Tavern [Finished]

Brain_Slave

Hello everyone!

I'm new to Polycount community and I would love to share my first environment I created in Unreal Engine 4.

So I really want to know your opinion about it. I have been doing 3D stuff for just over one year and now decided to focus on creating environments in Unreal.

I recently finished making lighting and candle flames in this scene. Trying to create a general mood for fantasy tavern.

Feedback and critique is really welcome! Thank you

ChrisFraser

Its very bright in this tavern. I feel like the candle chandelier wouldn't give off quite that much light. Right now, its like daytime in the tavern. It would probably be quite gloomy I imagine. If you wanted it to be a brightly lit tavern, then there would need large windows brining in daylight or skylights or something like that. Or, have like big torches on the walls and even then, the torches wouldn't light the place as bright as it is right now.

Brain_Slave

ChrisFraser said:

Its very bright in this tavern. I feel like the candle chandelier wouldn't give off quite that much light. Right now, its like daytime in the tavern. It would probably be quite gloomy I imagine. If you wanted it to be a brightly lit tavern, then there would need large windows brining in daylight or skylights or something like that. Or, have like big torches on the walls and even then, the torches wouldn't light the place as bright as it is right now.

Thanks for feedback. Now I really noticed that my scene is too bright. I'll redo lighting and maybe create some kind of night mood.

jakemoyo

I agree with this^ You might consider looking into a lumens chart. If im not mistaken the point lights and directional lights are all measured in lumens. But you could find the lumens for a single candle and then apply that to each light source in your scene. Then adjust the exposure etc accordingly to get the brightness you want. That way youre not just firing in the dark with your brightness.

Brain_Slave

jakemoyo said:

I agree with this^ You might consider looking into a lumens chart. If im not mistaken the point lights and directional lights are all measured in lumens. But you could find the lumens for a single candle and then apply that to each light source in your scene. Then adjust the exposure etc accordingly to get the brightness you want. That way youre not just firing in the dark with your brightness.

Thanks for advice. Will definitely try this method. I think it will turn out pretty well.

Brain_Slave

I began to apply changes in lighting. It started to look better.

jakemoyo

Yeah that looks way better already. Not perfect but loads better. 

Brain_Slave

I updated overall lighting a bit and added a couple of lamps in the bar area.

Brain_Slave

I've updated scene a bit. Gradually approaching to completion. Do you think its fine now?

PBrain

Models and textures are looking great! I would say that the lighting as it is right now is a little boring. If you want a cosy daytime tavern, you've done it! But I think a more compelling piece would be a darker scene. Bring out the contrast! Make dark spots in the tavern so that wherever there is a light it feels like you'd want to sit there. Maybe the fireplace can be the center piece where it's most bright. 

Brain_Slave

PBrain said:

Models and textures are looking great! I would say that the lighting as it is right now is a little boring. If you want a cosy daytime tavern, you've done it! But I think a more compelling piece would be a darker scene. Bring out the contrast! Make dark spots in the tavern so that wherever there is a light it feels like you'd want to sit there. Maybe the fireplace can be the center piece where it's most bright. 

Thanks for advice! Sounds good to me. I will try to achieve such effect when I finish my work with fireplace flame.

Alex_J

the whole scene is super clean. Everything is pristine and the layout is uniform. 

Where ever there are duplicate items, they are in the same exact position (kegs., candles, steins, and so on.) As such, this feels more like a game environment that is waiting for characters to move into it, rather than a real place that exist and has history. 

In addition to adding non-uniformity/asymmetry, I'd think about ways you could make the place look like there was patrons getting sloshed and having a good time just last night. Maybe floorboards around the tables show signs of wear. Maybe in the darker corners you have some cobwebs, or jumbled cleaning supplies. Maybe there is a mess or beer steins, rather than one neatly placed in the same position on each table. Could be some old stains here and there on tables or the floor. Probably somebody spilled something at some point. I'd expect some wall fixtures to not be perfectly straight. Even a tiny nudge here or there makes a difference.

I'd try to come up with some vague backstory to the place and the universe it exist in, and then think of a few key details that will give the viewer something to discover when they observe the scene.

Ashervisalis

Are you using reference images for your lighting? Google 'candle lit room'. If this is in UE4, I'd also suggest using IES light profiles and having some candles burnt out/unlit, just to give some variation to the room.

