loading dock

okkun

Due to NDA's we're not able to show much of what we've worked on during the last year or so so I decided to use our excellent location to create some new pieces.

We recently moving into a new office space in downtown Seattle. All the reference for this was shot in the alley of our building. The fence kinda sucks I still have some hard edges I need to get rid of (between concrete & brick).

IronHawk

awesome work bro! wires?

notman

Damn, that's pretty nice. My only suggestion would be to add some rubber bumpers to the dock. Typically that's what I've seen on all loading docks... small stacks of old tire pieces, or just a black rubber block. But if your reference doesn't have it, then who am I to say

coldwolf

I totally recognize that alley! It's off 1st Ave mirite?

But seriously, that's lookin' mighty fine. Wires would be swell...

chinups

Very nice man. I really like the yellow gards. Good detail.

okkun

It is off 1st ave! I only used textures though. The actual layout was something I found on flickr. Heading off to GDC tomorrow so I won't have time to do a wire shot but I'll try to share some of the textures when i get back.

rooster

damn nice! great job covering up all the joins, all looks very nicely integrated. If I had to point out one tiny thing I think the darkness where the road meets the curb is slightly too black and might benefit from a subtle drop in contrast imho. tiny crit, awesome stuff

Nate Broach

Thats a nice brand new no parking sign you have on that door . its a nice looking scene, but my eye cant seem to stay off of that no parking sign. I realize you shot all the reference in that alley but I still might add some grunge or graffiti to it to make it fit in more. Maybe also add some more dirt to the numbers at the top.

coldwolf

You gotta remember though that he grabbed the textures from Seattle, which is a relatively clean city. That no parking sign... well, that's what they do. No, the real world does not make as much sense as games would make you believe

rooster

yeah but in the creative industries you often have to make stuff look natural even if it isn't really like that in the photo

Asthane

[ QUOTE ]
yeah but in the creative industries you often have to make stuff look natural even if it isn't really like that in the photo

[/ QUOTE ]

Yep, this is something I notice a lot of people don't realize-- the real world doesn't have proper art direction (no creationism arguments, please ). In art, you want to control the viewer's impression of the scene. You do this with contrasts of shape and color and whatnot, you keep things clear and recognizable, and you use the camera angles that look good. (Wheras in the real world, things stick out that have nothing to do with the ongoing drama of your life, you have no idea what that heap of discolored waste in the back yard is, and the view of some guy's rear bumper in rush-hour traffic isn't very dramatic )

That's of course not to say the quest for photorealism isn't worthwhile (it isn't ), but unfiltered reality is about as interesting as a rhino sitting on your-- wait, did I have a point? Oh yeah: nice alley, fix the sign

okkun

I'm in complete agreement that the real world isn't always fit to be copied for art. It's about catching common perception of a certain item not the real thing or even your own perception.

This is especially important when dealing with organics such as vegetation. You can take a picture of an oak but it might not look like what most people picture an oak to look like.

In this case I believe it's just blown out by the lighting. I need to adjust the contrast of those textures to match the rest. I think that no parking sign actually had quite a bit of dirt on it.

coldwolf

I learn something everyday from this forum. I love you guys.

But that really bothers me, that I would have to create a convincing world yet design it with so much "fake" built-in... does that make sense? I think reality is incredibly interesting, so why wouldn't I copy it, random "boring" stuff and all? (I'm strictly speaking of artistic content, not actions like sitting in traffic )

In other words, I like the sign because it makes sense--i.e. it's something I've come to expect from the real world. It's convincing and further suspends my disbelief, which I think is the goal of such a piece as this.

okkun

I always use "post card realism" when describing this to an artist. Think of viewing something in the best possible light from the perfect angle.

coldwolf

Yes! I love that idea. Just like you said before that, you just have to adjust the contrast a little, and this makes sense. The 'no parking' sign is a devilish detail, so I'm glad you're keeping it.

Thanks for the clarification

Tumerboy

My point has always been that you should strive for Realism, not copy reality. It doesn't matter if it's identical to what you're looking at, if the average player is going to look at the scene and say it's wrong.

Keep things realistic, but if something doesn't look right, change it.