[Looking for Feedback] Door To Jotunheim - UE4 Environment

Necrodark

Hello Polycounters!

I started this project a long time ago to learn the process of creating environment art in UE4, it has gone through too many reworks to count but i finally feel like i have it in a state that i'm happy with.

Anyways before I post it to my portfolio i would love some feedback on the scene in general, any advice is greatly appreciated! 
Thanks in advance. 

icegodofhungary

Looks good, I don't have any major crits. You could throw in a light shaft or two in the darker areas, using a dimmer cooler spotlight to imply some more cave openings. That would balance out the image a little more and give it a little more depth. I think it's a nice piece as it is though.

Necrodark

icegodofhungary said:

Looks good, I don't have any major crits. You could throw in a light shaft or two in the darker areas, using a dimmer cooler spotlight to imply some more cave openings. That would balance out the image a little more and give it a little more depth. I think it's a nice piece as it is though.

Thanks alot for the advice man! do you mean artificial light shafts or changing the direction of the sun light so that it covers more of the darker areas? also the contrasting light sounds like a great idea, i'll definitely play around with that. 

icegodofhungary

I mean add some implications there may be holes in the roof of the caverns elsewhere, and have skylight pouring in. But just use spot lights or a light shaft mesh/texture instead of making physical holes or changing the direction of the sun.

Necrodark

icegodofhungary said:

I mean add some implications there may be holes in the roof of the caverns elsewhere, and have skylight pouring in. But just use spot lights or a light shaft mesh/texture instead of making physical holes or changing the direction of the sun.

Damn Thats a great idea, it could also add to the contrasting light. Thanks dude, never would have thought of it myself 🙌

Ashervisalis

A lot of your images are really dark. I understand it's in a cave, but in one of your images, more than half of the picture is too dark to understand anything. If you check out my reference images below, I feel the developers of God of War used blue lights and desaturated colours to make you feel like you were in dark caves. Some advice I've heard; it is better to start with your scene being too bright, and then to bring the brightness down, than to start with your scene being too dark, and bring your brightness up. Also, keep your colour values, when texturing, around 50% brightness. If your textures range in brightness drastically, it'll be difficult to light your scene.

https://www.artstation.com/rogelio/blog/jX8/texturing-values-for-environments-part-1

https://www.artstation.com/rogelio/blog/b43/texturing-values-for-environments-part-2

I also think the images have composition issues. My first gut reaction when looking at your images is 'how do I get there?' as it's a floating platform and looks very inaccessible. I feel a bit claustrophobic. My eye is drawn first to the door, then to the many crystals around, then to the hole in the roof, and then back around again, trying to figure out the image. Your colours need some thought put into them, as you've got yellow, blue, green and purple, and they're clashing a bit. If you're going to have a really dark environment and then little points of colour, you need to simplify, and apply some colour theory.

Necrodark

Ashervisalis said:

A lot of your images are really dark. I understand it's in a cave, but in one of your images, more than half of the picture is too dark to understand anything. If you check out my reference images below, I feel the developers of God of War used blue lights and desaturated colours to make you feel like you were in dark caves. Some advice I've heard; it is better to start with your scene being too bright, and then to bring the brightness down, than to start with your scene being too dark, and bring your brightness up. Also, keep your colour values, when texturing, around 50% brightness. If your textures range in brightness drastically, it'll be difficult to light your scene.

https://www.artstation.com/rogelio/blog/jX8/texturing-values-for-environments-part-1

https://www.artstation.com/rogelio/blog/b43/texturing-values-for-environments-part-2

I also think the images have composition issues. My first gut reaction when looking at your images is 'how do I get there?' as it's a floating platform and looks very inaccessible. I feel a bit claustrophobic. My eye is drawn first to the door, then to the many crystals around, then to the hole in the roof, and then back around again, trying to figure out the image. Your colours need some thought put into them, as you've got yellow, blue, green and purple, and they're clashing a bit. If you're going to have a really dark environment and then little points of colour, you need to simplify, and apply some colour theory.

Hey dude! thank you so much for the guidance, those two links you posted are blowing my mind right now. I had seen something about color values on a lighting tutorial but for some reason it didnt sink in. I have been struggling alot with the darkness of the scene since i started the project and had basically accepted that it was going to be dark without thinking about the implications compositionally.
As for the messy composition, its a product of not using a solid reference hahaha. Definitely need to figure out a better path to lead the eye, I do have a section of the environment thats meant to be a path up to the platform but its too dark to notice.

Right now im also doing a project for class but as soon as i have the time i will implement your feedback and post updates!