Hey guys, first time poster, but I've been a lurker for over a year.
I've been working on a small project for a class these past few months. It's a small open "forum" that will have a tree in the middle. Currently, all the assets are modeled and I'm porting the finished models and textures into UDK.
I've been catching up with baking and engine utilization all though out the process of making it, so the more older assets have kinks in them.
I'll expand on this scene and a proper, large surrounding environment in the coming months as I learn new stuff.
Crits are welcome!
One big class is over, so I got time again to work on this.
First pass textures for the grass and tree.
Crits are welcome!
i think it would look better if you put the tree in the middle of spot so it really looks like the tree is the center where they build the forum around
I like some of the stuff you have so far. The textures are nice, but they need a little more contrast in them or color variation to really show up better. Right now everything is super white. The tree on the other hand needs some love. Ground that tree in the grass with some roots or put some tall grass where the base of the tree is. Something about the roots themselves is very odd as well. They just don't seem natural. Mainly the top 2 roots shouldn't blend into each other with that long of a curve and should have a sharper intersection.
Overall the scene could use a really solid lighting pass. Drop the directional light down to a dark blue color and fill the scene with orange point lights at the top of the arches or something.
Good work so far though and keep it up! Hope I helped a little.
Sorry for the delay, guys. Finals week almost killed me. I'm excited to get back to it in full, barring being blocked by bad texturing.
@ducckz: I moved the tree to the center. It gave it better balance.
@chriszuko: Great help, man! These screens are pre-lightmaps, and they do blow out the contrast. Lightmapped, the textures look better, but I plan to add a vertex paint layer to vary the monotony. I also sculpted the grass circle to gently slope towards the tree, but there are still some edges that stick out. More finessing! The top branches were also modified. Once you pointed it out, it did seem like a weird conjunction of branches.
For lighting, I might switch over the entire thing to the default UDK night time, and go from there until it looks better. The orange point lights gave me an idea for a lantern-type of sculpture.
This is looking extremely inspiring for me. I love the attention to each and every brick and how clean and well organised the scene looks. The circular layout reminds me of World of Warcraft raid encounters.. as they are mostly designed in that way.
I know everything is very WiP at the moment, but I definitely look forward on seeing the tree texture improve a bit. It needs a bit more variation and is too much on the red side at the moment.
All in all, looks very promising and thanks for the motivation . Keep it up!
Ok, big jump with the lamp since last time: I did retopo, textured, and made the material un UDK. The last bit are some firefly particles that are animated and actually fade, but I only have a screencap for it.
At this point, I don't feel I can advance without tackling the biggest hurdle: refining the tree texture and painting decent foliage cards for the tree. I'm taking a course and practicing on my own, but I want to work on another scene (conveniently, without foliage) until I'm better at texturing. I'll get to it in about a month and half.
As soon as possible, I'll be tackling Sozin's Throne Room:
After working on this for months and learning many things, I'm in the final days of putting everything into UDK,tweaking the materials and placing the assets.
Here's are pictures of the door, which I had to make to fit the feel of the concept.
Sure! I don't have any pics when I was building it, but I have an old one from when I was sculpting it in Zbrush:
I sculpted the dragon head completely in 3d, and then I flattened it to give it more of a carved relief feel. The body was a chain brush, the cloud rivulets and extremities were insert brushes.
I decimated everything and baked it to a plane in Maya. I got an alpha from a separate bake with only the metal parts, which helped me texture it and define the metal separately in UDK.
Sure! I don't have any pics when I was building it, but I have an old one from when I was sculpting it in Zbrush:
I sculpted the dragon head completely in 3d, and then I flattened it to give it more of a carved relief feel. The body was a chain brush, the cloud rivulets and extremities were insert brushes.
I decimated everything and baked it to a plane in Maya. I got an alpha from a separate bake with only the metal parts, which helped me texture it and define the metal separately in UDK.
Amazing,
Thanks will hopefully try something similar myself!
After a day of grueling UV'ing and texturing, I tested out the proportions and head of the centerpiece dragon in the scene in relation to the Firelord's throne.
