Ancient City Environment
polycounter lvl 11
Updated final concept:
Check the last page of the thread for the most recent WIP 3D update.
Original post:
I've been planning to make a sizable ancient-temple themed environment for some time now, and today I've finally committed to it and drawn up a couple of rough concept sketches:
The plan is to make one of these two concepts into a game-ready scene in UE3 over the next month or so. Right now I'm leaning towards the top one as it's a bit more closed off. No plans currently for making it usable as a multiplayer map, I'm just focusing on making it look as sweet as possible for my portfolio.
A bit of flavor story I whipped up while sketching: these are the ruins of a forgotten civilization that was very advanced for its time but encountered some kind of disaster that wiped them out. The atmosphere evoked by the ruins is that of the bittersweet and mysterious -- awe for what was, paired with a wistfulness for what could have been. Although I'm labeling it "temple scene" in my WIPs, that's just because of the refs I'm using for inspiration. Generally the scene is meant to be from the upper class section of an ancient city.
Let me know what you think! Harshest of crits welcome at any point.
Check the last page of the thread for the most recent WIP 3D update.
Original post:
I've been planning to make a sizable ancient-temple themed environment for some time now, and today I've finally committed to it and drawn up a couple of rough concept sketches:
The plan is to make one of these two concepts into a game-ready scene in UE3 over the next month or so. Right now I'm leaning towards the top one as it's a bit more closed off. No plans currently for making it usable as a multiplayer map, I'm just focusing on making it look as sweet as possible for my portfolio.
A bit of flavor story I whipped up while sketching: these are the ruins of a forgotten civilization that was very advanced for its time but encountered some kind of disaster that wiped them out. The atmosphere evoked by the ruins is that of the bittersweet and mysterious -- awe for what was, paired with a wistfulness for what could have been. Although I'm labeling it "temple scene" in my WIPs, that's just because of the refs I'm using for inspiration. Generally the scene is meant to be from the upper class section of an ancient city.
Let me know what you think! Harshest of crits welcome at any point.
Replies
I think (in my opinion) you should combine those 2 concepts, have the first 1 being your overall scene, having the second one (with that little temple / shine) being the main focus in your scene. I think it would make the scene much more interesting, but hopefully not too crowded (which may be the case).
I think either way, try working those 2 ideas into 1, having a nice and clear main focal point, while telling the overall story with the background scenery.
I honestly can't wait to see what you cook up Zack, great starting concepts.
I'm looking forward to seeing this develop.
Sage - These are just quickish sketches so I tried to stay loose while working, but running a sharpen on them now probably will help. I'll check it out.
Jason - Thanks man! I'm going for something of a balance, where there is a dark side to it but it's still generally lively and colorful. So, a sort of duality, where it seems serene yet unsafe at the same time. I hadn't thought of unusual plant life, what did you have in mind? It could be cool to push things in a little bit of a fantasy direction with the plant life, and might even hint at why the city is abandoned. For the scene composition I'm thinking along similar lines, possibly moving the little shrine off to the left of the top concept on the path past the arch.
kp and Brad: Thanks guys, I'm really pumped about it.
PS i like the bottom one the best.
looking forward to any updates on this
I've decided to develop the first concept as my primary mood concept, but the structures in the second will definitely make an appearance in the 3D scene itself. Still, it would be good for me to know: for those who prefer the second over the first, what qualities about it did you like most? The structures themselves, the scale of the area, the lighting, something else? For what it's worth, I'm going with the first because it feels much more enclosed and mysterious, like there is a quiet struggle between the ruins and the encroaching jungle. Also the way the view is from a shadowed area to a highlighted area feels more dramatic.
Virtuosic - Yeah, I've lurked your thread for a bit, and it was probably a big factor in giving me the idea to do an environment like this.
