[UE4] [Env.] Morning Person
Hey guys, I am getting close to finish a environment I've been working on my free time in order to improve (and prove to myself) some of my game environment skills.
I am pretty close from finishing, just missing the coffee shop on the alleyway, model a couple of props for some extra set dressing, clean up some textures and maybe play a bit with the particles.
I would love some C&C from fresh eyes as I have been staring at this project for too long.
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Final:
Also, if you are interested on knowing a bit more about the process, I did a quick interview with 80lv:
https://80.lv/articles/capturing-coastal-serenity-in-unreal/
I am pretty close from finishing, just missing the coffee shop on the alleyway, model a couple of props for some extra set dressing, clean up some textures and maybe play a bit with the particles.
I would love some C&C from fresh eyes as I have been staring at this project for too long.
---------------
Final:
Also, if you are interested on knowing a bit more about the process, I did a quick interview with 80lv:
https://80.lv/articles/capturing-coastal-serenity-in-unreal/
Replies
If I had to choose something to nitpick, it's the dark shadows/AO on the plants.
Oh, and your third shot is a bit boring compared to your first two. I would pick a different spot or angle.
@Carabiner thank you. and good catch noticing the bottles.
@snake85027 thanks snake, and what breaks are we talking about?
the clouds are rendered on engine or you used a custom sky?
and thank y'all for enjoying it so far!
@William3DArtist hahah, yeah, that is pretty much the mood I am trying to translate here, I am glad you liked
thank you man!
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small weekend update on the coffee shop, I've been playing with the bump offset in order to make a fake interior, still not fully pleased with the look of it, but I think it is selling the idea.
And here is a simple breakdown for those interested int he effect.
Fist i quickly modeled a interior on modo and rendered, not really worrying with the quality of the render or model, just getting some shapes and the perspective right.
After that I bring that image to Photoshop, trow some color on top and blur the image.
I learned here that in order to achieve good and readable results is a good idea to have good contrast between the different walls and floor/roof.
Them bring the image to UE4 and just connect a bumpOffset node in to the UVs of the image you want moving. And connect a constant value in to the Height of the node. The lower the value (going from 0 to negative numbers), stronger will be the parallax effect.
I also made some lines pattern and a roughness map, make sure to NOT connect the bumpOffset on those, as they are not to move and help giving the impression that there is depth behind the glass.
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Here is some update on the coffee shop.
I am still trying to figure out a good shot for this one.
@FullSynch cheers!
@ZombieDawgs I did not, but I google after you mentioned and damn, that does looks complex, hahaha. I am sure it looks a lot better on their game tho!
How it work when you moving closer or farther?
same effect, as you get closer you start to be able to see more inside the room (side walls, etc).
I will probably be doing a video of the map later, so you will be able to see it better and in good resolution.
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I am finally finished with the project (final images are on the first post). I did a interview with 80lv about the process, if you are interested, check it out here: https://80.lv/articles/capturing-coastal-serenity-in-unreal/
and here are some extra images on some of the assets:
you do can bake out height maps from a high poly on painter.
As for the substance designer, there is this great tutorial from Rogelio where he goes about creating pebble shape generator, if you follow it, and at the end you connect your generator in to something like a "tile sampler" in order to scatter those pebbles around, you will have something really similar to what I have. Let me know if you need more help on it.
edit: I forgot to link the tutorial, lol
I think the SSAO (or whatever solution you used) is way to high, reminds me of the bad Far Cry 3 AO, You scene would feel way lighter with the AO toned down
Thanks man! And I agree with you, its something I just realized after the project was done, lesson learned!
I can only dream of one day being this good at environment art.
-This project took me a bit more than 3 months, where some weeks I would be able to work on it full time, and some to no touch it at all.
-Honestly, I learned how to do game art mostly from the internet, I started working on TV, with the dream of doing character for Pixar, but ended up meeting some cool people on the industry that made me change my mind. And now that gumroad exists, things are even easier (and cheaper).
-Only books I have are concept art books, and tutorials.. there are so many, I usually just google anything in specific that I need and that is it, can be pretty overwhelming to create a full environment, too many things to get worried about as well, I would just start with a diorama to learn more about the tools and yourself.
- I dont know.. hard to talk well about you own artwork whiteout sounding like a douche, but I think it comes from trying to imagine what type of people would live on that street, would they care if there was a little bit of grass ground on the sidewalk, or would they bother to areas the draws some kids make on the wall? Stuff like that I guess..
now if I could give you a advice is to find a concept art that you like enough to see yourself working 2 months on it, and that hopefully reflects your artistic needs, create a WIP post here on polycount saying you are just starting and will be working on it and how you could use some feedback along the way. Then just work on it, if you get stuck somewhere ask around or google. And as I said, try doing a small diorama first, those are great exercises.
something along those lines:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/a5/02/50/a5025064ce9fcd08b798443db9e171bd.jpg
The AO is way too strong, especially for the overexposed look you're going for. It really flattens the image.
I would also be mindful about base color values and saturation. The wall left of the coffee shop is brigther than the one on the right, despite being in the shadow. The plant to the left is also too light and too saturated
@jth852 thank you
@mats effect nothing really meaningful, that building was just looking too boring for being dark green/brown, so some bright colors and a simple design (arrows) help making a it more interesting. I think I got idea by looking at some medieval castle windows, I don't remember now.