I'll start finishing and "filling in" the textures starting tomorrow while I work on the body of the dragon in parallel. Exciting times!
The shell of the scene is almost complete. I started plugin-in the textures I've made so far, but I'm still unsure about the plaster wall. I think I might have to use decals or vertex-painting to break it up.
loving the dragon door, but I want to see some of that scale pattern on the head a little. It's a really harsh transition from the body to the smooth head.
They were two separate meshes in Zbrush, therefore the hard break. I'll harmonize it better with the centerpiece dragon, which will be tricky due to it's construction. It's a challenge, though!
Here's the latest render:
I'm thinking of adding another light source in the back and play up the throne and dragon. Right now, they are very lost in the darkness.
I've you've got any comments and critique on the scene, let me know!
This looks really great!
I like how the shadows cast from the "holes" in the wall complement the pattern on the carpet, great idea!
I'am sure this will turn out awesome!
Thanks! I struggled since with preserving it while adding the lighting in the back. For now, I think it proved good.
Sadly, this is where I go on hold. I'm going to be too busy for the next two weeks, so there will be no updates on it until then. I'll be reading though, so C&C is more than welcome!
As you can probably see, there is this weird light artifacting happening in the middle seam of the face. It displays as it should (no seam) both in Maya and in the Content Browser in UDK. I also made sure that the lightmap seams are attached going down the middle, to avoid this. But it's still happening, as you guys can see here: http://imgur.com/a/JCZfD (It goes from Unlit, to Lighting only, to Lit)
I think it looks great but the ceiling feels a bit empty. You could try to add some hanging lamps from the ceiling just to add some more visual interest to there, even if the concept does does not contain that.
I got some feedback on how to focus the scene better and draw more focus towards the dragon. It turned out nice. Here are the results!
For now, I can safely say that this is done. There's nothing beyond superfluous that I might want to add. It's been a really good project to go on. Thanks for the feedback and time, everyone!
Ok! After a long hiatus because of school, I decided to do somethign with the extended Thanksgiving weekend. Sadly, I didn't go beyond the sculpt, but hopefully I can re-topo and texture this by the end of next weekend.
I wanted to do a melee weapon with a hand-crafted feel. The combination of a cleaver and a hatchet. Something with range and cutting/crushing weight behind it....
Here's a pic of the research/visdev:
And here's s rushed presentation sheet of the sculpt.
If you guys have any crit or comments for this, let me hear it! Although I might consider moving onto the next steps.
Thanks!
So I got around to texturing this and putting in Marmoset 2.
I still have to do a detail pass, so if you guys or gals know of good ways or tips, or any comments at all, I'd be very glad!
What bothers me is where the blade meets the handle. The wood there is so thin and weakened more by the big screw holes that have been made for it. If you hit anything sturdy the wood would snap at that point. Bit late now, only saw your thread just now. I would have gone for an alternative approach on how to combine the blade and handle.
Yeah, I can see that. I'm hoping that using such a dark color for the wood would give it the feeling of sturdiness and age. I referenced the Australian Buloke for the wood type, lacquered but used.
Semester's over, so I can now focus on something completely NEW.
I'm going to try doing a scifi room based on this concept:
This concept was done by Jeremy Love, and it's the Helicarrier Reactor Room.
Here is some of the reference I gathered. It includes concepts, CG models and real reference of nuclear reactors and LHC.
I want to have a nice circular focal point that emphasizes the main reactor core. I'll start the blockout in maya ASAP, and see if I can some material testing soon too.
So, long break with no info on my last, hmm? That's because I've been interning at Camouflaj since January! Here's a sample of some of the props I made so far:
You can find the full spread at my portfolio website here.
Ok, back to our current programming. Here's what I have managed to do so far, from early shots to some of the UE4 stuff:
My hardest challenge so far has been trying to learn a new workflow and methodology to PBR materials in UE4. How can I best use my masks? How much detail should I put into the diffuse? Should I try to approach it using micro tiling textures like the project examples inside the engine?
Since many peeps are also doing stuff in UE4 (AMAZING STUFF), all crit and help is very welcome.