Blackula - Really glad to hear it, Fumito Ueda is a huge inspiration for me.
divi - I really like the idea of having a sense that something is hiding in the shadows and watching you, whether or not something actually is there. I'm definitely going for that kind of vibe, where the place seems really peaceful but there's a weirdness to it where something doesn't quite seem right. The inhabitants might not care about the upkeep much though (and might not even be human), so I'm still going to try cranking up the foliage and decay several notches.
Here is a quick color pass on what is now the primary concept. I haven't gotten to any detailing or foliage changes yet, but I did whip up some subtle god rays.
Also, what is that thing crawling over the railing in the foreground? Is it a baby elephant? I like elephants.
Looking forward to more man!
but thats something that doesnt necessarily need to go into the concept. i like butterflies (sounds gay
Vig - Thanks again man, yeah I'm going to keep things a bit gold/green filtered overall to convey the ideas of swampiness and poisonous atmosphere.
Scooby - Oh man, awesome! I hope you took a few hundred gigs worth of camera mem with you.
divi - Well, I don't want the scene to feel too inviting, plus it would be a lot of work to have any animated wildlife. I might do something like birds circling overhead though. Thanks for the suggestions.
So here's my end of the day update. I've started amping up the foliage and decay but I think I could still go a lot farther with it.
Just a couple gausien blurs for the midground and far background to help focus on the higher detailed forground. Little desaturation at the top to help with the illusion of depth.
Used a mask to isolate the background and played with the curves editor, using the seperate red, blue and green channels to toy with the color a bit, really cool way of adding little nuances to your piece, especially with a mask to isolate specific regions.
The original was kick ass, and obviously this is all subjective, but i heard you were looking to add more color variety and this is how i would go about it
I'm finally back on this project and it's full steam ahead! Here's today's update on the concept:
The inclusion of the trees in the foreground was a really good idea. I might angle them more, seeing as they are probably on a steep slope or growing out of the chasm there.
But, please be done with the concepting phase so I can see some of this in real-time!!!!
--Wait, it looks like there is a suggestion of a ground plane there, very close to the balcony. I liked the idea this balcony being pretty high off the ground, but maybe that's just silly.
Looks amazing!
Kaburan: How's that hangar coming? Haven't seen an update on it for a bit.
Thewiruz: Yep, there are a few photo images I've used for foliage in the foreground. I actually took most of the photos myself from walking around my previous apartment complex -- Gainesville is such a swampy jungle it's almost absurd.
Got another update. I should have put a standing dude in the scene way earlier to help with scale, oops! Roughed in a big face over the door and leafy vines, along with various minor changes.
It's coming along well, i'll be posting an update soon ^^
When this all goes over to 3d will you try to keep the painterly look of your concept? or will you go for a more photoreal look?
I think that lighting can help for the serene but not safe feel. Having lots of sunlight and still having areas kind of in the shadows and hidden will open it up to having inhabitants that you can't see.
Also if it is an advanced civilization and is a part of the upperclass area then you might try putting gold in places as it is a symbol of wealth and power, and will really pop with the foliage.
And I agree with Stefander that if you want more color, I think red would be a good choice.
Just some thoughts. Great job so far. I can't wait for updates.
very nice)
Cant wait to see more. You must show us all the way as you progress in modelling..I see this as a great tutorial tool to start a project from scratch. What program you going to model this in?
(How about some jungle ropes hanging from the trees, something really close up and in your face, showing lots of detail, like the left and right side is all in the same plane, so you need something to step the dimension) Just a thought, love it already also as it is.
kaburan: Cool, looking forward to it.
Ben Apuna: I'll be going for a mostly photorealistic look in the 3D work. A painterly version would be a lot of fun to work on, but I'm using this as a key portfolio piece and the studios I intend to apply to lean heavily toward the photorealistic side.
GugloPWN: I've been thinking that below the structures there's a really swampy river that flows from the distant waterfall.
silver_shadow: For sure, I'll keep the thread updated with 3D progress. I'll be using 3DS Max and zbrush for modeling. Good idea on the foreground rope, I'll try experimenting with that and some extreme foreground foliage.