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Service Station scene c&c

pumbaa
polycounter lvl 16
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pumbaa polycounter lvl 16
Hello!
Im yet another 3d artist guy trying to get a job in the wonderful games industry.
Im therefore always looking to improve my skills and got word of this great site to learn new tricks and to showcase my stuff for c&c, so yeah, thats what Im doing.

This is a supposed to be a sort of worn down Californian style service station/workshop. specular and normal maps have not yet been started, but I would like some pointers about the current design and stuff.

textures:
building:
512x2048
objects:
1024x1024
roof:
256x256
security camera, ground & brick wall:
not started

servicestation01.png

scene turned 180:
servicestation02.png

and a quick concept:
service_station_concept.png


Thanks in advance guys and gals

Replies

  • LEViATHAN
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    LEViATHAN polycounter lvl 11
    Maybe use something more exciting than just 'auto service'.
    Shouldn't the cameras be pointed to the doors?
    Lights look a tad too big.
    AC looks a tad too small.
    The block at the back should be slanted or have some steps.
    Feels somewhat weird that the doors and electrical box are covered in graffiti, while the walls are clean.
  • Mark Dygert
    Looking pretty neat.

    I think you're in line for a dirt pass or two and the base of the building needs some dirt mounds and grass planes to help it blend in. It might be worth while to add a few loops to the building and deform it so the lines are quite so straight.
  • pumbaa
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    pumbaa polycounter lvl 16
    Damn that was quick! Wicked! :D
    The reason why there's no grafitti on the walls is that the walls are tileble 512x1024, so Im putting grafitti on there later as decals.

    Awesome pointers, thanks a lot, keep it coming!
  • scotths
    Pretty cool so far. Here are some quick thoughts from a California boy -- I might have more later too.

    - Think about how the place was actually built. I love that you put the rain spouts sticking out where you did. All the flat style rooftops around here have that. The lip should be shorter, though, half a meter at the most.

    -Ask yourself, how are the lights and camera powered? This building would most likely be cinder block construction layed over with stucco, which means that no wiring could run through the walls. So, all wiring should be external or run through conduits straight to the main fusebox. This applies to AC unit on the outside too -- it should be on the roof. Actually, there probably is no AC in an auto shop, just venting fans.

    - When you do the eternal cement, make lots of cracks and weeds

    - Nice work on the stucco. Keep in mind, though, as you finish up your textures that stucco that has been painted over (which is most likely here, probably a few times) has a very different specular quality than unpainted stucco.

    - I would consider fading the wall colors even more -- the sun can be brutal over the years in most of california. Blue fades the fastest -- many multi-colored items (like posters) tend to get more and more pink as the blue fades out.

    - As you are adding a dirt pass, think about where water runs down the sides of the walls.

    - Are you going to show the roof. If so, you need a lot more stuff on top -- ventilation especially in this type of workspace.

    - The building should have a cement foundation and should not be painted. It should have some exposed rebar, too.

    More later.
    Scott
  • pliang
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    pliang polycounter lvl 17
    You can go on Flickr and check out how some of them shop signs look like and frankenstein an idea from there...

    The edges of the walls could use a dirt trim...same with the graffiti (like using a separate geo if you can)

    Adding on to what has been said...might wanna study how the building wears out over the years and then texture it to that state...so far it looks rather new.
  • pumbaa
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    pumbaa polycounter lvl 16
    Here's another update of the service station. Havent had that much time working on it due to real life stuff, but I finally managed to do enough for another update!

    I havent started on wall cracks yet, but thats up for tomorrow.

    One problem I have is, the dirt at the bottom of the house doesnt match the asphalt even though I have darkened the asphalt much more darker than it should be.. what to do.. the asphalt is 1024x1024 tileble.

    I def have to rethink the lightning as well. but thats for later.

    Some things actually look better in the viewport then when rendering, thats prolly due to my lack of rendering skills though, anyways, c&c is much appreciated!

    servicestation02%2801%29.png

    servicestation02%2802%29.png
  • tremulant
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    tremulant polycounter lvl 17
    wow, nice improvement
  • pumbaa
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    pumbaa polycounter lvl 16
    @ tremulant: Thanks man

    here's a quick update, been trying to get into CryEngine2 and finally Ive made some progress with that. Also been trying to get the decal part, and thats done so next up is creating cracks and dirt stain decals and applying them with the graffiti.
    Its hella fun exporting from maya, importing it all in max trying to work there (I hardly know max at all) then exporting from there and importing to CryEngine2 encountering a lot of fun exiting problems along the way! :P

    Anyway here's a screenie from within CryEngine2 with bad lightning. The crack decal is of course a placeholder from experimenting.

    hit me with any c&c ya got!

    servicestation_ingame01.png

    servicestation_ingame01.png
  • pumbaa
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    pumbaa polycounter lvl 16
    quick update, I've been playing around with decals and light and stuff in the editor, still got some stuff to fix but I feel like Im heading in the right direction.

    I still need every c&c I can get though so if u got something, shoot! :)

    Later!

    servicestation_ingame02.png
  • Mark Dygert
    Looking good, huge improvements.

    Crits:
    - The level of dirt at the bottom of the white area, is about right for the level of dirt next to the ground. The bottom piece needs that treatment also, and maybe a bit more.
    - It looks like you dropped in onto a grass plane. Blending props into the environment is also something to consider. possibly add a slight dirt ramp around the base of the building, kind of setting the whole thing on a micro hill. It will also help even out any ill regularities in the terrain and keep them from eating into your building and effecting your lowest level of dirt around the base.