Today's update!
I modeled the holographic projector and placed it into the scene. The cap has no material as of yet so that I can work soemething fancy enough to pass as an emitter lens later on.
I'll re-model the circular metal ring holding the glass next. Crit is that it is too low-poly for the scene.
Update time! Got some work done after graduation, a trip and some down time. I'm now full time working on this. Here's the latest:
I made a basic material for the hologram, but it's very rough and unfinished. There are some things I want to do to make it better, like an oppacity fade from the top down to give it better volume, and some volumetric distortion as well. Do you guys have any good ways for such an effect?
I moved the camera a bit and added flavor holograms to give more information. I also added some post-process effects. I'm assailing different points now: more props to populate the scene, make a good material for the holographic glass in the middle, tweak the scene stats, etc.
Ok! After critique, I decided to re-do the reactor core and kick it to 11 with all elements. It was 10 days of non-stop laboring, and I'm at a place where I can show it. I'm closing this scene for now and moving on to something different, but I do want to come back later after some distance and apply critique and improvements, so those are very welcome.
Below are the main shots I took. On my folio site ( www.armangelo.com ) you can click on them and get a high-res version.
This scene was a couple of first for me: First sci-fi scene, first UE4 scene, and first PBR fandangling. It was a lot of fun work, and it improved a lot with critique from my friends as I went on working it.
I'm thinking of starting another scene soon and just keep this momentum ball rolling while trying out something different and more challenging. Right now, my starting point is that it should be an exterior scene.
It's about time I update this thread. Since my last post, I've gotten a job and trudged my way to learning more in UE4 by doing another scene completely. Here is what I have so far. A long way to go still.
It's been a long while. I've been busy with work, but I always was a bit reluctant to get started on this scene again. I think it's time I finish it soon and move on to something else.
Replies
Hey guys, first time poster, but I've been a lurker for over a year.
I've been working on a small project for a class these past few months. It's a small open "forum" that will have a tree in the middle. Currently, all the assets are modeled and I'm porting the finished models and textures into UDK.
I've been catching up with baking and engine utilization all though out the process of making it, so the more older assets have kinks in them.
I'll expand on this scene and a proper, large surrounding environment in the coming months as I learn new stuff.
Crits are welcome!
One big class is over, so I got time again to work on this.
First pass textures for the grass and tree.
Crits are welcome!
Overall the scene could use a really solid lighting pass. Drop the directional light down to a dark blue color and fill the scene with orange point lights at the top of the arches or something.
Good work so far though and keep it up! Hope I helped a little.
@ducckz: I moved the tree to the center. It gave it better balance.
@chriszuko: Great help, man! These screens are pre-lightmaps, and they do blow out the contrast. Lightmapped, the textures look better, but I plan to add a vertex paint layer to vary the monotony. I also sculpted the grass circle to gently slope towards the tree, but there are still some edges that stick out. More finessing! The top branches were also modified. Once you pointed it out, it did seem like a weird conjunction of branches.
For lighting, I might switch over the entire thing to the default UDK night time, and go from there until it looks better. The orange point lights gave me an idea for a lantern-type of sculpture.
Can't wait to bake it.
This is looking extremely inspiring for me. I love the attention to each and every brick and how clean and well organised the scene looks. The circular layout reminds me of World of Warcraft raid encounters.. as they are mostly designed in that way.
I know everything is very WiP at the moment, but I definitely look forward on seeing the tree texture improve a bit. It needs a bit more variation and is too much on the red side at the moment.
All in all, looks very promising and thanks for the motivation
At this point, I don't feel I can advance without tackling the biggest hurdle: refining the tree texture and painting decent foliage cards for the tree. I'm taking a course and practicing on my own, but I want to work on another scene (conveniently, without foliage) until I'm better at texturing. I'll get to it in about a month and half.
As soon as possible, I'll be tackling Sozin's Throne Room:
Here's are pictures of the door, which I had to make to fit the feel of the concept.
might I ask how the dragon door was made? A breakdown would be amazing.
Cheers.
