Coffeehouse (UE4 environment)

Wayfray

I've started a new coffeehouse / chalet environment in Unreal with a retrofuturist/funky vibe. Some materials are placeholder, and I am still experimenting with lighting - currently using dynamic, but I may change to using static. I hope to be able to finish the scene with a relatively small amount of props.

KW_Arts

The layout and composition of the environment is really strong, reminds me of a really high class coffee house that you find in central cities so that is coming along really well. As for the lighting, it is highlighting specific POI areas quite well but the shadows are way too dark, therefore creating negative space. To fix this you could experiment with reflection captures or increasing the sky light intensity slightly to bring out the shapes in the shadows a bit more
Also, its cool that you are trying to build a scene with as little props as possible as I'm guessing that is for efficiency? if so, make that more obvious, take a screenshot or render of the modular kit/ individual props so we can see everything that has been repeated to really demonstrate this as right now from a first glance, without reading your caption, it just seems that environment is kind of empty? 
Keep going with this man, has potential to be a really eloquent scene!   

I'm quite new to polycount and am looking for feedback for my own work as well, I'd appreciate it if you could check out my work and leave a comment as well, thanks  

Wayfray

@KW_Arts
I took a look at your thread. Looks like you already have quite a bit of feedback so I'll hold off for now, but thanks for the critique!

I adjusted the lighting, brightening overly dark areas, but still trying to keep some nice shadowing.

I also added a few props - I tried not to be too generic. I had thought of making it a ski chalet with coats hanging on the walls, snow tracked across the floor, maybe a ski stand outside, but that's a bit too much of a change in theme from my initial concept for me.
Edit: Since it was mentioned it was missing, here is the view of the rear of the chalet:

KW_Arts

Awesome! That is already 10 times better than what I saw last time! there is a lot more balance to the scene and a lot more detail is readable now!
Now that the lighting has changed, make sure to keep going back and forth between the lighting and the materials, the go hand in hand when it comes to things like colour palette and roughness. I feel the roughness definitely needs some playing around with now just to receive some better reactions from the increase in lighting. 
Great progress man!

DavidCruz

cool wayfray, one thing i spotted was you didn't show the back of the room, viewing the back room in the 1st post doesn't show in the latest update, i think the issue is there, i think the dark room / shading mention was because usually dining area's are lit because servers and guests like to see their surroundings.  Otherwise this is one neat looking place. (i am not an environment person, but i like to comment on everything, use it don't your choice.)