FF7 Title Screen

RNucci

Hi Everyone,

First time on Polycount. Thought I'd share one of my projects for critique and enjoyment. Let me know what you guys think.

Magihat

Lighting need some work. It is way too dark. The dust is also quite unconvincing. It's sad because the sword model is really good and you can hardly even see it. Did some adjustments below, hope they help!

RNucci

Lighting need some work. It is way too dark. The dust is also quite unconvincing. It's sad because the sword model is really good and you can hardly even see it. Did some adjustments below, hope they help!

Thanks for the input, Magihat. I don't think we're quite on the same page though with the darkness. I actually made it dark on purpose because in the original title screen, the whole sword is lit up even though the beam of light doesn't actually fall across the whole thing. That always annoyed me, so when I made this as a more photorealistic take I purposefully left much of the sword in the dark to better illustrate the isolation of a single object in a single beam of light. And also to add some mystery to the blade.

In terms of the smoke, I'm curious what you found unconvincing about it in particular? I noticed in your mockup you added light rays and dusts motes. Were you expecting them and their absence is what seemed unconvincing? or is there some other aspect that you took issue with?

RNucci

I should have mentioned that this scene wasn't to showcase the sword itself but to recreate the original title screen in a more photorealistic context. the model is actually from another scene I did where I did want to showcase the details of the blade, hilt, crossguard, etc. I was going to save it for my next post once I got some comments from this one, but you seemed a bit disappointed by the lack of emphasis, so here you go. Way to force my hand lol.

Magihat

I see. I might have had a different idea about what this was supposed to be so it's good that you clarified.

I do think that the reason they made the light unrealistic in the original game was because it made it much more visually appealing. In your render my eye is mostly drawn towards the bright ground than anything else and I doubt that is the point? The thing with the dust is that yours look a lot like just render-clouds with a fade I don't really get the sense of light streaming in. I added stuff to heighten the visual interest which I thought was lacking. Entirely subjective if it does or not tho.

VeryCrunchyTaco

Your model and that last image are really heckin' dope!  I like it  

Also, I personally agree with @Magihat 's input, and like his edit a bit more; the focal point of the shot is the sword, which I felt looked a bit cooler.

I understand if you were going for something different, and that's totally okay.  I do feel if you'd prefer to go with a more photorealistic style (and keep the bulk of the blade a secret), it'd be neat to darken the ground a bit.  That way, our eyes go to that gleam on the sword, rather than jumping down to the ground.