Church enviroment

VikingGoblin

This is a uni project that I am currently doing, I've only got a basic mockup so far with no textures and plenty of problems but I shall be working on this to completion for the next few weeks. I would like all thoughts and criticism.

Thanks!

EpicBeardMan

Build lighting before taking shots
Other than that, I can't say much when it comes to criticism. The theme itself sounds pretty dope, and this has potential to be awesome looking scene, if executed correctly that is.

Keep it up, and make some badass work.

Cheers!

VikingGoblin

Ive added some textures and lighting now.

WarrenM

I would disagree that you've added lighting.    Where are your shadows?

For something like this, it would really benefit from a primary light source.  Maybe that large chandelier in the middle there could be fairly bright and casting cool shadows back into the walls which have alcoves and interesting things to catch them.  The little lights down the side walls are kind of distracting and are going to give you a diffuse lighting scheme which wouldn't do this sort of environment justice.

IMO.

EpicBeardMan

@WarrenM is right, there are almost to no shadows at all. And maybe turn down the roughness (turn up the reflectivity) on those marble tiles, this is just a personal preference, it's up to you.

Cheers!

VikingGoblin

Ive taken into account what you said Warrenm and tried to rectify the lighting. However I'm having a problem with center light as the chandelier is of course multiple light sources and Unreal keeps giving me errors when I have many lights that cross over each other, not sure what the best course of action is.  Ive also changed the layout and added an un-textured carpet

VikingGoblin

Lots of updated geometry here, still no benches though . Hoping to get those in soon. I'm still having trouble with lighting, but I've still got lots to add, so I'm not too concerned at this point.

VikingGoblin

I know its been a little while, I have been fairly busy recently but I feel this is a great update!

seandxyz

Yo working off any references or? some of the things that jump out at me are the differences in detail, the tiled floor is great, the brick walls are ok, the pillars don't fit in they don't blend with the wall or floor too well...do you have a high res version of these pillars? if so could i see?  also the material is very dull, or as others have said badly lit scene.

VikingGoblin

I dont have a high res for the pillars, I work almost exclusively in low poly unless there is a specific reason not to. All the materials you can see in the scene are made entirely in Substance designer. Here are some that a few of you have talked about.

VikingGoblin

I know Ive been gone for ages but I've finally got a chance to make a substantial update, some textures have changed, but mostly this is a lighting update.

Luxap

Those godrays are way to obvious, also the way they are lighting the scene now is in a way that makes the sun from outside come from 2 seperate directions. Try to keep it at one direction, as for the godrays them self, you can have a look at the "Blueprints" example from Unreal Engine itself, in there are some pretty sweet godrays.

Also, try to make differences within your models/ textures, e.g. at the bottom of the wall there is usually a transition from the wall to the ground. Texture wise the main pillar is going to have a different kind of texture as the top part of the pillar, try to get more variety into this scene.
Another good thing to impove the scene cn be adding some other shapes to the current silhouette of the wall.

Like shown below can be a good example.


Hope this of some use to you.
Keep it up man!

xhi

I agree with the improvements others have suggested.  The progress is nice but if you're trying to push it, irregularities are key (:  something simple like changing the angle of the floor tile or adding a cracked in some stone helps.   Maybe a couple books and bibles sitting on the benches or held behind the pews.

Try to imagine being in this space or being a member of the church.  I feel like there would be some sort of artwork or a unique alter.  If it's supposed to look historically restored you could have those felt gates sectioning off something for display. Or if it's an old building used for a current day service there could be a bulletin board somewhere with pamphlets.  A coat rack at the entrance.  Just small random things.  
I know it can be hard to do so much work for a school project but it's a nice scene you can build on for your portfolio.  Keep at it and keep posting progress! 

cgtoolsmith

Hi,

I see you have some trouble with correctly lighting your scene in UE4.  

Maybe this steps could help: (As a fresh start)  

1. Remove your current light setup.
2. Gather some reference for some cool light idea's/scenario's. (Midday sunshine, Late afternoon/early evening, Sunset, Dusk, Overcast, Night)
3. Determine your primary light source. For example: ( The sun, or the moonlight/reflection? ),
4. Determine your secondary light sources. (For example candlelight? etc)
5. You could also consider to make more windows in your church/cathedral, so you have some more light possibilities?

- When you have a clear goal for your light setup:

5. Add a single directional light as your primary lightsource.
6. Add a skylight for your ambient lighting.
7. Add a few(!) spot/point lights for the secondary lighting.

8. Create a second UV channel in your modelling package. And re-import all the assets in Unreal. (Not working? Try individual assets first)
9. Increase the lightmap resolution of your assets. (By going into the asset editor or overriding it via the detailspanel.)
9. Bake your lighting. Keep the previewsetting until all of your builderrors are gone. (For example overlapping UVs)

Tips:
- Make sure the shadows are not too dark/black.
- Improve your lighting in steps. Use as few lights as possible.
- Try the lighting in a supersmall scene first. Before moving on to the next scene.

UE tut:
https://docs.unrealengine.com/latest/INT/Engine/Rendering/LightingAndShadows/index.html

Awesome wiki:
http://wiki.polycount.com/wiki/Lighting
 
Best of luck! Lighting is supertricky and can be really a *** in the ass. But it is so important for the look of your scene. And that is also wat makes it so fun. Do not give up!

vonBerg
ps: Always use clear, high quality reference material.

VikingGoblin

I know its been quite a while, I've been fairly busy, but I've made some good progress. Some of the things people have mentioned have been added, and I've got a few more/changed textures in there. Lighting still isn't really doing what I want it to, but I'm getting closer.


Here is the kind of lighting I would like to achieve with this scene, this is not reference for anything else. I am actually using an HDR version of this image for the skylight, but its only very slightly in use

VikingGoblin

A near finished update for the church, finished the ceiling, added, some wall geometry, and a large cross at the alter of the church. Still have a fair few things I would like to add, but I'm at the polishing stage at this point.

mrgesy

Looks good so far, I have a couple of crits though if you dont mind:

Things are looking a bit dull material-wise. Maybe increase the reflectivity of those checker tiles to add some interesting effect?

Look at this picture of a catholic church:



Your windows are looking more like an artificial lamp is behind them. They need to cast more colored light onto the furniture and architecture. Also notice the slight glare/glow on those windows. Those windows in such churches are meant to use the sunlight to look beautiful and heavenly!

Secondly, your scene is lacking atmosphere. I assume you'll add some particles and post production through a post process volume later on. It would look very interesting if you could achieve this sort of atmosphere in this room from Life is Strange:



Notice how the air seems to have weight. There seems to be dust in the room and it gives a nice atmosphere to an otherwise boring scene.

Finally, I would see about using Color grading and LUTs to make the scene really pop.

If you're having trouble with interior lighting and post-processing, download Koola's architecture rendering from the UE4 market place.

VikingGoblin

I think this is it for this scene, I could continue adding, but I think its time to move on. Thanks for your thoughts everyone, they have been immensely helpful.