UDK Castle interior (Image Heavy)

Logan5

Hey guys

Thought it was about time I posted some of my work up here rather than just looking at everyone else's. I've been working on this for the past couple of weeks or so in my spare time. I decided to go for a "dungeon" interior (not influenced by Skyrim in ANY way at all) set in some sort of crumbling fortress. I want to give the impression that the place is still inhabited but has been poorly maintained and thus has fallen into decay.

This is a portfolio piece so I've been somewhat generous with polycount's here and there and certainly with some texture sizes although I don't think there's anything in there that's too OTT (it's just not optimised very well).

Anyways......

***UPDATED IMAGES***







***OLD IMAGES***











Thanks for looking, C and C's most welcome

I should also point out that the fire FX is standard UDK not mine.

FunkaDelicDass

Looks nice, maybe a little too dark on my monitors though. Looks like your diffuse textures are all consistently dark. Maybe lighten up the stone so some of the wood/metals pop a little more.

The lighting could use some more color variation. The torch particles are a very rich orange but the light they're giving off looks more white-ish.

Logan5

Hey FunkaDelic, thanks for your comments, totally agree with you about the lighting. Ive got a couple more small assets I want to add, so once I've done that I'm gonna tweak the lighting and post pro stuff. I'll definitely sort those issues out before I call it done.

haba_haba

great work man, especially on stone. Maybe you could add some light beams from holes in the ceiling and little flying dust/particles

Kbrom12

Looks great dude, I agree with the comments above and I will add that in the first picture you linked, the door looks very tiny. Not sure if its the perspective or something else but the door is small. The barrel's above it look huge compared to it, and the stairs look even bigger. It also looks like you scaled it down and kinda squashed it. You can see the rock arch in the first pic above the door is very squished down, its almost like you scaled it just to make it fit but its something to look into since its throwing the proportions off to me.

Logan5

@haba_haba - Thanks man. Strange I'm using the lightshaft feature in UDK but it doesnt seem to be showing up in the screenshots for some reason. I dont know whether its an angle thing but it looks fine when its running in UDK, I'll re-render the shots when I figure that one out.

@Kbrom12 - I see what you mean but thats a camera perspective thing I think. Its not clear in the screenshot but there is a small section of roof above the door that juts out slightly, I think I might alter that.

sybrix

You have some really nice and rich texture work on those floor stones and door. I'm really digging it! :thumbup:

However the scene seems so dark and there is so little tonal variation that elements seem to be blending into each other. It took me a while to even notice your crates, barrels, etc in the room in some shots, they're so shadowy and the same shade of brown. I would play around with varying the colors of your props. The barrels, crates, and burlap sack being the exact same shade/value is making them sort of bland. For instance I think the metal rings around the barrels could be a more silvery metallic color, and the cloth on the crate would stand out more with a whiter color or maybe even a dingy red/blue or something.

SINtuition

Very cool man, I love the texture work on the stones. I'm scratching my head trying to figure out how you did it!

I just have a few comments about the lighting. I noticed blue sky through the holes in the ceiling. With the exposure of the view(that of a dark room) that sky would be raging bright, so maybe a strong bloom and some light shafts. Also, with those white spots on the floor, they should be throwing some secondary illumination onto the walls. Final gather can be costly, but a quick cheat might be a few well placed point lights.

Edit:Not final gather, lol. I meant lightmass.

Snader

Also applies to the chandelier and banner-poles.

Logan5

@sybrix - Thanks for the comments man. I know what you mean about the texture values, its all kinda merging into one at the moment but rest assured I'll sort that out when I finish adding a couple more props, along with the lighting and maybe a few post pro tweaks, I have a feeling that post pro could be responsible for some of the heavy shadowing Im getting as Ive tweaked the values slightly (maybe too much ).

@Sintuition - I originally had the bloom higher but the light shafts (that for some reason havent rendered out) started to get crazy bright so I toned it back a tad, I'll definitely look at tweaking it though and trying to find the right balance. I see what you mean about the sky it definitely needs some more bloomage.

@Snader - Yeah that chandelier is a pain in the ass. Its position means that the light shafts (invisible light shafts, that I promise are actually there) have a tendancy to hide it completely. I think once Ive altered the texture values that might not be a problem anymore, but yeah I need to start making some of these props pop alot more.

Ive taken a couple of days away from this as Ive been working on it pretty much non-stop. Im gonna try and address the problems with it over the next few days, so watch this space and keep those C and Cs comin!!

