[UDK] Noob Environment - Edwardian Bathhouse WIP

jacksterooney

Hi! I've been playing with making environments by myself for a while, but this if my first post on polycount. First off, this is the environment I'm trying to recreate, without the abandoned look, scaffolding etc. I know there are also a few props missing, such as the seats and signs, but again, WIP.



Here are a couple of shots of the environment so far in UDK, obviously criticism is welcome!






So, onto the noob part. First, I can't work out quite how I'm supposed to do the detailing on the arch and railings, do I need to learn Z-Brush from scratch? Here is the arch up close so far:



And finally a smaller, easier question: how would I go about making a realistic metal material for the pool ladders? Right now they are just a slightly blurred cube map:



Thanks for the help!

AlanSMitchell

http://www.philipk.net/tutorials/materials/materials.html

This should help ^

as far do I need to learn Zbrush? Either that or use Ndo but really the industry uses Zbrush so learn that it will help you out more in the long run imo.

Fantastic start btw.

jacksterooney

@dudealan2001 Thanks, I hadn't even considered nDo for it. I'm not doing this for uni/career etc, just something to do in my free time, so would it still be worth learning Z-brush?

Higuy

jacksterooney wrote: »

@dudealan2001 Thanks, I hadn't even considered nDo for it. I'm not doing this for uni/career etc, just something to do in my free time, so would it still be worth learning Z-brush?

Even if you're doing it in your free time, sure! It's always good to try new things

You could always do them in 3ds Max, but that would probably take more time. You'd have to model out the detail either in a very low poly form or bake it down onto a texture perhaps and make it 2d.

It is a nice start though! Beautiful architecture form that picture, can't wait to see it completed.

PogoP

Cool idea for a scene! I helped my friend record a music video in the Victoria Baths in Manchester back in 2011. It was such a cool building! You might find it interesting:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPp06b3l5Z4"]The Cold One Hundred - Hedonist - YouTube[/ame]

I would say you don't need to use Zbrush for a scene like this; it really isn't a required piece of software to make nice art. You could model everything in Max and just bake it down.

I'd say you need to work on your lighting a bit. It looks quite flat atm! Maybe consider setting it at a different time of day for some more interesting lighting than what you have now. Also, check your scale; that ladder looks massive.

jacksterooney

So I decided to bite the bullet and model the details using splines in 3ds max. I feel it's a pretty shoddy fix, due to the ungodly amount of polygons per arch, but hey, it looks better than it did, and it's not as if this is going into an actual game.



@PogoP I saw your 1920s corridor scene, and the baroque architecture you did for the panelling, how did you go about that?

I also applied a slightly more diffuse texture to my ladders, mixing in the cube map as a reflection:

beefaroni

Edit: I missed the not abandoned part... sorry about that.