[UE4] ROME | CHURCH of SANT'IVO
polycounter lvl 3
Hello Everyone, I am currently working on a project focusing on modular modeling kit and leveling up my skill set in lighting, color and composition. The project is inspired by the baroque architecture of the Roman Church of Sant'Ivo.
I will be posting WIP shots regularly. All feedback is welcome and encouraged.
More images available here - ROME | CHURCH of SANT'IVO
I will be posting WIP shots regularly. All feedback is welcome and encouraged.
More images available here - ROME | CHURCH of SANT'IVO
Replies
I'm mocking up some quick materials. So far I have only mocked up the cobblestone. The rest are the built-in UE4 materials which I will be replacing shortly with my own materials.
Next I will be replacing the BSP block out with LP geo and create more materials.
Base Cobblestone WIP from Designer
Base Cobblestone WIP in UE4
- Replacing some BSP meshes with models
- Lighting and mood adjustments
- Testing Lightmap
There is still a lot more to be done.
New materials and light map adjustments.
The start of my modular kit.
Feel free to comment on things that look off or needs to be reworked.
Eventually I would like to add some foliage assets, add dirt and grime to the assets, I might play with adding some banners or flags, more models and model variation, and play with adding some puddles into the low shadowed parts of the cobblestone.
Ah yes, creeping vines and potted plants would add a nice touch. I will try those out and that will give me a good excuse to add more color as well. Thanks for the suggestions.
Looks like you're almost there, I think the main thing standing out is the courtyard which could either use some random details (missing stones, puddles or some suitable greebles like a delivery); at the very least it would benefit from a macro texture to break up the repeating tiles.
Well done, great work.
Things have really been picking up at work so I have not had much time to work on this piece.
The biggest change is the lighting. Something about it was really bugging me so I started over from the ground up.
I also was experimenting with foliage and adding some proxy flag meshes just as tests. They still need to be refined.
Next I will be adding more details to my current models and taking many of your suggestions people have posted on this thread. I am seeing some great feedback and cool ideas to try out.
- Foliage
- Decals
- Props!
- Puddles
- Grime and wear!
I have experience the same frustrating issue you have with seams appearing in your level. To help you better I have a couple questions.
What engine are you using?
Are you using baked lighting? If so, do you see these seams before or after you light bake?
Seams are usually caused by a few things, your models are not snapping to your grid correctly, your baking settings are not high enough quality, your light map resolution may not be high enough, or other baking settings need to be adjusted to compensate for light leaking from your light maps.
My models are built to snap perfectly together to avoid any gaps between models where the baker could detect light leaking through.
In some cases, seams are unavoidable but you can find other creative ways to hide them by adding other objects over them. For example vines, pipes, columns etc..
Another solution could be to make your repeating objects in larger chunks and connecting them so they don't have seams as often and keep your UV islands as large as possible to minimize your UV seams.
Resources: (From UE4 but some concepts are relevant for other engines.
https://forums.unrealengine.com/development-discussion/content-creation/18356-modular-asset-lighting-problem?46269-Modular-Asset-Lighting-Problem=
In most cases you don't need custom lightmap UVs for UE4, their packing system is pretty good, but if you do, this may help
https://docs.unrealengine.com/latest/INT/Engine/Content/Types/StaticMeshes/LightmapUnwrapping/
https://docs.unrealengine.com/latest/INT/Engine/Rendering/LightingAndShadows/Lightmass/#gettingthebestqualitywithlightmass
I hope this helps to get you started.
Light map seams are touched on near the end of the video in the Q&A section but setting up your UVs correctly among other concepts they talk about should definitely help as well.
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/207527702
Found some time to work on this between projects.
Adding new arch, ceiling and trim models
Adjusting material roughness and reflections
Testing out some new compositions and using some warmer lighting.
- I wonder if it would be worthwhile (depending on how the UVs are mapped) if you could use a world position to offset the U/V direction of that granite texture? It is pretty noticeable of the same pattern repeated over and over. Might be worthwhile to do for variation. Or do another version, and do a vertex blend between the two. That might be a better option, you could create one map (already made) that had the directional horizontal lines, and then another map that has no directionality but the same detail, and then blend between the two using vertex alpha. Both would be sweet.
- I think the scale of the cobblestone is a bit small, i wouldnt increase it alot. But a bit, so they read a bit better from higher up, and better to the refs.
Also, the grass/moss you have right now, I dont think looks natural. I'd look at a couple images, i found two decent ones.
http://c8.alamy.com/comp/DXM979/italy-rome-view-to-courtyard-of-sant-ivo-alla-sapienza-DXM979.jpg
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mPPwGRj9Wsw/UVOHtlCj2mI/AAAAAAAAIVs/KY_Z3o4_qfk/s640/IMG_0611.jpg
- Notice how the cracks between are the only parts that have moss/grass/weeds, and the viewing angle is actually the only thing that makes it look like there is moss on the surface of actual stones? Its just the height variation of the weeds, and the viewing angle of the shots. The stone surfaces themselves are actually free of moss.
Keep going!
Awesome feedback Shabba! I like your vertex blending idea and I plan on implementing that capability into the shaders and models soon. I think I might be able to use that same method to create the moss in the cobblestone more accurately like you mentioned. Honestly the cobblestone is a hack job at the moment that really needs some more love. Having the moss in the cracks and scale will definitely be something I'll address in the near future after polishing and building additional structural pieces.
Thank you!
As nothing is ever "done" to us artists I decided to come back to this project to enhance some lighting, color grading and composition techniques. Especially playing with some recently added features in UE4.
- Added new models and materials and refined some existing ones
- More refined lighting
- New compositions and re-crafted older ones
- Subtle volumetric materials and FX to mimic small particles of dust in the air (in addition to standard volumetric fog)
- Tweaked color grading for a more natural and moody feel
I believe it is important to nail the foundation of the environment before jumping into small details. The church in the vista still needs a polish pass. After that, its off to the fine details that really make the environment pop and bring life and story to the space.
Stay tuned! More images to come.
As always, any feedback no matter how small is appreciated. I love hearing your ideas.
A few of you have some fantastic ideas that I will be getting around to in the detail phase!
Thanks @garcellano and @Finnn for the suggestions!
Enjoy!
An article I did on my Rome: Church of Sant'Ivo scene with 80 Level.
Discussed a few concepts ranging from blockout, modular assembly, lighting, post process, composition and more.
Original Article Here: Complex Modular Architecture Environment in UE4