Project Improvement

Enhirement

Hey everyone! So I'm going back to a project showcased on my portfolio to beef it up. I want to take it and push it farther. This is the Horde Clock Tower - which can be found here. http://www.jacobwheatga.com/projects/Z4lr1

I have been really trying to push the shape and silhouette of the model to more resemble what it's suppose to be. I'm doing my best to make this awesome and save time, so I'll be trying to keep parts close to the original. I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts. Thanks!

ToffeeApple

Hi Enhirement - I really like your original in your portfolio. Although it doesn't strike me as a clock tower so I guess this is why you are revisiting it? I actually didn't notice the clock face until I read what it was so number 2 definitely communicates that better. Although when I think of a tower I think of more like a castle tower - what you have so far strikes me as an entrance to it. Maybe you could put a tower behind it. Although I don't play World of Warcraft so perhaps a tower is something different in that game? If you have a reference from the game of something you are trying to emulate that could be helpful.

Enhirement

ToffeeApple said:

Hi Enhirement - I really like your original in your portfolio. Although it doesn't strike me as a clock tower so I guess this is why you are revisiting it? I actually didn't notice the clock face until I read what it was so number 2 definitely communicates that better. Although when I think of a tower I think of more like a castle tower - what you have so far strikes me as an entrance to it. Maybe you could put a tower behind it. Although I don't play World of Warcraft so perhaps a tower is something different in that game? If you have a reference from the game of something you are trying to emulate that could be helpful.

Hi @ToffeeApple ! Thank you, and yes that is why I am revisiting it. Not only is the original not resembling the intended meaning, the side view is also a little boring.

There are clocks, but non for this race. This is kind of the version I concepted after taking inspiration from the theme/materials commonly used in the Horde areas of Warcraft.

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Also update time-

Here is a little update on the textures. Knocking them out while watching E3.

Enhirement

Update #3!

Getting more textures worked in. Going to work on color variation, and trying to put a few more gradient styles in.

ToffeeApple

It's looking great I like the cogs. Much more clock like.

Enhirement

Thank you @ToffeeApple !

Small update, now getting back into the feel of things. Trying to paint the hands so they seem easier to tell apart from the face of the clock. Not sure if this color is the best or not.

(Not sure if self promoing is allowed, but I'm streaming the process over at twitch.tv/jakesartden every other day if anyone is interested!)

Enhirement

Well I feel like a dummy! I was using the wrong base. I felt like something was off. Luckily I could easily replace it while all my changes were on above layers. Here is the new version.

Enhirement

Hey everyone! Going with adding a bit of gradients to the parts, as well as fleshing out the backside and giving it more love. The hands are now more heavily painted red, which I think solved the color blending. 

arnov

I don't like red hands personally, the color makes it look out of place. Looks good overall tho.

Enhirement

arnov said:

I don't like red hands personally, the color makes it look out of place. Looks good overall tho.

Hi Arnov, I decided on a middle ground. As most watches have a red hand, I decided to make the smaller one red going light and more splotchy on the paint.

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Time for an update! 

Patch Notes:

Banner updated!

Sand Removed from bottom metal pieces. Was considering the act of reusability, in which adding things like environmental effects might limit where this asset could be used.

Stretched the legs so it's a bit taller. Might push this more.

Currently I am remaking the props so they look nicer.

Enhirement

Hey guys! I handled the banners differently. This time, they are nailed to the wooden poles instead of hanging in the middle. The texture is also darkened to not lose the focal point of the main clock.

As for future plans, I'm going to be remaking the bottom peice into snow instead of desert. The reasoning behind this is because my other WoW portfolio piece is desert, and this would be much easier and faster to change.  To understand what I mean, the horde garrisons have a nice snow/rock  path texture I am going to try to incorporate. 

This also means more props to fill up the area. I'm completely redesigning them to make sure they are more interesting than the previous versions, and that they match the Horde-style. (Spikes!)

Early progress shot, AO, curvature, gradient, base color choices.

Enhirement

Long time no see! Here's an update. Next step: finish ground and Unreal Engine importing!

Enhirement

Hey everyone! Update -

Added everything into UE4! Really enjoying how this is turning out. As always, any feedback is appreciated.

Enhirement

Story telling elements? Added some scaffolding and gears with inspiration from the Horde Garrisons.

Nuclear Angel

I personally feel that the snow on the ground brings down the piece. As none of the objects are even slightly affected by snow it does not look grounded. 

Enhirement

Nuclear Angel said:

I personally feel that the snow on the ground brings down the piece. As none of the objects are even slightly affected by snow it does not look grounded. 

Hi @Nuclear Angel Thanks for the feedback. For the sake of reusability/time, I'm going to keep the textures clean for now. Maybe snow blob meshes though.

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New update! Composition has been reworked to help better guide the eyes around the scene. Heightmap added to blend snow better. Isicles too!

Enhirement

Getting colder in here! Snow update, painted onto the clocktower, also a snow particle system added. 

Pro tip: Turn off auto exposure in the project settings of UE4 and take back lighting control!