Brain_Slave

BIGTIMEMASTER said:

the whole scene is super clean. Everything is pristine and the layout is uniform. 

Where ever there are duplicate items, they are in the same exact position (kegs., candles, steins, and so on.) As such, this feels more like a game environment that is waiting for characters to move into it, rather than a real place that exist and has history. 

In addition to adding non-uniformity/asymmetry, I'd think about ways you could make the place look like there was patrons getting sloshed and having a good time just last night. Maybe floorboards around the tables show signs of wear. Maybe in the darker corners you have some cobwebs, or jumbled cleaning supplies. Maybe there is a mess or beer steins, rather than one neatly placed in the same position on each table. Could be some old stains here and there on tables or the floor. Probably somebody spilled something at some point. I'd expect some wall fixtures to not be perfectly straight. Even a tiny nudge here or there makes a difference.

I'd try to come up with some vague backstory to the place and the universe it exist in, and then think of a few key details that will give the viewer something to discover when they observe the scene.

Yea, I also thought about it. But decided to leave that for last. And I think I will get to this. It will help to make tavern more natural.

Brain_Slave

Ashervisalis said:

Are you using reference images for your lighting? Google 'candle lit room'. If this is in UE4, I'd also suggest using IES light profiles and having some candles burnt out/unlit, just to give some variation to the room.

I just googled it. A room with candles really looks much darker, and as a result, it became difficult to see many objects. My original idea was daylight scene.

ChrisFraser

I think that a mistake a lot of people make is to try to make sure a scene is bright enough that they can show off all the details of every single little thing they modelled and textured in it. Where in reality, a scene will be much more aesthetically pleasing if you have dramatic lighting and hide some of the details, make a focal point, etc... 

This will look much more realistic, draw the eye to the things you want people to see and overall make the whole scene much more interesting.

Brain_Slave

ChrisFraser said:

I think that a mistake a lot of people make is to try to make sure a scene is bright enough that they can show off all the details of every single little thing they modelled and textured in it. Where in reality, a scene will be much more aesthetically pleasing if you have dramatic lighting and hide some of the details, make a focal point, etc... 

This will look much more realistic, draw the eye to the things you want people to see and overall make the whole scene much more interesting.

Thanks for advice. I've heard this before consider it really valuable. I will try to deal with it.

RobeOmega

Agreed with above about the lighting, Made a very quick and slightly bad paintover to demonstrate how nice increased contrast would look. Note: don't use this as a reference as it was done pretty quickly and the colours are quite off.

Quite liking the lighting from the fireplace at the moment.

Brain_Slave

RobeOmega said:

Agreed with above about the lighting, Made a very quick and slightly bad paintover to demonstrate how nice increased contrast would look. Note: don't use this as a reference as it was done pretty quickly and the colours are quite off.

Quite liking the lighting from the fireplace at the moment.

Looks pretty good. Thanks for your time and lighting hint.

Brain_Slave

So, I worked on the lighting and added everything I wanted to the scene. It turned out generally good.

BramScrum

The new lighting looks already better!
The feeling I have is that the room feels a bit to much like a fancy box. All the walls are straight, no height difference. Maybe you can elevate a part in the corner with some small low steps. Or add some stairs to hint to a second floor. You can open the ceiling up so people on the second floor can look down from a balcony on the tavern. Using a second floor also allows you to create a roof skeleton instead of a flat ceiling which will open the space up a little bit. You can add a door to the kitchen or a hatch to the cellar. Go nuts, it's a fantasy tavern! Here is an image of a layout with some good story telling elements (like your 'wanted' poster) and some ideas to make your tavern less like a shoe box.
Keep up the great work!

Brain_Slave

BramScrum said:

The new lighting looks already better!
The feeling I have is that the room feels a bit to much like a fancy box. All the walls are straight, no height difference. Maybe you can elevate a part in the corner with some small low steps. Or add some stairs to hint to a second floor. You can open the ceiling up so people on the second floor can look down from a balcony on the tavern. Using a second floor also allows you to create a roof skeleton instead of a flat ceiling which will open the space up a little bit. You can add a door to the kitchen or a hatch to the cellar. Go nuts, it's a fantasy tavern! Here is an image of a layout with some good story telling elements (like your 'wanted' poster) and some ideas to make your tavern less like a shoe box.
Keep up the great work!

Thank you very much. I used same tavern screenshots for inspiration. Second floor is definitely lools interesting.