Environment Asset WIP: Mill
polycounter lvl 9
I have been working on this building for a while and have reached a point at which I am willing to share it and request comments/crits. Built with a Next(ish)Gen MMORPG in mind.
Concept:
I added the mill portion to this idea for visual interest/purpose. It became a building on stilts so the rock was nixed in favor of entirely wooden construction.
Viewport Wires and Wire-On-Shaded(s):
2916 Tris
4 - 512x512 diffuse
4 - 512x512 normal
2 - 512x512 alpha (Even though Maya's "High Quality" Hardware Renderer doesn't like to display it, alpha effects the waterwheel's fins and the cloth overhang in back.)
water/grass is stand-in of course
As I said, I would be eternally thankful for comments/crits.
Concept:
I added the mill portion to this idea for visual interest/purpose. It became a building on stilts so the rock was nixed in favor of entirely wooden construction.
Viewport Wires and Wire-On-Shaded(s):
2916 Tris
4 - 512x512 diffuse
4 - 512x512 normal
2 - 512x512 alpha (Even though Maya's "High Quality" Hardware Renderer doesn't like to display it, alpha effects the waterwheel's fins and the cloth overhang in back.)
water/grass is stand-in of course
As I said, I would be eternally thankful for comments/crits.
Replies
On my part, I think say that texturing needs some more ellaboration.
First, textures don`t seem coherent. E.g., main walls r too shiny and contrasted. white/light gray does not work here. They should be in harmony with other wooden parts.
Second, texture size on different parts differs a lot despite they r using pretty much the same image. So I suggest that u check mapping for this issue (for example, wooden piece above the door uses too small texture space while other parts have it more tiled over them). Same is for barrel - it`s texture seems to be low resolution comparing to walls` textures.
Third, bump looks too strong. In reality u wouldn`t see the wooden planks being so sharp from such a distance. Floor planks look much better though.
And the ast thing
But concept is cool and I like the model, keep up the good work !
given the fact that buildings and assets within a game can be viewed from very close or very far, what is the target distance for them to look their best? I would normally say the object's usual distance from the camera/player, but For example, a wall on a FPS, might be viewed from 3ft out generally, but then if you take cover behind it, you're inches away. Should you make a fairly 'flat' normal map and let the specular do the heavy lifting from afar? or make a fairly prominent normal map and specular map where it looks good from 3ft and not worry about looking flat from afar and insanely bumpy up close?
The one thing about having a target distance is making it look good on a turnaround/pose for a portfolio... you have to pump up normal maps to make it look like you're even using a map from the distance I'm at here, but when you get close it looks ridiculous.
Also, I'm under the impression that normal maps give themselves up while you're looking directly at them, even in the best of the best (and not just at steep angles), but during actual gameplay and the camera moving constantly, with lighting updates 60 times a second, the effect is fairly realistic and players are less the wiser. On a portfolio... what to do to best display your work? In-game or viewport screencaps can look so poor when left to onscreen and open to scrutiny for longer than 1/50th of a second. I guess the question boils down to what do industry reps ignore because of technology limitations, and what will they blame on me for not looking good haha.
It would be great if an industry pro could let me in on the secrets of using normal maps on environmental art. I've found a couple of threads but nothing that explains how to make that decision, and especially not regarding how to best display your work in order to get a job. That is the goal of all of this right now... moving from academia into the actual gaming industry. What do you people look for!?
What concerns portfolio, I think that what`s most important as for env. artist is to show sence of color, lightning, perspective and space. A good understanding of arch. styles is useful too.
I strongly reccomend that u have works done in some engine, cause I start realizing that level artist does a lot of wiork in the actual engine. E.g. lightning, setting up materials, particles, fog, skies, triggers etc. If ur level works in real time it is the best show that u can not only make art piece but also make it fit into tech. restrictions.
But dont forget to aim the balanced art - textures, lights and mood should work together