Logan5

@SINtuition - Forgot to mention the stone block textures are all pretty much done the same way, I just ZBrushed up a few blocks, instanced them around in max then slapped a flat plane behind them and used Maxs paint deformation tool to extrude it between the stones to act as grout....gotta have some grout

tda

Nice dude, i have a beef with that chandelier though. If it were only hanging on by those two ropes it really ought to be hanging vertically, right now it's kinda floating impossibly in mid air.

Kratilim

Looking nice man. You could try some fake lightshafts that blend to invisible if you get closer to them. Would probably make for a nice effect. Also, I think the walls, while they look nice, are a tad flat and boring, maybe you could try to push some blocks outward, or bring some variation to them to make them more interesting. Maybe add some moss or something?

Keep up the good work!

Logan5

@tda - Thanks dude, see what you mean about the chandelier, its a bit off, I'll just rotate it some more or add another support rope as I kinda want to keep the angle rather than have just vertical.

@Kratilim - Cheers mate! The walls do look a bit too flat which has been bugging me. Ive actually used a heightmap to bump offset it a bit but thats not really making much difference. I think I'll rebake the heightmap AND add some subtle geo here and there to really break it up.

Im gonna keep working on this, although I need to get it done soonish as I'm looking to start applying for jobs soon. My current studio has decided to switch from making pc/console titles to making simple browser stuff so Im thinking there aint gonna be much call for my 3D art skills :P

Anyways keep those crits coming, and help me push this to the limits!!!

marr

looking good...the thing that sticks out most to me that might need attention, before worrying about lighting and like, is the some of the walls look like flooring textures.

Logan5

@Snader - Oh shit I didn't see the pic, my studio blocks most of the image hosting sites so I cant see a whole lot from my work PC, thanks for the tips dude!!

@Marr - Thanks man, glad you like the scene. I'm not too worried about the wall texture, I think once I make some adjustments to the heightmap (bump offset) and add a little geo it will look loads better, if not I can always swap for the other wall texture :P

Logan5

Ok heres a quick update, Ive tried to address most of the issues above, in particular getting those props to stand out a bit more and lessen the monotone look. I still want to add some puddles via mesh painting and use the same technique to get some nice moss variation on the walls. Let me know what you guys think!

marq4porsche

I like this scene, your textures are great and the environment is very solid. I think some dark blue shadowy areas can really help the overall contrast.

Gannon

Lightings looking better, I think the bloom on the fire's too much though. Also there's probably too much smoking coming from it, It's like being fueled by tires.

Logan5

@marq4porsche - Thanks man glad you like it!! I´ll certainly give changing the shadow colour a try. I brightened the overall scene as you can see by boosting some of the texture values and altering the post pro slightly, my fear is that its gonna end up going from having excessive contrast to looking washed out. So yeah I need to keep some of that contrast but get rid of the ultra dark shadows.

@Gannon - Yeah I agree with you on the torches, I definitely plan to tone them back a bit. As Ive stated at the top of this thread they are the standard ones from UDK so I guess Im gonna have to see what I can adjust and get them looking a bit more cohesive with the rest of the scene.

Sako

Awesome! 0_o

easterislandnick

The modelling is great but It's all very brown! How about some colour on the walls or a different stone type for the floor, maybe some tapestries on the wall? I know if you go to a castle now they are very austere and pretty much all stone but they would have been more lived in when they were being used. Perhaps really tatty runner carpets or maybe straw on the floor. All I am seeing is the same brick repeated, try different size bricks for the roof, perhaps some wood up there? Have a look at Uncharted 2s use of colour, just because it's fallen into disrepair doesn't mean it has to be all one colour!

Logan5

@Sako - Thanks man, its been a lot of fun to work on.

@easterislandnick - Thanks man, I was actually planning to push the colours a bit more as the stone in particular does look similar throughout. As for your other suggestions I totally agree and was planning to add some moss to the walls and straw decals to the floor (Im also gonna vertex paint some cubemapped puddles in there as soon as I get the shader to work properly!! My housemate just finished Uncharted 3 so maybe I'll take a break and have a play through that, get some inspiration!!

Logan5

OK, so finally I've got this piece to a stage where I feel its worth an update. Ive reworked the main wall texture as it was pretty obvious that the normals weren't really poping at all. I've relit the scene taking SINtuition's advice of throwing some extra omnis in there to simulate some bounced light.

