Forest River Scene UE4 WIP

Lewis_kennedy

started work on a forest scene to work on my ability to create foliage and work on exterior scenes for my portfolio. the scene is stylized and meant to be vibrant in colour. 

so far I've made a few varieties of grass texture and a flower, as well as a bush and tree full tree model, I've modeled 3 extra different tree bases as well that I'm working on, I intend to make a birch tree model as well to add variety and to fill out the landscape now that I've created branch textures, modelled a bridge still needs textured.
any advice on what could be improved would be appreciated since I'm still fairy inexperienced at foliage creation, thanks.

Ashervisalis

Would be nice if you threw some rocks and stones in there! Regarding your trees, they're thicker in the middle of the stump than they are at the base, which looks a little weird.

JamesBrisnehan

I think the grass cards could be spread out more. They are looking a little clumpy right now. Also, it looks like the tree trunks aren't getting any sky or bounce light, but i'm not sure why. Maybe their color map is too dark. Also breaking up the cliff with some sculpted rock meshes would help reduce the stretched look. 
Pretty good start so far though, keep it up.

Lewis_kennedy

JamesBrisnehan said:

I think the grass cards could be spread out more. They are looking a little clumpy right now. Also, it looks like the tree trunks aren't getting any sky or bounce light, but i'm not sure why. Maybe their color map is too dark. Also breaking up the cliff with some sculpted rock meshes would help reduce the stretched look. 
Pretty good start so far though, keep it up.

yeah I was thinking it was a little odd the trunks were so dark, turns out it was a lightmap error and the bark colour was a bit dark for the sun position, just replaced the lightmaps so that should clear up some of the issue.

Lewis_kennedy

added more tree model variations and increased the number of trees in the scene. the trees were black in shadows originally because of a lightmap error and texture being too dark, that's been corrected

created 4 rock models so far for the scene. also I've textured the bridge

Lewis_kennedy

made a few changes, added flowers to the bushes, there's now a particle system for falling leaves, as well as a few simple butterfly models in the scene, I've also changed the lighting slightly as well as the lightmaps to improve the shadow quality.

Ashervisalis

Hey, for stylized, I would make the water a lot less reflective.

ArcaneOwl

Hey Lewis, great start so far. Love how the bridge textures turned out!

We would suggest possibly adding some overall color variation to the scene, as now it shoots a bit monochromatic vibe (perhaps that was the intention though). Some complimentary reds/oranges/yellows on trees or flowers on the ground could help to sell the scene.

The roughness on the rocks eems just a bit too grungy in our opinion if the aim was a more simplistic/stylized vibe to the scene, and the shininess could be toned down a bit perhaps as well.

Hoping you were going for a single still shot of the one that you shared, the bridge catches the eye on first glance, and perhaps it would be cool to have something more going on around that area?

We gathered some references that may be of help. Good luck going forward and hope we were of help!

Alex_J

I think its entirely personal preference but I not a big fan of the heavy bloom post process effect. I feel like much of the scenes character can be in the sky and if its just  a big blurry bloom then all that is lost.

I add a few general suggestions : consider natural sight lines that you can create with your tree placement, and how this can also play with your terrain. For natural environments you can learn a lot about composition from photography, especially magazines like natgeo and travel mags.

Consider the proportions of your renders - how much sky to ground ratio. Also your silhouette of trees and terrain.

Your value range should be such that even if turned black/white the image still reads clear and is pleasing. Generally, darker for foreground, lighter for background (atmosphere fades things out).

Use your water and paths to guide player eye along image and suggest mystery/exploration going off screen. Water reflection can make nice accent for your skybox or horizon line.

Lewis_kennedy

ArcaneOwl said:

Hey Lewis, great start so far. Love how the bridge textures turned out!

We would suggest possibly adding some overall color variation to the scene, as now it shoots a bit monochromatic vibe (perhaps that was the intention though). Some complimentary reds/oranges/yellows on trees or flowers on the ground could help to sell the scene.

The roughness on the rocks eems just a bit too grungy in our opinion if the aim was a more simplistic/stylized vibe to the scene, and the shininess could be toned down a bit perhaps as well.

Hoping you were going for a single still shot of the one that you shared, the bridge catches the eye on first glance, and perhaps it would be cool to have something more going on around that area?

We gathered some references that may be of help. Good luck going forward and hope we were of help!



Thanks for the suggestions, you've given me a lot of good advice to improve the scene!
I'd noticed the scene was beginning to look a tad too monochrome so I've been starting to add the flowers I've made for the bushes to the scene, but your suggestion to add some reds and oranges to the trees makes a lot of sense to make the scene pop more.
 
Agree that I'll need to add a little more visual interest around the bridge to improve it some more, so I'm considering making a sword and shield model to lay on the flat stone at the river, the contrast between something brighter against the dark stone should draw the eye more.
working on modelling a wooden lamp post and fences pieces to guide towards the bridge as well, I think it'll help it look nice in a night time version of the scene. also yeah the plan is to basically make it a single shot, thanks! 

Lewis_kennedy

Added orange and red versions of the tree foliage, added a few more flower types for the grass to make the scene less monotone as well as a model of a stump/
decided to focus on adding a bit more visual storytelling to the scene, on top of the slab of rock by the river I've added a tree log as a rest and placed a lantern and shield next to it, to give it a more fantasy feel,  also made the other side of the bridge lead to a dungeon cave entrance to make the world seem bigger

Lewis_kennedy

Finished modelling and texturing the sword, any suggestions on if anything in particular seems like it needs worked on more?

Lewis_kennedy

Updated scene again

Lewis_kennedy

made a  few minor lighting changes to the emissives to add a bit more personality, also added glowing cracks to the stone the sword is in to blend them together better