I sculpted the dragon head completely in 3d, and then I flattened it to give it more of a carved relief feel. The body was a chain brush, the cloud rivulets and extremities were insert brushes.
I decimated everything and baked it to a plane in Maya. I got an alpha from a separate bake with only the metal parts, which helped me texture it and define the metal separately in UDK.
Amazing,
Thanks
I'll start finishing and "filling in" the textures starting tomorrow while I work on the body of the dragon in parallel. Exciting times!
Here's the latest render:
I'm thinking of adding another light source in the back and play up the throne and dragon. Right now, they are very lost in the darkness.
I've you've got any comments and critique on the scene, let me know!
I like how the shadows cast from the "holes" in the wall complement the pattern on the carpet, great idea!
I'am sure this will turn out awesome!
I need to start figuring out the process on the back of the scene.
Sadly, this is where I go on hold. I'm going to be too busy for the next two weeks, so there will be no updates on it until then. I'll be reading though, so C&C is more than welcome!
As you can probably see, there is this weird light artifacting happening in the middle seam of the face. It displays as it should (no seam) both in Maya and in the Content Browser in UDK. I also made sure that the lightmap seams are attached going down the middle, to avoid this. But it's still happening, as you guys can see here: http://imgur.com/a/JCZfD (It goes from Unlit, to Lighting only, to Lit)
What could be causing this?
For now, I can safely say that this is done. There's nothing beyond superfluous that I might want to add. It's been a really good project to go on. Thanks for the feedback and time, everyone!
I like your gold definition and the excellent job capturing the ornate details adorning all of the walls doors and fixtures.
I love the avatar series and this throne room is a great testament to it. Assuming you pulled it directly from the art book.
I wanted to do a melee weapon with a hand-crafted feel. The combination of a cleaver and a hatchet. Something with range and cutting/crushing weight behind it....
Here's a pic of the research/visdev:
And here's s rushed presentation sheet of the sculpt.
If you guys have any crit or comments for this, let me hear it! Although I might consider moving onto the next steps.
Thanks!
I still have to do a detail pass, so if you guys or gals know of good ways or tips, or any comments at all, I'd be very glad!
I'm going to try doing a scifi room based on this concept:
This concept was done by Jeremy Love, and it's the Helicarrier Reactor Room.
Here is some of the reference I gathered. It includes concepts, CG models and real reference of nuclear reactors and LHC.
I want to have a nice circular focal point that emphasizes the main reactor core. I'll start the blockout in maya ASAP, and see if I can some material testing soon too.
You can find the full spread at my portfolio website here.
My hardest challenge so far has been trying to learn a new workflow and methodology to PBR materials in UE4. How can I best use my masks? How much detail should I put into the diffuse? Should I try to approach it using micro tiling textures like the project examples inside the engine?
Since many peeps are also doing stuff in UE4 (AMAZING STUFF), all crit and help is very welcome.
Still getting my head around UDK's new materials myself so doubt I will be much help, I just try a bunch of stuff and see what looks good.
I modeled the holographic projector and placed it into the scene. The cap has no material as of yet so that I can work soemething fancy enough to pass as an emitter lens later on.
I'll re-model the circular metal ring holding the glass next. Crit is that it is too low-poly for the scene.
Crits and comments always welcome!
I made a basic material for the hologram, but it's very rough and unfinished. There are some things I want to do to make it better, like an oppacity fade from the top down to give it better volume, and some volumetric distortion as well. Do you guys have any good ways for such an effect?
Here's the simple node graph I made so far:
Below are the main shots I took. On my folio site ( www.armangelo.com ) you can click on them and get a high-res version.
This scene was a couple of first for me: First sci-fi scene, first UE4 scene, and first PBR fandangling. It was a lot of fun work, and it improved a lot with critique from my friends as I went on working it.
I'm thinking of starting another scene soon and just keep this momentum ball rolling while trying out something different and more challenging. Right now, my starting point is that it should be an exterior scene.
I learned quite a bit from the slow, methodical detailing I decided to apply here. It'll come in handy when I start doing the rest. Next up: bench.