(UE4) Japanese Alley (Done)

Mustafa · Apr 2019

Hi all,
I've started work on my first environment ever in UE4 and I'm excited to share my progress, and because this is the first one, there is going to be alot of experimenting with new workflows and techniques that I learned.
Ps: I'm self-taught :d
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So I started on the making of reference board using PureRef, and this is the alley I wanted to make:-

I'm not going to make it the same from the ref.

and here is the mood I want to achieve:-

and here are the buildings and props ref:-

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I made a block out of the scene.
On this stage, I want to get the right relative scales and proportions of the objects.

Then I Imported the blockout into UE4 and made the basic lighting and mood :-

If you have any thoughts about where this is going, please feel free to comment. I really need your constructive criticism because this is the first time making an environment.

Mustafa · Apr 2019

So I have finished the buildings modeling:-

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/2a/r8g5mlvv2vvt.png

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/e0/43o4pu0z6te5.png

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Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/mc/d5b7w9e8uiid.png

So the next step is doing the procedural materials.

Mustafa · May 2019

Hey guys, how are you?
It has been a long time since I posted here, I'm busy nowadays with the exams,
I have just Finished the first set of signs, the materials still WIP, maybe you will see them in the next post

.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/wl/ih9yws0t1jlo.png

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/nc/uee5dkj311wd.png

TheGabmeister · May 2019

Interesting scene. Keep it up.

I'm planning to make something like this as well sometime in the future.

Ashervisalis · May 2019

Looks good so far!

Mustafa · May 2019

@TheGabmeister Thank you!
Yeah, I'm really exciting working on this environment.

@Ashervisalis Thanks

.

Mustafa · May 2019

Hey Again!
Did some probs for my scene, feedback and critiques are welcome

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/n8/5peovtnkjbk0.png

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Mustafa · Jun 2019

Hello Polycount!
So finally I have just finished my exams and got time to work on this environment, I have assigned the materials to the buildings and imported the signs and did a basic post processing then quick light building.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/bc/9vtuo4smyi92.png

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/dm/yhiv7d8xdq9g.png

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/9l/4f5xjkzwbzyw.png

And yeah, I guess I have to adjust the materials to fit the scene, the material of the window is a placeholder.

Mustafa · Jul 2019

Hey again!!
Havent been able to work on this project in a while because of my college exams and finally, I have finished them

Here are the materials I did for my environment, maybe I will make more if needed.
100% substance designer.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/5g/630nj2wktfwv.png

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/my/guix74igh9q7.png

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/eg/tocmvl33fubh.png

Mustafa · Jul 2019

Hi Polycount people!
Just a quick update,
So I added more props like paper lanterns and Aircons, made adjustments on some materials, made a quick glass material for the windows and played a little bit with the lighting and the mood:

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/me/ngx1hsaamofe.png

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/07/t32865vhe7yh.png

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/wx/ozyr132pvta6.png

The scene is missing a lot of props, decals.
so the next step is adding a lot of props, decals, vertex paint for puddles and so on.
The windows textures are really bad maybe I'm going to rework them.
I'm going to use a trim sheet and this is the first time I make a trim sheet lol, for the ground to make little pavements, Iron connectors, and shops fronts.
Any thoughts and critiques are most welcome!

Mustafa · Aug 2019

Hi Guys!!
I have added some props to my scene, made some adjustments to the lighting, add water puddles using vertex paint to the ground, made a trim sheet to use it to make pavements and blocks for the ground:-

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/xu/mpoofxv48g0q.png

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/wm/vxabz9mxgh5a.png

Here is the Trim material I have made entirely in substance designer:

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/h4/z2whlngss0ud.png

and here is some beer for u guys

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/ia/0z6zodmwv8wz.png

So in the next step, I wanna add some electricity wires and holders above and make the scene really
crowd.

I really need some critiques on my composition, lighting, and colors since I'm weak on these points, The critiques and feedback are most welcome!!

Mustafa · Sep 2019

Hey guys,
-Added some props (Trashbags, Trash bins, electricity holders and metal connectors above the buildings, added a pink plant on metal holders)
-played a little bit with the lighting and fog setting, but the lighting isn't final and needs a lot of work.
-Fixed the material of the window and polished it.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/qf/eaueef7ofvlv.png

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/gf/wg1uojlfta3y.png

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Mustafa · Sep 2019

Hey Polycount people!
So I have added wires and modular pipes and air vacuums to the environment, made some versions of the materials with a dirty look so I can vertex paint them in the scene,

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/h1/vn4gh9m3os4u.png

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/dq/z8xqf3sdo9ol.png

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Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/hc/po7bcnv6zxsg.png

The lighting still needs work, the next step is to add decals(signs, posters, stains, and damages)
If you have any feedback I will really be happy to hear it!

PeterK · Sep 2019

Oh that's fun, I was just there last week. Nice work

One note, everything there is a bit less even than you'd expect. the pavement, the walls, etc. And it's also pretty narrow, maybe 2.5 people shoulder to shoulder in that alley with the leaves above the street.

Here's a shot from last week, it's all a bit less orderly than you have it in the scene:

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/zs/vfwnvnyjhs7s.jpg

Mustafa · Sep 2019

Thanks @PeterK, I hope you enjoyed your time there,
It's really hard to narrow the alleyway at this stage, I'm trying to make it less orderly but damn these details are taking too much time.

PeterK · Sep 2019

So here's the thing. Right now, the level looks "good". If you want it to be something that's impressive to other artists and potential employers, you need to push it further. Take the time, I really think if you push this, it can be a massive showpiece for your portfolio.

