[UE4] (WIP) Sword Shrine

FancyMug

Hello Polycounters.

     I've been working on this scene for the last few weeks. I was hoping I could get some feedback on the scene in its current state. The idea is that the scene is focused on the sword in the middle. Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. All renders are taken from UE4.

Ashervisalis

I feel if you sculpted/carved out the writing in the sign, the feel of the scene would be vastly improved. The writing is one of the points of interest, and it looks a little too perfect. If the writing is just paint, maybe make it look like it was painted on with a brush? I also feel the roughness value of the metal on the weapons could be adjusted, because they look a bit like fake metal right now.

Other than that, I think the scene looks dope. Great composition, colours, and lighting. Maybe turn down the radius of the lanterns on the side to draw the eye in more towards the center?

Finnn

I agree with Asher on the writing. Make it look fancy ! ^^

I also noticed that you have a very symmetrical composition. Althought he visual guide lines more or less move towards the sword, you could emphasize this a little more. To me the composition feels a little too orderly and could use a careful change in the placement of the props to break up the symmetry.
All in all this is looking great already. Keep it up!

FancyMug

@Ashervisalis Thanks for the feedback. I appreciate it. The sign writing is supposed to look burned into the wood. I'll have to go back and make the writing more of a mess to give it that human error feel. 
As for the weapon textures, they are really basic substance materials atm. Hopefully I'll get to texturing them soon  
I turned down the lights from the lanterns. Let me know what you think. 

@Finnn Thanks for the feedback as well. I'm glad you said something about the symmetry. It was really bothering me. At the moment I plan on putting a teapot set and a bonsai tree on right table. I don't think that'll be enough to break the symmetry but we'll see. Maybe I'll change the color of the table runner or something. I will have to do some more experimentation. Thanks.

New

Old

garcellano

The only main thing I'm looking at is the Katakana that you have on the top. Is that Runajin? Is there a reason behind that?
(I'm trying to translate that to English lol). 

I'm trying to remember the history of Katakana, but it's fairly new, for foreign words, or English. I could be wrong, but this was used for foreign trade?

I'd recommend maybe Kanji, or something with a strong meaning to it. It threw me off a bit, with the scene that it is.

As far as the scene, I like the idea.
Do you have reference for this?
Are those teapots by the entrance of the shrine? (The black ones) They're too close to the entrance.
The cushions in the center seem too clean or not used at all. 

FancyMug

@garcellano Thanks for the feedback. For the sign I just used google to translate my daughters name. Her name is Luna Jin. What the sign says isn't necessarily super important to me. It was just for fun. 

The "teapot" looking things are actually incense holders. I just haven't put in the actually incenses in yet. 
I do need to change up the cushions, they are way to clean and perfect looking atm.  

FancyMug

Started texturing the teapot set. 

garcellano

Oh ok, that's pretty cool.
The tea pot's coming along! Nice

As far as where the sword is placed.


Aside from the staffs, mostly everything is leveled lower, close to the floor.
I'm just wondering if it makes sense having the sword planted on the table, or having it on a small platform, similar to these images.

FancyMug

@garcellano Thanks for the feedback and references. I see what mean and understand your point. My goal is to make the sword the focal point of scene. I feel lowering it might take away from its importance, but I'll give it a shot and see how it looks. I do plan on changing the table bc it doesn't really fit the aesthetic of the scene. 

Lighting update. I turned down the lanterns. 

Teapot. I think I'm done with the teapot set. 

FancyMug

Changed the table to fit the aesthetic of the room better. I think I'm pretty close to calling the table done. 

FancyMug

Update:
Changed lighting/Post process volume.
Changed textures for the front fence. 
Edited textures for background weapons 
Edited textures for small black box.
Added Incenses sticks

FancyMug

Weekend Update
Added a teapot Tray, cup, book and some roof trim pieces. There is some work that still needs to be done with some of the pieces. 
Gonna work on some hanging flag pieces next.

Olingova

Looks cool i would also suggest to get rid of the katakanas, it's possible to find cheap "kanji translator" on the internet it can look wayyy better than katakanas imo! And a bit more "historically accurate"  

FancyMug

@Olingova Thanks for the feedback. 

