[UE4] Beckett's Tomb

InvaderRoxas

Hi everyone! Just finished up the second project for my independent study at the College for Creative Studies, and I'd love to get some feedback on it. The project was based on learning more about modularity and trim sheets, and I was also challenged to study the style of Airship Syndicate and relay that into my work. I also worked more on my composition and overall planning with this project, as up until now I hadn't given those steps the proper time they deserved, but it's definitely made all the difference.



The full breakdown can be found on my Artstation - https://www.artstation.com/artwork/PoV8EL
Any and all feedback would be greatly appreciated! Would love to know how I can improve for future projects, thank you! 

VesaN

Superb work Daphne! I think the mood is really there, and there's so much to like about. The only thing I'm not a big fan of, are those creeper plants' lightly outlined leafs, they pop out a bit too much to my eye from the otherwise balanced environment, but my pure revulsion towards hostas might be to blame. The enclosement of space, without it being claustrophobic or clogged, is an achievement in its own right. The double-monochromatic palette works really well. I'm also mind-blown by those gargoyles! I will be happy to see more your work in the future!

InvaderRoxas

@VesaN Thanks so much, I really appreciate the feedback! I'll definitely keep that in mind when it comes to my plants in the future, currently trying to learn how to make better hand-painted stuffs that blend better, foliage included, so excited to improve. 

VesaN

No probs! Love how artists always evolve from project to another. 😌

BradyJ

So my favorite part about this work is the colour contrast from the main focal point (the tree) and the background. And the stylized texturing looks nice! Things I would focus on working on is the lighting and the composition. Right now the lighting is very even all over, so it makes my eyes bounce around all over the place, rather than settle on the focal point of the tree. More contrast in the lighting would sell this scene better. You want to have some areas of darkness to let the eye rest, some occlusion where objects intersect with each other. I also feel like some directional light coming from that moon would be super cool!

I don't know what engine you are using but I use unreal and I learned so much about lighting from 51 daedalus on youtube, he does a really cool lighting academy that I would recommend checking out if you are struggling in that area.

As for the compostion,the thing that stands out the most is the perfect central symmetry of the composition. I feel like it would add more interest if there was some big differences on both sides.

Keep it up!

InvaderRoxas

@BradyJ Thanks so much for your feedback! I do use Unreal, and I 100% agree. Think I played it too "safe"  with my lighting here with a lack of contrast. Overall I've been wanting to seriously start in improving how I light & compose my scenes, but wasn't really sure where to start looking. I'll definitely check their lighting academy out, thanks a bunch for that reference!