The Secret World Inspired Interior [UE4]

AllenRoss

Hello polycount!  It seems Funcom is relaunching the Secret World with a bunch of updates and as a fan, I decided I would create an Environment centered around that theme.  The end result that i'm looking to achieve is an office like interior with a blend of Gothic and industrial themes mixed together.  The mood i'm looking to set is one of the aftermath of an old artifact being unleashed upon its keepers.

Here's a collage of some of the references  that i'll be using below as well as the spacial blockout of the scene in UE4 for proportions and modular piece construction.





I'm going to make it a point to keep this topic up to date often on my progress and hope for some feedback. 

AllenRoss

First Update:
It's been a busy couple of days but I fount a few hours to make some progress.  I've broken down the majority of the modular pieces for the walls, measured the segments with the goal of putting together a mock texture atlas to see my texture density.  From there i'll be using substance designer to create the textures that i'll put into the atlas. 

RustySpannerz

Never played that game, but it seems like a cool theme! 

AllenRoss

It's been a few days so here's an update on whats been done so far.
Update: 
Used Substance Designer to create 2/3's of my modular texture atlas.
Laid out the UV's on my modular wall pieces.

I feel like I need to spend more time learning designer as i'm not that happy with the current textures I've made.  Somethings off about them and i'm not sure if it's happening in the roughness of color maps.  I'll add a few shots of the textures off the atlas for any critiques and do a second pass on them next week.  
The next update should have the floor and ceiling pieces completed and the large props blocked out in UE4 if not a few started.

AllenRoss

Update again. I had some lightmass issues that I think I now have under control.  Also started to set up some lighting and post process effects established. I realized that I need to remove some of the grunge from the concrete so the tiling isn't as noticeable but i'm starting on the furniture and other large props.

hmm_rock

I've found Käy's substances to be a great resource when learning designer, often the graphs contain helpful comments about how things work together. Poke around in the graph, de-construct them. The wood texture could be specifically helpful here I think, to get more realistic knots in the wood and to break up the long waviness in the grain.
Find them here
https://share.allegorithmic.com/libraries?by_user_id=39&q[s]=name+asc

Looking forward to seeing more of this scene!

AllenRoss

@hmm_rock
Thank you for the comment and resource.  I've been wrestling with how to create wood grains in substance so every bit helps.  After looking at the space in my atlas for the modular pieces, I have some extra room for a larger plain wood texture.  I think that and some adjustments to the wood graph will help push the material more.

AllenRoss

Here's a few of the larger props I've created for the scene.  I've also started to mess around with lighting setups and some post process effects to start to build the mood I want to have conveyed.  

AllenRoss

UPDATE:
I felt that the scene was getting away from me with the other wing to the left so I've reconstructed what I had and modified the lighting/post effects to get the mood i'm looking for.   I'll be working on the final few props that need to be modeled/textured as well as a second texture pass on a few materials in my atlas.  Also, the overhead lights will be in the next update so that there's actually something that's the warm light source of the scene.   If anything is hard to read or doesn't quite look right, the critique is welcome.

macoll

Nice ! Do you plan to add interior lights? Great mood atm.

Deathstick

Looking solid so far!

Not sure if you changed them since you posted the 3 props, but the chair looks the best out of them when it comes to the texturing. The desk woodpanel details on the front could use some loving, right now they all have the same grain in the same direction. The wood grain on the wood shelves model, specifically inner vertical wall panel, looks like it's either repeating or a bit weird with those two bright vertical lines in the grain right next to each other.

I'm not a 100% sure about the brick pattern on the inner/non window walls? Looks good on the exterior walls and makes sense, but perhaps the inner walls can be another material. I feel like the top right and bottom right photos in your reference collage demonstrate this detail. Notice how it transitions from the exterior walls being brick to the interior walls being more of a plastering or wooden panel wall.

Lastly, I know it's a wip but make sure you pay enough attention to the ceiling if it'll be in the final frame. The ornate rooms you're drawing inspiration from usually have a very nice trim transition where the walls and beams meat the ceiling.

Keep it up!

AllenRoss

@macoll
Yep, but just enough for some contrast throughout the room.

@Deathstick
Thank you for the feed back.  I noticed what you were saying about the shelf and desk and along with some shopping for a new desk irl I was able to think of a way to break up the wood grain more for both props.  Also, the transition trim to the ceiling is something I'll look at again as it would be an easy fix.

Here's another update as well.  Added the majority of the dress props that I wanted into the scene as well as some decals for story telling purposes.  I also adjusted some post process effects and added some lights for a bit more contrast.  All I have left to do is to create my evil hero artifact prop and a few mesh adjustments and the scene will be where I want it to be.

AllenRoss

So it's been awhile since I updated this.  I took some time working on another project only to find some good resources on UE lighting and post process effects and decided to give this another pass with what I had.  Here's a few images of how its turned out.  I have technical and prop breakdowns on my artstation if your interested in more shots and the process I went through.