[UDK] Environment Demo Reel - Critique Request

GregWhite

In a short while I will be updating my reel with another small scene. I would like to take this opportunity to polish up/fix any of my previous work.

http://vimeo.com/51017420

Is there anything that I should change on my reel? I'm going to include a side by side wireframe view as well as some of the textures.

Any critique would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

DWalker

In general, screen shots are probably better for environments as they allow people to focus on things at their leisure. If you are going to have a video, try to include something that moves; wind blowing dust & moving awnings & bits of trash would be an obvious source.

The video playback is rather sluggish, with frequent horizontal banding. I don't know if that's the encryption or the player latency.

The environments feel very low poly for the current generation.

The buildings in the first scene seem like little more than boxes; the most interesting building, the one with the hemispherical roof, is viewed only briefly in the distance. The corners are a rather glaring example of the boxiness. The lamps are much more ornate in the concept. The textures overall seem like a first pass; while there is some weathering, there is far more apparent in the concept. The ivy on the side of one of the buildings could also use considerable work.

The submarine bothers me; it's too small for a regular submarine, and entirely the wrong shape and size for a midget sub. If you aren't working from a concept, I'd recommend basing the model on a real sub. I'd really increase the opacity of the water - volumetric fog under the water would work well. Take a look at the lighting from an actual sub base:

Also note the railings - ditch the rectangular fence posts you currently have. The warning stripes are too wide and too close to the edge. Rather than a box, consider basing the room on a tube; it's more realistic and visually interesting. Also, consider adding large pipes for transporting fuel/water, and tires along the pool's sides to serve as fenders. http://englishrussia.com/2011/11/25/a-secret-submarine-repairing-base-of-balaclava/ has some nice reference images.


The spaceship could use some details - panel lines, small hatches, etc. Also, it is very static - consider having it maneuver a bit, and add in some particle effects. A video really should contain some sense of motion.

Serial Lens

I'd like to add that the camera movements are not doing you any favors right now - the video feels like an unpredictable roller coaster ride that doesn't give me time to focus. If you want to do environment flythroughs, try to use slow camera movements that maintain momentum and obey real-world camera movements. Set up one composition per camera shot. Predictable is the key word - so that I'm thinking about the environment instead of the camera.