    - Dead plant/grass planes can help things blend into the environment. As well as old auto parts, mufflers, fenders, transitions bla bla bla.

    - The slab loading dock is kind of weird, I really don't understand why the door is so high in the building. If its so trucks can unload, normally those types of truck wells are dug into the ground. Or the truck backs right up to the door and there is a bumper made of chopped rubber. Its just kind of weird seeing a door up so high when the front doors indicate the floor is at ground level.

    - The grudge is coming along nicely, but you should pay special attention to the wires, and things mounted on the building. These will collect water dirt and debris and leave streaks and rust marks.

    - Also make sure that if you have a dirt ring around the building, that props around that dirt ring are also showing the same type of dirt. Dirt and rain aren't picky about what they hit and stick to. Yes some materials will repeal them better then others but they always leave traces behind and change the material in some way. Weathering needs to be consistent not only on the texture flat you're working on (piece to piece) but from prop to prop and environment to environment.

    - The tags are a nice touch, but since this building has been around a while, why not paint over some of it with a lighter color of paint. A few layers of tags could be a nice touch. It might be neat to paint an old logo of a former owner on the front of the garage door then cover it up with tags. To indicate the place has changed hands a few times.

    - The sign still looks pretty thick. It has the thickness of a sign with lights inside but the texture looks like a flat billboard. If it lights up, thats kind of new and expensive for a dumpy auto repair shop, but at some point someone did buy a huge wrench so...
    If its meant to light up, check out ref of light up signs, especially the metal boarder that runs around them, the translucency of the plastic and any damage, aging or fading that might be common. You don't need to have the light on, but the sign would look different with the light off.

    - If its a billboard, it needs to be thinner
  • pumbaa
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    pumbaa polycounter lvl 16
    Well after a whole lot of experimenting and doodling and what not I finally managed to get stuff done worth an update.

    Btw thanks a lot vic for those pointers, great stuff. About the environment thing, I never intended to keep the grass thing, that image was just to show it ingame. Im not even sure if I will have any environment at all in the finished image, might just show the building with like a greyish BG or something. We'll see.

    I also had in mind to create some paint overs, and a few are in this update yaay
    And I gave the sign a rework, its supposed to be a lightup sign, hopefully that shows a little better in this latest one!

    Im still need some c&c cause Im not sure what else to do with this.
    Thanks

    Big pic:
    http://www.pee-baa.com/other/forums/servicestation_ingame03.png
  • Mark Dygert
    Looks like you're site is down? I can't access www.pee-baa.com or the link to the image...
  • pumbaa
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    pumbaa polycounter lvl 16
    hum try again, works fine for me.. Probably some temporary thing, weird cause just thought right before posting "I wonder if its usual for sites to be down, so far it hasn't happened to me" and of course it happens when u think about it

    should work now hopefully
  • Armanguy
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    Armanguy polycounter lvl 17
    looks good great job im not likeing the loading dock at the back looks too plain/empty to me.
  • pumbaa
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    pumbaa polycounter lvl 16
    @Armanguy: Yeah you got a point there.. Thanks for pointing that out man. However I put status finished on it couple of days ago. Might go back and add something back there though.

    Anyway, here's the final, with wireframe!
    station.png
  • Quokimbo
    Wow I like it...

    My biggest gripe was there is nothing on the roof...but it looks ok to me in the final version!
  • LEViATHAN
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    LEViATHAN polycounter lvl 11
    Turned out really nice bra.
  • Jeremy Wright
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    Jeremy Wright polycounter lvl 17
    I think this turned out really well. It looks like you're done, but if you feel like do more to this, I think adding rubber loading dock bumpers to the slab at the rear of the building would add some visual interest to that area: http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&rlz=1I7GFRC&q=loading%20DOCK%20BUMPER&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi

    Maybe some concrete bollards at the sides of the front roll-up door, too: http://images.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&rls=com.microsoft%3Aen-us%3AIE-SearchBox&rlz=1I7GFRC&q=+bollards

    Maybe a handrail at the front door? Just some ideas that wouldn't be hard to do. As it is, it looks really good. Kudos!
  • whats_true
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    whats_true polycounter lvl 15
    Are those walls individual texture maps. Curious how you were able to do the graphite if not.
  • Mark Dygert
    Yea, that's awesome, nice work.
  • bluekangaroo
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    bluekangaroo polycounter lvl 13
    looks good...i like it!
  • pumbaa
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    pumbaa polycounter lvl 16
    Thanks a lot guys! Your comments and suggestions really helped me to get this done.

    Quokimbo: If you take a closer look at the wireframe I actually added a twin vent thing on the roof, however in a fps it's hardly ever going to be visible, but at the same time I felt a larger thing would be too much for a small building like this.

    8FtSpider: Yeah thanks, that's awesome stuff! Ill def keep that in mind if I get back to this once Im done with the new project.

    whats_true: The walls, main sign, doors and some other stuff are all in a 512x2048 texture where the walls themselves have a tileble space of 512x1024. I def learned that next time Ill think twice about different materials when arranging the uv's due to the dif material shaders inside the Sandbox2 editor. All the graffiti, paintovers, cracks and some dirt is made with decals inside the editor.
  • Talbot
    Looks great in Crysis!
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