Need feedback to improve my portfolio pieces :)

KatharinaSuhany

Hello everybody!
I am currenty updating and reworking my portfolio pieces and I desperately need some feedback on some of the new renders I made.
Since one of my current main weakness is effectively lighting out a scene I decided to dive a little into the topic to create some better renderings to show of my work better. But at this point in time I stared at them for so long that I am probably not the best to judge them anymore
I would really appreciate feedback and criticisim on my work (not just the lighting of course ) to futher improve as an artist. 
Thank you in advance for your time!
I am looking forward to reading you guys feedback!





 

JamesBrisnehan

If you are really stuck on what creative direction direction to go with lighting you could look for lighting reference/inspiration. Right now I'm thinking your scene could use more rim light and bounce light, but I might be a bit biased, because I LOVE heavy use of rim light and bounce light. Something that highlights and enhances the roughness map you've made. And definitely get rid of or change that spot light on the fruit and desserts that's coming from the same angle as the camera. It's looking way too much like one of those modeling software preview/working lights.
I think your models look good, the texturing could use a bit more work, especially the porcelain tea set. I'm used to seeing that type of material much glossier and polished. And if you want to spice up the tea set, you could add some floral patterns and more gold leaf trim. And maybe some varnish and wear and aging for the coffee grinder. Just be sure to find good reference so you don't go too far.

Ashervisalis

I think the edges of your spilled coffee should be smoother. You could even increase the height of the liquid.

DavidCruz

idk if i will echo stuff but hopefully i don't. 
Liquid does not look wet (to me) what style are you going for?
sry for my laziness(atm) but if you put a link to your portfolio that would have helped a bit to point out maybe what you did good/great on other pieces that might help you out here. (understandable if you want it to be private i hear there are some who do this also and only show employers their portfolios. (2eachtheirown)

Did you use any references for teapot/plates/cups ? i like the white storage boxes.
I'd look around for a good wax guide on artstation maybe someone has a piece with a guide, it would be nice to make that a light source in this scene maybe?  Nice metal work on the candle holder so more of that on the metal/wood box, framing everything else looks good..

I never seen a fork like that so if you have a reference i'd like to see that, otherwise it looks a bit odd to me.

You have almost no specularity, as already mentioned - lighting - it is almost as if you knew it was the lighting but do not want to get into that?
idk i will only speak for myself and say once upon a time i also didn't want to play with lighting but it actually makes a huge difference, (also for me to get right, and idk if i did yet either.)

The wood looks flat, would be nice to see some rough spots with a nice MAHOGANY wood finish and some rough work on the metal, atm it seems like both are just a texture.

Like the creature a lot, i would love to see it updated with single feather geo, i think it would look even better than it does already.  (granted it might be a bit more work, but say 4 new feather geo's made into a wing might not be too much to do.)

I think the entire scene could use a refresh, if you do not think it is too much trouble to go through.  If not you have to add in some lighting idk if the white lines i am seeing at the plates are seam lines or highlights. 

Hope it helps any, otherwise i like the scene, it has potential.

 

KatharinaSuhany

Thank you for the comments, I have written everything down and will try to implement changes in the near feature and update you when changes are done
I will definetly go over the textures of all the props that have either wood, porcelain or metal and improve those. 
Also I will start searching for some wax tutorials and go over the roughness and metal maps to give them better variety. 

@DavidCruz
Sorry kinda forgot to link my portfolio - here it is: https://www.artstation.com/okamiden
I had references for the shape/ colouring of the teapots etc. and yes, that stuff is not as rough as the stuff I made, will change that 100%. 
Here is the reference I used for the fork - I totally agree that it is indeed a bit funny looking

To be honest I never worked on a feather geo, but I will look into that as well!

Thank you again for the feedback, I will try to chnage everything accordingly!

KatharinaSuhany

Hello again!
Finally had the time to implement all the feedback you guys gave me
I completly overworked the lighting setup in Marmoset, I made sure to have more rim light and more lightimg highlights in general. Also I changed the way the shadows looked and made the candle a lightsource.
I reworked the procelain material and gave the tea pot some polka dots. Somehow I found other designs to overwhelming but still wanted to make the mesh more interesting so it was a good compromise.
Also reworked the tea material and the wood material on the coffee mill. I changed the colour, added more roughness variety and dirt. 
Currently I am looking into the feather geometry but it would be awesome if I could get some feedback on the updated lighting




I do not know exactly why the shadows on the plate are more pixilated than the others, will definitley try to change that.

JamesBrisnehan

It looks a lot more lively. Good job on reworking the lighting. The footprints in the puddle look weird though. I think a very flat and smooth puddle surface would look better, with footprints leading away from it instead. Maybe footprint stains on the table cloth, slowly fading out, but leading around the candle to the bird on the far left. 

KatharinaSuhany

Thank you for your feedback!
Definitely will try that and show the results later!