Update:
Added the small flags and edited the lighting some. 

FancyMug

Small update
Added the smoke and messed with the lighting some more. 

Mehran Khan

Good going . I think you can still vastly improve the lighting. Here is what I would do
-The major amount of light is coming from those lamps, which would mean the scene is lit from top-down, however that is not clearly evident as the values are more soft and diffuse, so have a bit more dark on the top and a bit more bright on the ground.
-Add a large rug beneath the cushions so as to break the monotony in the scene (it's mostly just red right now)
-have those small candles(forgot their names) be more red/yellow than white/yellow.
-Have large specular reflections on those clothes hanging on the side.
-make those clothes made of silk with a micro texture to keep the archival look.
- add some blacks/blues to the red paint on the wood as a slight grime layer.

FancyMug

@Mehran Khan  Thanks for all the feedback. I changed the lighting, emissive incense color and roughness value on the hanging flags on the side of the wall. Although after changing the roughness value to be very reflective it didn't show very well because of the camera angle I chosen. I will have to figure out another way to show those off. I will probably also change the pattern on the flags.

Updates

Mehran Khan

glad to knoo w the feedback helped.
you can now take another step and introduce some local lighting to the scene.
- the sword podium can have a yellow/orange light from the candles.
-the side tables can also be lit from candle lights.
-the floor can really use that rug IMO.
-also that banner on top of the sword podium, I would recommend making it more "awesome", maybe have some wood craving on it. or some metal work.

FancyMug

@Mehran Khan Thanks for the feedback. I'm not sure if I'll put candles on the small tables. I don't want to distract too from the center piece. 

Weekend Update
I moved the pillows to what I feel is a more interesting spot. This does kind of open the middle which can feel a little boring. Although I do like the worn down look. I also added the rope and two more signs in the back. Also tried to work on the lighting a bit more. 

FancyMug

Small Update
Changed the lighting and placed the new lanterns. 

FancyMug

Changed the lighting again because I thought it was too dark. 
Added Small ropes to the larger rope
Added a tatami mat in the center. 

FancyMug

Update:
Added some doors and small lamps (WIP). I also changed the pillows in the shrine. I came across these tatami pillows during some research and I thought they would fit the scene better. All C&C welcomed. 

FancyMug

Update: 
I changed the floor in some parts. I added a different texture to the ceiling. Gonna texture the square support parts soon. I changed the sign to Kanji characters. I corrected the SSS for the doors and small lamps. 

Next:
I think I might add something to the white walls above the doors. Will have to test it out and see how it looks. I also want to do something to the center part of the ceiling. 

All C&C welcomed. 

KingKellogg

Katana blades always face upward

FancyMug

@KingKellogg Thanks! 
  For as long as I've been working on this I should have noticed that. 

Ashervisalis

That sign's writing looks so much better now!

FancyMug

@Ashervisalis Thanks! Sorry for the late reply. 

Update:
Turned the Katana the correct way. That edit also helped a lot with lighting bouncing off the blade . Worked on roof supports. I also added some flags on the side. The waves for the flags might be a little too much. All C&C welcomed. 

Next:
With the farther away shots the ground is looking a little empty, so might work around there next. 

FancyMug

Sorry for the spam:
Uploading this image for a gamma, contrast and brightness test. I think my home monitor was not calibrated right. 
The scene should a good amount brighter. If this fix corrected my monitor I'll have to redo my lighting. 
 

FancyMug

Update:
I changed the area to look more like a courtyard. I tried overhaul the lighting as much as I could. I need to do more research on lighting. I feel the shadows are too dark inside the shrine. All C&C welcomed. 

FancyMug

Well I think I'm going to call this done....for now. I might come back to it at a later date. I did another polish/re-texture pass. I tried to liven it up a little more as well. I learned a lot from this project. Looking forward to starting a new project.
Higher res images on ArtStation https://www.artstation.com/artwork/9eylOq

Thanks to all that helped me!
All C&C welcomed.