Unreal Engine 4 Dwarf Heralds Uncanny Valley Passage

What you're about to see will make you a true believer in the future of computer-rendered film. It'll do that even though what you're going to see is a rendering made with a gaming engine. Not to worry, though, the folks behind the engine are fully aware of what they have on their hands. The creator of this masterpiece of a rendering goes by the name Baolong Zhang, he's a 3D character and environment artist, and he's working here with Unreal Engine 4. Imagine the possibilities in virtual reality with this type of work – meet your best buddy dwarf and have a pint with him!SEE ALSO: The Hobbit VR hands-on: a Thief in the Shadows

We had a chat with Unreal Engine General Manager Ray Davis last year about how Unreal Engine 4 will be affecting the film industry. We'd just finished experiencing a very similar sort of expression of fantasy made reality in a virtual reality presentation called "Thief in the Shadows" – also pinched from the universe of The Hobbit.

"UE4 is a natural fit for building this type of cinematic VR experience due to the both photorealistic capabilities of the rendering technology and also the rapid iteration focus of the toolset," said Davis.

"This allows developers to reach a new level of immersive quality in crafting these experiences and to quickly work with a team to refine and polish that experience to meet the unique challenges of developing for VR. We strive to make UE4 the go-to engine for anyone looking to push into this new medium and to make sure the team is able to hit the ground running with production on their concept."

The dwarf here was made by a completely different artist than what we saw with Thief in the Shadows. That was done by WETA, the people who made The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. This dwarf was made by a fan! If a fan can accomplish something as extraordinary as this, think of the possibilities when it comes to film and virtual reality experiences therein!

BONUS: Here's the same artist as created the dwarf above, this time creating Daenerys Stormborn of the House Targaryen, the First of Her Name, the Unburnt, Queen of Meereen, Queen of the Andals and the Rhoynar and the First Men, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, Breaker of Chains, and Mother of Dragons. Otherwise more popularly known as Khaleesi, or the actress Emilia Clarke.

Look like the future of entertainment and interactive experiences to you? Have a peek at our Unreal Engine 4 tag portal for more.