[UDK] Mars Base

mats effect

Hey guys been working on this for a bit and wondering if I could get some feedback.

Layout based on a concept by Sam Brown







To Do
-Add Pipes coming out of open panels
-Texture the Wall section with the screen (its just block colours atm)
-Add glass to windows
-Make outside landscape
-Another texture pass across the environment
-Several more lighting passes

Wingednosering

I'm a student myself, so take my suggestions with a grain of salt:

-The Hallway seems very narrow compared to Sam Brown's concept pieces.

-For this sci-fi style, everything should be minimalistic and sleek. Your lights right now feel very boxy and low-tech compared to the rest of the scene.

-You should be playing with the lighting fairly early. I would recommend ditching your emissive lighting (it's expensive and gives you very little control) and instead go with spotlights, since they'll have real directionality (assuming you're matching the concepts). Point lights will wash out the scene.

-The key to Sam Brown's concepts (and many sci-fi scenes in general) is in specularity and reflectivity. For something like this I would actually work with just normals/spec/gloss to begin with and save the diffuse for the very end. Ideally you'd want the diffuse to just be dirt surrounded by a dark/midtone gray. Let your specs and reflections bring out the colour you're after.

mats effect

Hey guys bit of an update, still not happy with a lot of stuff but feel its worth posting for some external feedback.

I decided to get rid of the outside view for now anyway, felt it was in my best interest to focus on the corridor itself for now.

(NOTE the light models I am using are some default ones that come with UDK. I will model my own once I am happy with the lighting set up.)

mats effect

Another update, still a lot to do but slowly improving I think

chrisradsby

The problem with a corridor though is just that, it's a corridor. It doesn't get much more interesting that that. You're limiting yourself when making such a tight corridor. Sure there are lots of these type of corridors in games but if you just widened it by a meter or so you could add more interesting elements to it. Having light coming from a side-door, or having some kind of machine inbedded in the wall etc etc.

Imagine you encounter your corridor in a game , and you already know where to go, the eye leads you right to the goal of the corridor, smack in the middle of the players line.

I'm not saying that I'm some kind of guru for these things :P and I wish I myself had a better portfolio to back it up! but I just want to give you a heads up before you move on. What you have now is basically what you'll end up with , maybe with a space barrel in there as well xD

Being an environment artist is not only about being able to make nice textures, or being able to model complex shapes , it's also about making interesting and beautiful art. And knowing what makes good and beautiful art.

I know you know it as well, you just need to remember to apply it to your own work.



I mean this is also a corridor, but it opens up to more possibilities. This one has got two floors and interesting and cool side-wall, interesting shapes at the top and several places for the eye to wonder and find interesting things.

It also has interesting lighting and detail without becoming overly noisy.
Just give it a think yeah? and do the changes you feel are appropiate to make it look more interesting. Always bounce your ideas on other people when you feel that you're stuck.

Good work so far though! I hope I'm not sounding too harsh! :thumbup:

mats effect

Thanks so much Chris it really means alot to me when people take the time to leave such detailed feedback plus it motivates the hell out of me .

Totally agree with what you have said, will take a good look at it tomorrow morning to see how I can make some changes to it.

cheers!

leleuxart

I was hoping we'd see some Mars inspired landscape through the windows :poly121: I like what you have so far though

mats effect

Cheers. Yeah that was/(maybe still is) the plan, had to sort of put that to a side for now though as it proved a bit too much for me to work on all at once.

mats effect

Been away all this week but, I did bring my desktop with me and managed to play around a bit with some new ideas.

chrisradsby

Quick paintover poking at stuff ^^

mats effect

Cheers man, thats a ton of help.

wester

Open those blinders and let us see some of that sweet martian landscape! It'll really give some size to the space and make it feel much bigger than just a hallway. It could also lend to some nice lighting as well.

mats effect

Yeah I agree wester, I need to look into some unreal terrain tutorials and hand painted sand asap because I suck at both lol.

wester

Here's a paintover on what I meant. Would be really cool to have the building this hallway takes place in be visible from inside the hallway, looking out of the window. You dont have to do a huge vista, but just enough so that the building and terrain is seen through the screenshot you take.

mats effect

wow sweet paint over man, thanks very much. Thats too awesome not to do I think

zombieminteractive

wester wrote: »

Here's a paintover on what I meant. Would be really cool to have the building this hallway takes place in be visible from inside the hallway, looking out of the window. You dont have to do a huge vista, but just enough so that the building and terrain is seen through the screenshot you take.

Nice paint over.
But would it not look a little bit more interesting if the shades where somewhat down in like a de-functioning way? not sure.

nathanbarrett

wester wrote: »

Here's a paintover on what I meant...

That paint-over is awesome man!

almighty_gir

i love how, even though we now have scientific proof to the contrary, everyone goes for an over-saturated orange/red for mars.

wester

almighty_gir wrote: »

i love how, even though we now have scientific proof to the contrary, everyone goes for an over-saturated orange/red for mars.

It wouldnt read as mars if we didnt. Gotta appeal to the common imagery or noone will be able to relate. Also I just paint oversaturated :X haha.

almighty_gir

oh i wasn't having a dig or anything dude

wester

almighty_gir wrote: »

oh i wasn't having a dig or anything dude

Oh i know man I said it with a positive tone. Damn internet not letting me convey tone! haha. Nothing but love gir

Pookhan

It's more about association than realism. Kinda like red barrels and how everyone knows that they blow up if you shoot them. Everyone associates Mars with being a red planet.

The scene looks really good but it is quite grey and lacks a bit of contrast, so with the red rock outside, it would look nice with some of the light bounce and colour bleed coming into the hallway. I'm excited to see how this scene develops!

mats effect

Cheers man I will take that all on board

Rhoutermans

I think there should be some cables/more tech to support the lights, now they just sit there on the wall , also that paintover is looking sweet

Liking the start so far good luck!

mats effect

Thanks. Don't worry the lights are all actually default UDK assets at the moment that I quickly stuck in when trying out different ideas. In the process of modeling some of my own that will fit in much better.

mats effect

Morning, thought I would post a quick update to show some changes I have made so far. Not yet implemented all the feedback people have given me though.

Hopefully gonna make a lot of progress with the inside this weeks and then turn to the outside next. Would like to finish this up by the end of the month.

mats effect

Few things took me away from this over the last few days but I am back now to make a final push to get this done before the end of the month.

The sky box is not mine btw (UDK default)




To Do
-Add detail to upper part of opening wall panels
-Make content for the screens
-More Lighting and Post process work
-Fix up terrain
-Make outside stuff
-Another pass on the walls
-Model the rest of the lights
-Add Glass to windows
-Texture that pipe :P

Edit: got rid of every other bar on the windows just after posting, was blocking view too much.