[UDK] Overgrown environment

riot

Hello polycount!

Well, first I'll introduce myself. I'm a high school student and I live in Spain. I started playing videogames when I was about 8-9 years old or so, when my father gifted me a PS2. After some time playing (about 5 years) I started to learn how to use photoshop, I was just messing around with it till it became a hobby. So I started to get interested in all about art, I also learned some basic stuff about video editing and started to love art.
So, one day I accidentally ran over a video of a level made in UDK, and I suddenly felt in love with it. I did some research and discovered it was made with UDK, a downloadable game engine and I decided to give it a try. And well, after that I started to become interested in environment art, I learned max and ZBrush and I started my first project . So, well, this is my first project:

The idea when I started this project was to learn how to make good foliage and a broken-down environment. So, I decided to go for an overgrown environment. This is the concept art, it is done by me:



I've also made a doc with the progress and the workflow/problems, the general progress of the level for me to have, but if you want to take a look it is here. Enough talking, now let's move on to the screenshots

This is what I have so far, the modular walls and the bridge:





They still need some more work but I'll leave them like this now, I will finish them when I'll have the foliage and all the assets. However, some critique and advice about what can be improved is welcome. Also, they don't have any specular maps beacause I'm kind of afraid of them, because of what I've tried so far it made 'em look like metal so I will implement them later, when I'll have the other assets.

Next step is making the tiling floor, that should be fun. So, what are your critiques and where/what do you think I should improve?

GabrielP

Really nice concept work there! as for the enviro, it looks like a pretty solid start, but the walls dont really match the concept. it looks like the modeled walls are some odd type of rock wall, where in the concept they are more cementish. interested to see where this goes though

Noting on your fear of specular maps, its well placed, hopfully this can help you as it helped me: http://www.manufato.com/?p=902

nathanbarrett

Will be interesting to see how this develops Good start!

Blaisoid

the concept has a quite nice mood, but it lacks a focal point. the whole canal is pretty empty and unless you can pull off textures that look as painterly as concept, it's probably going to look boring in 3d.

riot

I've got some updates on this level . I've made the floor texture, and I've also modeled the high-poly grass, and baked it to some 2d images. The next step is to edit those images and make the planes with the grass. Anyway, here are some screenshots:





@GabrielP: Thanks, I'll think about that, but when it will be covered with ivy I think it will look just fine. Also, thanks for that link, I've given it a look and it's amazing. I'll read it more in-depth when I'll make the spec maps.

@amile duan Almost there! That video was the inspiration for this level, but the video which I was talking before is this one: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37mWDF2NxK0"]youtube[/ame]. But yeah, that video served as motivation also.

@nathanbarrett: Thanks!

@blaisoid: Someone already told me that this piece lacks of a focal point but I couldn't put anything else because it would have destroyed the composition even more, however if I can make something intersting out of the rock in the right, maybe not a rock but something else, it could serve as a focal point..

So, what are your suggestions and your critiques of what I have so far?

riot

I have finished the grass and added some specular maps to the environment
Here is how it looks so far:

Next step is to make a shader for blending the grass with the ground, I think that one that allows me to paint moss in the ground will look fine..
Also,does anyone have an answer to this question? http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1658549#post1658549

riot

It's been a loong tmie since I updated this thread, my progress was drastically slowed down by school, but I have managed to work a little bit on it and make the ivy. This is what I have so far:


and this is a rough paintover of what I'm planning to add next:

nedwork

Adding Sewer tunnel and small pipes along side the wall would be a good idea

seir

You're not using reference pics.

BARDLER

I think you are having a problem with the concept you created. The concept has no focal point and because of that I think you are struggling on what to do with the big open area right in the foreground. That should be the focal point, but you did not concept it out yet, and you should.

tanka

You really need to push the contrast between the man-made objects and the natural overgrowth. You did it fairly well in the concept, however in 3D the concrete walls are looking like cliffs. At the moment, it looks like a really rigid natural environment.

Make that wall look like concrete, not stone! Also you need to ease up that shadow on the left. It's way too dark and harsh.

Those plants are looking pretty good though, and I think you're going places with this. I would recommend you listen to these guys though and add some sort of focal point to bring the piece together.