“Our goal with our artwork is to create a space that we’ve never seen in reality, but that might yet be discovered,” explains Minjin Kang and Mijoo Kim, the collaborative duo behind Mue Studio. “Somewhere that has a vast view of nature, where you can simply sit down to watch the sunset and sunrise. These times of day evoke subtle emotions, the types of melancholy and mysterious sensations that we want to bring into our scene.”

The New York based studio’s artistic style is distinctive – they most characteristically create scenes of calm, pastel spaces, surreal zones that lend themselves well to introspective meditation. To date, Mue has been featured in multiple creative publications around the world including Dezeen, Trendland, Aesthetica Magazine, and ArtStar.

Into Illusion, Somewhere in the World by Mue Studio

Minjin and Mijoo share a background in photography; they both followed the same academic trajectory, albeit on slightly different timelines, and then, independently, ended up moving to New York.

“We’d grown to trust one another’s work and feedback throughout our studies,” they explain. “Mue Studio grew out of the collaborative projects that we began to work on, such as The Paradise at the End of New York , and later The Modern Paradise series in Miami, Los Angeles, Germany, Korea, and other parts of New York.”

The Modern Paradise - Calpe, Spain by Mue Studio

Around 2017 the pair began to incorporate 3D software into their artistic process, initially working with Project Felix, the predecessor to Adobe Dimension. They quickly saw the potential of this tool in pushing their 2D creative boundaries into the 3D field.

A Semi-Surreal 3D Tutorial : Leaves on Water by Mue Studio 

Minjin and Mijoo are drawn to the light of the rising or setting sun. “Sunrise and sunset represent the cycle of nature, combining both human and non-human living. They allow us to draw upon a wide range of inferences, colors, tones, and compositions to provoke strong feelings in our audience and give us the opportunity to effectively use soft, directional lighting. because the sky during these times presents a full spectrum of colors with various details, we can create a more interesting image overall.”

Somewhere in the World II by Mue Studio

Recently Mue Studio collaborated with the Adobe Substance 3D team to create the project Surreal Interior Design. With the creative direction provided by the Substance team, Minjin and Mijoo created concept art in their distinctive tranquil style, including the objects, layout, and camera frame. 

"Our goal with our artwork is to create a space that we’ve never seen in reality, but that might yet be discovered. Somewhere that has a vast view of nature, where you can simply sit down to watch the sunset and sunrise," shares the duo. 

Mue’s original concept for Surreal Interior Design

Mue Studio passed their initial concept to the Substance 3D team, who then tapped into the Substance ecosystem to bring Mue Studio’s vision to life. The scene was recreated in Substance 3D Stager and the team added fine detail and textures with Substance 3D Painter. 

The recreation of the Mue scene by the Adobe Substance 3D team

“The women from Mue Studio have a very serene approach to architectural design,” says Laura Vitolina, one of the Substance 3D artists who . “I find their images evoke a very relaxed feeling. Their initial, minimalist designs were great in their own right, but they also worked well as a canvas to showcase how textures can bring another dimension to a scene.”

“It was truly amazing to watch our original image turn into a magnificent 3D scene thanks to the Adobe team. We enjoyed following the team’s processes, and this convinced us that incorporating the Adobe Substance 3D tools into our own processes can really elevate our work,” Mue Studio shares. 

Alternate camera angle of Surreal Interior Design

See the full project, including the behind the scenes process, on Behance.