for the future have been elaborated. What solution would you prefer?
Do nothing
New dunes
Higher dikes
Coastal defense - do nothing
Home
Back
Scientists predict that sea level will rise by about 1 meter on average, and up to 3 meters in the worst case, over the next 100 years. They also expect more frequent and severe storms. This combination of events will cause sudden and catastrophic flooding in our coastal region.
Higher dikes
New dunes
Coastal defense - higher dikes
Home
Back
To protect our coast against the increased risk of flooding, we can build higher, more than 10 meter high, dikes at vulnerable spots. These dikes would also provide space for commercial and recreational activities.
Do nothing
New dunes
Coastal defense - new dunes
Home
Back
To protect our coast against the increased risk of flooding, we can create new, more than 10 meter high, grassed dunes at vulnerable spots. To keep these dunes stable, we need to increase the beach by moving the shoreline 100 meters out to sea. These dunes would also provide space for nature and recreational activities.
Do nothing
Higher dikes
3D image creation
The 3D visuals and images in this application were created by HOWEST department of Digital Arts & Entertainment. Before starting the creation of the images, a visit to the Spioenkop was necessary to take photos of the location from the exact point the visitor would look at the landscape. These images were then used as references for perspective, scale, and viewing angle. These images were essential for accurately recreating the environment in 3D. Using Unreal Engine, to build the scenes of the past, all the historical data that was provided by historians was incorporated. This data encompasses almost every element present in the scene such as the breed of cows, the type of grass, the story elements, the shape of the dunes...etc. For these models, a mix of library meshes, and custom-built assets were used to fill the scene. The use of a 3D environment also allowed us to place multiple cameras to capture different angles so each key activity in the scene could be highlighted. After rendering* the 3D scenes, all the renders were manipulated in Photoshop for better results. Modifications that were implemented ranged from colour correction to image enhancement to AI generations to fill in missing models. An example of these missing models are the humans found in the scenes. Modelling these individually, creating custom clothing fitting the specific time period and posing them in the scene would take way too much time for 1 person to create in a short period of time. So, to avoid empty scenes and add life to the environments, AI was used to create a more immersive image containing humans. Every, element added after the rendering then had to be integrated with photoshop modified manually or painted by hand to seamlessly fit into the environment. For the future scenes, a different approach was taken. The original pictures taken on location were used to keep a sense of presence. Then possible future was predicted with the information from the research of Kustvisie. The changes were less dramatic, so Photoshop was the best option for to quickly obtain results. Again, multiple techniques were employed such as blending AI-generated elements and hand painting to create a believable vision of the future. Furthermore, since the images would not contain story elements or defined (economic) activities no other camera angles were needed.
* Rendering can be compared to taking a picture of the scene and printing it out in your computer. Going from a 3D environment/software to a picture that can be manipulated in Photoshop or printed out.
Credits
https://www.digitalartsandentertainment.be/
The creation of 3D images
The 3D visuals and images in this application were created by HOWEST department of Digital Arts & Entertainment. Before starting the creation of the images, a visit to the Spioenkop site in Wenduine (Belgium) was necessary to take photos of the location from the exact point the visitor would look at the landscape. These images were used as a reference for perspective, scale, and viewing angle, and were essential for accurately recreating the environment in 3D.
https://www.digitalartsandentertainment.be/