Exterior Tavern Environment UE5 (FINISHED)
polycounter lvl 8
Hello !
I decided to get back to Unreal engine after a few years. My goal with this project is to familiarize again with the Engine, and make a game ready environment in a fantasy universe. I imagine this environment as if it was made for a top down game. I also want to practice and get better at modular construction.
I'm currently at the blockout phase, still adjusting proportions, somes shapes and experimenting with modularity.
Do not hesitate to give critics and feedbacks, I would be happy to have fresh eyes on this work.
Thanks !
Replies
The one question/critique I have is about the seating area. It looks like the tavern is built on top of a porch that partially overhangs the outdoor seating, but the pillars don't look quite strong or plentiful enough to hold up that entire building. Also isn't that about where the cellars would go under an ordinary tavern? But maybe you already have something in the works to address this.
Again, looking great!
I feel currently there is much contrast and few areas of rest, making the scene appear quite busy. Maybe you can add some controls in your material to adjust/decrease the contrast of the albedo. Yet another option for noisy/repetitive surfaces, would be to vary the strength of the normal map and potentially reduce it overall for by distance to camera to balance large shapes and details.
The greens/plants feel bit too saturated imo. Maybe if you dial back the saturation, the man-made structure could pop out more.
A detail that confused me at first, is that the wooden roof tiles are red. I relate that color more to tiles made from clay. But maybe its a thing to paint them in that color - and I certainly see how it makes the structure stand out.
Keep it up
I think Fabi said what it was. perhaps a tad too bright and saturated.
I use to go to a very beautiful place that reminds me of this: https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=54f857b3f8be4b8c&q=val+di+mello+italy&tbm=isch&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi3wtKriImEAxW-L1kFHZ39CDUQ0pQJegQIDBAB&biw=1334&bih=662&dpr=1.44
I think if you shifted values a touch more realistic it might feel nicer. But it is excellent already.
there is a big difference in the color and value between ground foliage and trees. I wonder if bringing that closer together may help. If the background and prop elements blend together more that may help put focus on the building and make scene less visually cluttered? Just an idea, I am working on similar issues in my own project, so what I've done is setup a hierarchy of material instances so that I can batch tweak things like color and value by categories.
if you didnt want to go to trouble to set something like that up but want to quickly play around with adjusting color/value by item type you could just F9 for screenshots and then adjust them in photoshop by making some mask and then using adjustment layers. That way you can quickly find the best look without having to tweak a billion things in unreal.
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/14woB2
I also find your render to be too sharp and saturated, so maybe adding some softness, blur and shadows in the foreground might solve this?
Probably only a matter of taste, but I feel like red is a little out of place. I did a quick recolor to brown:
to me something like that feels a little more harmonious. Maybe that's too much saturation. But i feel like roof shingles in a place and time like this is probably coming from local lumber. JMO though
My only critique would be the vegetation on the roof. Ivy growing on a rooftop feels out of place, but I could happily be proven wrong on that front if you see some of that in your references. However, I'd consider removing it even if it makes sense logically. The green on the roof kinda pulls it into the background with the other trees / foliage. The structure had such a striking presence in the images you posted in December and I'd try and recapture some of that in your final hero shot.
These are nitpicks though and again, really great piece here!