I've been studying game design part-time for the last six months and
have created my first environment, which is a classic US diner. I would
really appreciate any constructive feedback, as I'm still in the
learning process. I'm planning to submit this by the 28th, so any
insights would be incredibly helpful. Thank you!
I see that some parts appear shiny, and I figured out that it's the HDRI
light causing that brightness. However, I'm not sure how to turn off
the lighting from the HDRI so that it only provides the background image
without illuminating the environment. Do you have any tips?
The whole thing seems overly-lit to me, and the ceiling does seem too shiny.
no its based from Rosies diner. Its not exact, its part of inspiration. I will redo the lights again, do you put rec lights on each window or one rec light to stretch along the whole wall to cover all the windows?
When you look at this scene you created does it feel - used ? or lived in by people, employee's, customers? the usual things like napkin stands that are usually present menu's + do not seem to be present, i know this stuff takes a long time, this is why many mention that references guides and collecting and or studying your goal is important to give that story of , this space is lived in feels recognizable and gives a vibe of "I've been to one of these once/memorable moments". For me this does not give me those vibes. You did fix the ceiling for me somewhat so congrats there.
The assets are quite good, it is mainly the lighting which could be improved. I am missing a sense of light direction - right now everything feels very (equally) bright. If I compare the big LED light on the ceiling with the surfaces next to it, it has almost the same brightness. I would recommend starting with an entirely dark scene and just place the key lights - in your case probably the ceiling light and the windows. Depending on the time of day you might want to add a directional light with a correct color temperature outside so light falls in from the windows. Once you have your main lights you can start working on your bounce light - either by using settings in Lumen/bake lightmaps or by placing additional (low intensity big attenuation) lights in dark corners. You don't want pitch black shadows but also still have a difference in brightness to differentiate key and fill lights which will make your entire scene feel less flat.
When you look at this scene you created does it feel - used ? or lived in by people, employee's, customers? the usual things like napkin stands that are usually present menu's + do not seem to be present, i know this stuff takes a long time, this is why many mention that references guides and collecting and or studying your goal is important to give that story of , this space is lived in feels recognizable and gives a vibe of "I've been to one of these once/memorable moments". For me this does not give me those vibes. You did fix the ceiling for me somewhat so congrats there.
I understand that I need to incorporate all these elements. Since this
is my first environment, I haven't delved into the narrative yet because
learning to build it from the ground up has been quite overwhelming. I
plan to develop it further after submission, as I simply don't have the
time at the moment. However, now that I know how to build, my next goal
is to focus on the narrative.
The assets are quite good, it is mainly the lighting which could be improved. I am missing a sense of light direction - right now everything feels very (equally) bright. If I compare the big LED light on the ceiling with the surfaces next to it, it has almost the same brightness. I would recommend starting with an entirely dark scene and just place the key lights - in your case probably the ceiling light and the windows. Depending on the time of day you might want to add a directional light with a correct color temperature outside so light falls in from the windows. Once you have your main lights you can start working on your bounce light - either by using settings in Lumen/bake lightmaps or by placing additional (low intensity big attenuation) lights in dark corners. You don't want pitch black shadows but also still have a difference in brightness to differentiate key and fill lights which will make your entire scene feel less flat.
Thank you! Your feedback is incredibly helpful and constructive, and
it's clear you know your stuff. I'm currently starting over and
concentrating on the key lighting because I realized I had too many
lights, which made everything look cluttered and confusing.
Replies
https://www.google.com/maps/uv?pb=!1s0x875211a8730c8eb7:0x15177ebe80ae35a0!3m1!7e115!4s!15sCgIgAQ&imagekey=!1e10!2sCIHM0ogKEICAgICn5PTnHw
The whole thing seems overly-lit to me, and the ceiling does seem too shiny.
excellent thanks Eric!
I would recommend starting with an entirely dark scene and just place the key lights - in your case probably the ceiling light and the windows. Depending on the time of day you might want to add a directional light with a correct color temperature outside so light falls in from the windows. Once you have your main lights you can start working on your bounce light - either by using settings in Lumen/bake lightmaps or by placing additional (low intensity big attenuation) lights in dark corners. You don't want pitch black shadows but also still have a difference in brightness to differentiate key and fill lights which will make your entire scene feel less flat.