[UDK] Hand painted 'Tavern on a cliff' environment.

Danno8

Well I need to get in a habit of starting these thread at the start a project instead of at the end but as usual I haven't.

This is a small scene iv been working on for a short time and I am approaching the end so looking for some final suggestions/ feedback before I do final renders and lay it to rest never to be worked on again.

I am looking to be finished within the next 2-3 days so I am looking for any additional asset suggestions or things I should change.

Thanks.

D.H.

Add3r

Right now I think the bloom you have going off of the windows and snow reflections is just too much and gives it a feeling that you are trying to cover up portions. I feel like if you got some awesome clouds going on around the base to give the piece some depth, story, and framing, could really help. Could sell it as the tavern/house is really high up on this mountain/hill, as well as tone down some of the bloom/lens flare effects so we can get a good look at the textures you have going on.

Also the background mountain textures seem just kinda slapped on there, maybe a tad bit of refinement to the background would really help the pieces, as they are similar colors to the main hill and the tavern itself while it is covered in snow. It really pulls from the main focal point (tavern), and hurts the overall composition of your final shots.

Just some of the points that I picked up on that I feel would really help bring this to the next level, take it as you wish Sorry if I came off blunt. Goodluck!

Obscura

One thing that really stand out to me is that the stones looks more like pimples :P Try to use the up vector to mask out the snow only for the up direction so it would appear only on the top of the stones. The snow looks strange on the background mountains too. There you could use a cavity mask to make it placed more realistic there too. The tavern itself looks nice by the way. The "smoke" looks also strange. Try the exponential height fog instead. Keep going, the scene could looks really nice after a few changes!

Danno8

Thanks for the feedback guys.

Add3r: Yeah the gloom does need toning down, I am currently fixing it now.
The background mountains have a bit of an error going on at the moment. They are fine in viewport (full textured) then when I build the level the texture goes like in the render, streaky and messed up :S trying to fix it now. Thanks again for the feedback .

Obscura: Yeah couldn't agree more, iv now changed the under texture to be plain rock and iv vertex painted the snow on. It looks more natural now thanks for that.
Yeah like I said above, there is a issue with the mountains at the moment, currently trying to fix them.

My issue with exponential height fog is that I am already using on as a blue fog for the night sky and distance fog. Iv tried using a second one as it was my original plan to use one but the second will not render, only shows the first fog.

Thanks again guys

YakZSmelk

This is really cool! Not what I was expecting to see at all and that's a good thing.

My one suggestion would be for your composition, in the first shot with the moon directly behind the building, avoid having your key light directly behind your focal point. This cast the subject all in shadow which can be counter acted with some more light but right now it is just difficult to see.

Can't wait to see the finished product!

Obscura

I made a quick example to show you what I meant by that up vector trick
It would place your snow to only the top of your objects, no matter how they are placed/oriented.These are just the basics of it, but I think its pretty useful even with this quickie shader. Adding a cloud filter map(s) and its tweaking could make magic. Or this plus vertex painting.Good luck!

Danno8

Changes Since Last Post: Had to re-create background landscape from scratch as the error was persistent no matter what I did. I have re-textured to main mountain to look better. Iv added a snow emitter for some light snow falling in the scene. Added some extra fog layers around the base of the mountain. I removed the majority of the blooms and reduced the amount of emmisive strength on the tavern windows/door/chimney.


YakZsmelk: Thank you for you comment . Yes I agree with you're point on the composition. For the final renders I wont be using a shot like that because as you said you can't really see anything as it makes everything dark I will be going for something like the render below as well as a fly through video.

Obsura: Thanks for that, iv saved the image as I think it will be useful again in the future. Iv uploaded an image below of how it looks now. I think its a lot better. Thanks again for the advise.



Notes: I think the fog may be a bit high and thick, so I will be reducing that shortly.

I think the environment need a bit more colour. Someone in one of my creative groups said to include buntings but I am not sure they would fit very well with the scene.
I was considering some flag blowing in the wind or some torches down the path.
If anyone has any addition ideas please do say .

Thanks

D.H.

Danno8

Finished the 'Tavern on the cliff' environment now.
Added a few extra things since the last post and created a fly through video of the environment (id recommend viewing in 1080p as the details hard to see otherwise). Rather happy with the end result

Just have the final render shots to do for the portfolio then I'm done and onto the next project.

Thanks for viewing
D.H.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5m580uLT5l0"]Tavern on the cliff - Game Art - YouTube[/ame]

Sinking

The environment itself is pretty cool, but the camera is nauseating. It is very fast and circles around more often than necessary.

I like the toilet house being far away from the tavern. That makes sense. The gallow however that looks like a crane is not going anywhere, even though it would make sense to have some kind of mechanism that can pick up the goods below and lift them up to shop. It does add some visual interest already, but it could add functionality.

It's a bit strange that the only mountain that has these blobby stones is the one with the tavern on it. The backgrounds don't match this. You might also adjust the ligthing and make it somewhat more blue. I always found that UDK's custom night scene is far too bright and needs adjustment.

Haftoof

I agree on the noose, love the outhouse. The camera could move a bit more slowly at all points, the motion at the far off point should point towards the center of the structure and pivot on it. If you point the camera then make the house the pivot point I don't see why it shouldn't come out in a smooth circle.

Other than that... hmmm Background is nit-picky, maybe make the background more obscured. To me this kind of structure could never be built on an un-altered mountain top so all this is "carved" out. Love the lighting ;3