You're like "ALMOST THERE" with it. Check this out: https://www.unrealengine.com/marketplace/en-US/slug/rome-fantasy-pack-i

I think if you just get over the desire to "get it done", and push it just a bit more, you'll have something "great", instead of "good". You have the talent, I can see that, now use your drive to take it up a notch.

Mustafa · Sep 2019

@PeterK Thank you so much!!, you know what I was thinking of getting this piece done soon but after reading your message you have changed the idea!! I agree that getting over the desire to "get it done" makes the work awesome so I will keep going

PeterK · Sep 2019

Sounds good man, looking forward to seeing the final.

Lokidottir · Sep 2019

This is coming on very nicely, looking forward to seeing this finished. I'm working on one pretty similar at the moment, I've had to take a break on it for a bit, but looking forward to getting back on with it especially after seeing this post 😃

Mustafa · Oct 2019

Been a while since I updated, It was so bad situation in my country Iraq because of people go out against the government and the government fight them, too many killed and a lot of injuries and banned the internet for a week, and they will ban it again, so its hard to work offline without any resources and ref.
Anyway, This time I added more props to the scene, Played a little bit with the lighting and added decals

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/gf/wznp9ipk2gdo.png

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/sj/x1hz99p4ubco.png

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TheGabmeister · Oct 2019

Mustafa said:

Been a while since I updated, It was so bad situation in my country Iraq because of people go out against the government and the government fight them, too many killed and a lot of injuries and banned the internet for a week, and they will ban it again, so its hard to work offline without any resources and ref.
Anyway, This time I added more props to the scene, Played a little bit with the lighting and added decals

That's really tough. Hang in there. Your scene is looking great. Keep it up.

Mustafa · Oct 2019

Been working on color grading and lighting of the scene and finally, I'm convinced

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/vm/t4eykne61o59.png

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/a1/tlgnzkyzfih8.png

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/bo/kccpbgkdxxwb.png

The next step Will add posters and signs and more debris.

Mustafa · Oct 2019

Hey PolyCount People,
Been working the whole day on the wall signs, posters, and torn papers, They are really awesome because I feel the environment is alive!
I also made some adjustments to lighting and other props, Feedback and comments are much appreciated.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/0o/zt7uutcozk12.png

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/uy/eca879wsgsjx.png

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/4f/sjuaj8xdzdfj.png

So the next step will be the last

, I'll work on the presentation of the environment, making still pics and a small video to get better at sequencer.

Mustafa · Nov 2019

Hey guys how are you?
It's been a long time since the last update but I was really busy, the situation in Iraq still isn't good and we are protesting against the government to get our rights for more than 50 days, more than 350 people killed and around 16000 injuries, But I'm trying to get this work done when I got free time, so I managed to make a prefinal video and rendered it, I would like to hear what do you think about it, It's the first time I made a video and worked on AE.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o45n7g0Bmk4&feature=youtu.be

Mustafa · Feb 2020

Hey,
Been working on my environment for a while, I know it took a long time to finish and that because of the bad situation in Iraq, anyway after working on some critiques and feedback from the communities, I added more lights to the scene and increased the bounced light to make the scene pop up, and been working to add dynamic effects to the scene to add life to it when making a video format, such as making the leaves and hanging cloth signs effected by wind, falling leaves, stem blowing up from some restaurants, swaying lanterns.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/zr/z2d751zlgz8f.png

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/m9/xtxe1otrtu16.png

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/0l/881r61onjo51.png

The only thing left is fixing and adjusting the final camera cuts and movements for the video presentation, I hope I can finish this piece asap

Mustafa · Feb 2020

Hey polycount people!
Here is the final presentation of the props I did for the environment that I'm about to finish, for the textures I used substance designer, the decals & torn papers were form textures.com after tweaking them in photoshop. I'm happy to finish that environment and sure thanks to the community of The DiNusty Empire for the valuable critiques and feedback, Thanks for viewing my work and have a nice day!

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/qi/lnmrktkb1c8q.jpg

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icegodofhungary · Feb 2020

I hope things have gotten a little better for you in your country. Solid work.

Mustafa · Feb 2020

Finally, finished the presentation of the environment!!
Thank you guys for the great feedback, special thanks to the DiNusty empire! and to Emiel Sleegers for his great tutorial, I've learned the basics of Unreal Engine and experimented a lot with Mood, color grading, lighting, creating various props.
you can check the final work here:-
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/EVR51N
and don't forget to watch the real-time video showcase here:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBVqSrDv69A&list=TLPQMjkwMjIwMjCTnIedhkCHIw&index=1
Have a nice day!

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FilmDirectorSciFi · Mar 2020

Excellent work! Love the props too. Have you ever thought about making these things for film?

Mustafa · Mar 2020

FilmDirectorSciFi said:

Excellent work! Love the props too. Have you ever thought about making these things for film?

Thanks!
Actually, I didn't, but I think they will work well because I used high-resolution textures (taking in mind this is a small showcase environment)

Ace · Mar 2020

Wow! this is awesome work!
I can't believe you're able to focus and produce this level of work with the intense situation in Iraq going on.

Mustafa · Mar 2020

Thanks @Ace
Thanks to the God That I finished it.

Gaurav Mathur · Apr 2020

Congratulations on successfully completing this complex scene, @Mustafa. What you've done under the circumstances is commendable and inspiring. Best wishes to you during these difficult times in Iraq.

Mustafa · Apr 2020

Thank you @Gaurav Mathur

Mustafa · May 2020

Japanese Alleyway Lighting - Ue4

After finishing the lighting academy on YouTube about Ue4, I wanted to rebuild the lighting in my latest environment and achieve another mood with a better look, I wanted to achieve afternoon lighting, I used Ray tracing in rendering this time and the results are Awesome.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWroRHnrdEE