Last of Us Inspired Study/Scene

Michael Rosa

What's up Polycount?!

Excited to be here and post my first environment. This study was inspired from concept art of The Last of Us. This project taught me a great deal and look forward to improving with my next scene. And that is exactly what I'm here for. Critiques, learning, advice and networking. My goal is to be the best Environment Artist I can possibly be, with a clear focus on breaking into the gaming industry.

Tools I used: 3DS Max, Photoshop, Quixel, 3D Coat and CryEngine.

Being an all around learning experience, one thing that bugged me was not being able to get the desired lighting effects I was looking for. Example, those atmospheric rays of light that come through windows. Plus, lighting altogether was something I'd like to improve on, as it will sell the scene so much better. Any tips would be appreciated!

Thanks!

jhoythottle

Very cool. I like it, but I think you should play around with contrast and saturation a bit more.

Objects in light = warm
Objects in shadow = cool

Also, I think the scene is a bit too saturated. I would tone down the vibrancy a bit.

Here's something I threw together in Photoshop really quick to better illustrate what I mean:



I think a foreground element could really make the space feel more like you are present in the room. Maybe a stack of tires or a table off to the bottom right of the camera view. Just a thought.

I'm not an environment expert, but I like what you did with the lighting and shadows, and the models/textures seem pretty solid. Overall, nice work!

Michael Rosa

Thanks! I see exactly what you're saying. The change you made gave it a more natural feel. I will make sure to be aware more of my contrast.

mats effect

I feel like there are some scale issues at the moment. The room feels very big and the bar too small. Do you have a character scale reference object in your scene (something to show the size of a human)?

Michael Rosa

mats effect wrote: »

I feel like there are some scale issues at the moment. The room feels very big and the bar too small. Do you have a character scale reference object in your scene (something to show the size of a human)?

Yes, I have scale reference. At first the default camera angle/degree in CryEngine was throwing me off. But I can recheck and make sure everything is up to par.

Michael Rosa

jhoythottle wrote: »

Very cool. I like it, but I think you should play around with contrast and saturation a bit more.

Objects in light = warm
Objects in shadow = cool

Also, I think the scene is a bit too saturated. I would tone down the vibrancy a bit.

Here's something I threw together in Photoshop really quick to better illustrate what I mean:

I think a foreground element could really make the space feel more like you are present in the room. Maybe a stack of tires or a table off to the bottom right of the camera view. Just a thought.

I'm not an environment expert, but I like what you did with the lighting and shadows, and the models/textures seem pretty solid. Overall, nice work!

Something like this?

Vincent_DEROZIER

Hi Michael,
I agree with Mats the main proportions of the room seems odd right now. The space between the bar and the tables next to the windows is so huge you could add a line of tables and chairs, that could be a solution to fill that empty space or you can remove the wall with the door to win back around 3 meters of space.

Michael Rosa

Vincent_DEROZIER wrote: »

Hi Michael,
I agree with Mats the main proportions of the room seems odd right now. The space between the bar and the tables next to the windows is so huge you could add a line of tables and chairs, that could be a solution to fill that empty space or you can remove the wall with the door to win back around 3 meters of space.

I've been reworking the scale, making adjustments. Are you also referring to the scale in context of a 1 to 1 replication of the concept art?

Kid.in.the.Dark

Very nice start Michael,

My feedback on this is mainly on the use of space... There's too much open space (mentions of proportions etc have already been mentioned) but I think generally any level in the last of us lacks so much open space along the floor, there's usually something that breaks it up e.g. moss/cracks/rubble/bottles/bricks/etc... but this is definitely a nice start.

Sorry if it's already been mentioned I really just skimmed this thread for images and one or two comments before I posted so if someone's already mentioned this consider it a +1

keep going

Michael Rosa

Kid.in.the.Dark wrote: »

Very nice start Michael,

My feedback on this is mainly on the use of space... There's too much open space (mentions of proportions etc have already been mentioned) but I think generally any level in the last of us lacks so much open space along the floor, there's usually something that breaks it up e.g. moss/cracks/rubble/bottles/bricks/etc... but this is definitely a nice start.

Sorry if it's already been mentioned I really just skimmed this thread for images and one or two comments before I posted so if someone's already mentioned this consider it a +1

keep going

Thanks. Doesn't bother me if you touched on something similar. I never expect anyone to go through an entire thread before posting. Besides, you may have a different take on a similar viewpoint that contributes to the big picture.

I'm still exploring the scene. I had already started to work on my new project, so I'm just now taking the time to rework and take in all the advice. Which has all helped and made sense.

Michael Rosa

You guys were 100% correct with scale issues. I was scaling in height with a 1.82 meter box instead of a human figure, and I think that threw me off. Proportions with anatomy is obviously the better way to go.

amirabd2130

looking forward to this

Matt_Billeci

I think you should include more grout within your brick textures, much like the ref Vincent posted. It'll help break up your harsh red walls. Also, consider adding some more debris to the ground. Maybe some ceiling panels, garbage, etc. Any ideas to break up the floor would be nice.

Michael Rosa

Have had some time to rework some of the scaling issues. Also started to populate the open space with assets in order to get more of a feel for scale/spacing.

Stavaas

Looks way better now man. Well done.

Michael Rosa

Thanks. I've been putting a focus on textures a great deal. I still have yet to accomplish the lighting effects I'm looking for, but I'm not going to spend too much time away from modeling and texturing environments, as that is my focus and career ambitions.

But if anyone has any good resources for CryEngine lighting techniques, please share.

amirabd2130

Nice :thumbup:
I think you should tone down the warm colors in post process and dial it to more cooler colors.

Michael Rosa

amirabd2130 wrote: »

Nice :thumbup:
I think you should tone down the warm colors in post process and dial it to more cooler colors.

I plan to. I mad a huge modeling mistake in my scene that was tied to instancing. Long story short, a lesson learned. But it caused me to rework a backup, and the over saturated textures still lived there. So I have to fix them all over again.

Michael Rosa

K, I cooled the colors.

amirabd2130

It's much better
But I was thinking about something like this

Cglewis

wow looking nice, idk about the cooled off version......maybe a nice in-between?
but i feel the tires are too grey other than that i think this is looking pretty good man! keep it up

Michael Rosa

@amirabd2130 - Thanks. What style are you going for? Everything has this blue tint to it. What setting are you looking to accomplish? I've seen environments like this before, but mainly in SciFi scenes.

@Cglewis - Thanks. There's techniques I've learned since the beginning of this scene that would improve this project. One day I may return to this an redo the entire project from scratch with what I've learned and make it much better. I will be posting my new scene pretty soon.

Also, is it me, or does the multi-quote button not work? I've selected it several times and get no result.

cmc444

I think changing the FOV will help judge how your scene is being composed. Right now the shot is so wide there is no real main focus and while in the concept there is directional light and balance to help complete the overall ambiance of the room and setting. Also I agreee the color is getting a bit too wild. Take a look at the original concept and notice the warm tones pouring through the windows with a low lying blue in the interior. Right now there is just an overwhelming blue/green cool color filling the room making it look very strange and much unlike the original concepts feeling.

Michael Rosa

@cmc444 - I have been playing around with FOV to see different results. Lighting is something that I've been trying to improve, but only enough to sell my scenes better. There are lighting teams for that area. Right now I'm focusing mainly on skills required of an environment artist. I have been researching and trying to get some good tutorials on CryEngine's lighting system, but it hasn't went well. As much as I enjoy CryEngine (and the workflow with Max), there's a wealth of educational material with Unreal. I may end up experimenting with that shortly.