On the whole I'm kinda happy with it. It needs a few extra bits and pieces (straw decals for the floor, maybe a puddle shader too, couple more weapon assets) just to fill the space out a bit more and make things a bit more interesting. I'll probably go back and tweak the lighting some more and the post pro but I want to get this wrapped up and start something new.

anyways.......







C and C's welcome as always.

ParoXum

I think the godrays/lightshafts color doesnt fit here, it's a too saturated yellow, somehow like if the dust flying in the room was yellow. the yellow smoke above the fire particle is wrong as well in my opinion, smoke unless lit from under, should'nt be that color, unless it's burning sulfur or something.

From a lighting perspective I found previous update better, it had less direct light sources fighting.

Logan5

@ParoXum - Hey thanks for your comments man. I agree about the godrays, I was gonna make some tweaks to the lighting when Im done adding stuff so I´ll be sure to look at that along with the torches.
I have to say I didnt really like how it was lit before, I totally agree about there being conflicting light sources but I found the last update to be too monotone and flat, whereas Im looking to bring out the colours a bit more this time and really push the contrast of the scene. I guess I'll tone down the torches a bit and make them more secondary. I´ve had a real hard time lighting this one.

Im gonna be working on this all weekend so I´ll post my progress next week.

seir

Great that you added color variations with foliage but I think the ivy is to shiny when looking to other green colors in this color palette. I'm not saying that it should be in the same color but it's to different now. Try this: http://colorschemedesigner.com

Noors

i don't think torches generate so much smoke too. It's oil burning, not wet wood.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yIqqNbEYPE

almighty_gir

what might suit better here, is having it night time outside, so your godrays produce a subtle white/blue light rather than the daylight yellow.

you might find it compliments better.

Clark Coots

nice this is looking good

Delvolta

Looking great mr Logan. I will suggest take out 2 torches from the scene, leaving one for light reference, and contrast the scene more by giving it more shadows. I don't think the light will bounce evenly all around. Most of it will be absorb.

Brilliant though.

Logan5

@seir - Yeah man, I was going through some screenshots for uncharted and love the vibrance of their foliage. I guess I went a little overboard!! I´ll knock it back a little to keep things cohesive.
@Noors - Hey man, those torches are actually from one of the standard UDK maps but I agree they are a bit on the intense side, I´ll be toning them back (and probably loosing a few), also thanks for the ref!!
@almighty_gir - I cant tell you the troubles Ive had lighting this thing Its definitely taught me alot about UDK and also that I need to study lighting more :P I'll give a night time scene a try, the only concern is that I dont want the scene to end up black and getting the right amount of ambient light in the scene is proving tough enough with a daytime setting!!
@coots7 - Thanks mate, its been a blast to work on, learnt alot from this.
@Delvolta - Cheers pal, I totally agree with you about loosing the torches, I´m gonna give it a go for sure. As I told you earlier I know what I want its just my inexperience at lighting stuff in UDK thats holding me back a bit. Im determined to finish this and have it look like it does in my dreams :P

almighty_gir

i was lucky enough to get this as a freebee at a london polycounter meetup, but it's been insanely helpful, i'd strongly advise you get it if you haven't already:
http://www.eat3d.com/udk_lighting

Logan5

Yeah I think something like that would help me out a great deal. For 54 bucks its not gonna break the bank. I think lighting is definitely the weakest part of my game at the mo and its probably worth investing in some good learning material. Thanks for the link almighty_gir Im gonna order it tonight

Logan5

Ok after many hours messing about with my lighting setup I think I've finally got the look I wanted. Special thanks to delvolta who really helped me a lot with this one. I've also tightened up my vertex paint shader so that the moss growth looks a little more realistic, I added a few decals on the floor for straw and dead leaves etc and a few more bits and pieces. I'm not planning to go back to this now as I'm fairly pleased with it and can't really justify spending any more time on it. Looking forward to my next project which will probably be Sci-Fi related Anyways...








C and C's welcome

Delvolta

Looks fantastic man. It really came along nicely. On your next scene add a nice focal point, my eyes need a place to rest after looking at these impressive scenes. ;D

Logan5

Haha thanks man, yeah looking forward to the next one now, just looking around at concepts at the moment. Gonna try to do something a bit more epic next, I'm thinking crashed alien spaceship but who knows!! :P