Underground Alleyway (Environment)

Jeff Parrott

I did this in a little under a week of working. It's about 10k polygons and a slew of texture map thingys. Basic Maya render, no Mental Ray (is that Mental Ray or mental ray?).

It's supposed to be an underground alleyway with a bit of a scifi or a few years in the future but still old bits feeling (whatever that's called).

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Edit: updated links

bounchfx

looks pretty good dude. I would like to see either a creeping darkness from where we are standing (the viewer) out towards the tunnel itself, or perhaps a really strong light coming from the doorway - as is it's practically unnoticeable along the wall. the secondary splash of color could look sweet too. (I am talking about the door along the right wall not the gated ones on the left)

looks cool though! nice work!

SHEPEIRO

nice

put a strong light at the other end with a shadow caste by a beastie or soldier or something if its pointing upwards slightly may help make the ceiling more readable

A.Kincade

I agree with both comments so far. The doorway definitely needs light. I feel that the area as a whole is a little tall for being underground. I feel if you had the top area moved down to where the pipes are just a tad bit above the lights. Overall pretty sweet so far.

AK

Tumerboy

ya, it feels too big, or too small for some reason. The space feels very large (like if you scaled the doorways down to half size, it would feel like a big space) but at the moment, with the doors the size they are, it does seem too tall, and not claustrophobic enough. I like the idea of light at the other end, and maybe some fairly heavy fog in between?

Mechadus

Other than what has been said, the only thing that jumps out at me is the texture on the beams. The color looks about right, but they all seem to have a very similar bright edge that makes them pop off the rest of the background too much for my personal tastes. Great work all around tho - I love the curved ceiling element

-N

Jeff Parrott

Thanks for the crits guys.

The light at the other side and something with the tunnel is a good idea! I'll try and work that in when I get to spiffing this up more.

I definitely agree that it's not claustrophobic enough. I could stand to add more layers of details vertically I think to get that. If I scaled down the doors to half size I'd probably just start over texturing cause I don't think they'd hold up at that resolution. Maybe adjusting the angle and height of the curved ceiling would fix that. I'll have to play around with that.

Support texture, yeah totally man. I need to just go balls out on that thing in Zbrush I think. I definitely want to revisit that.

Thanks again for all the crits. Definitely going to work them all in when I get around to this again.

Jeff Parrott

OK I brought down the ceiling and started adding in the light from the tunnel. I need to work on that more as well as the support beams probably. But it's progress!

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ParoXum

Maybe you can scatter more rumble around to make it look more rubbish.

Imo the current trash and rumble is too organized. And straight over the borders.

A.Kincade

Nice. The changes made turned out well. I do think you can push that light in the doorway more. Have more light bouncing on the walls in there. I see the light hitting the ground just outside it, but the walls should be lit as to have them stand apart from the rest of the wall. But it could just be me. Overall grunge it up a bit more if you are planning on re-texturing anyways.

AK

Mark Dygert

I like it, nice work.

Crits:
- The lighting is a bit bright, hardly any pools light or shadows. You can create all kinds of interesting things to look out without adding more geo, just changing up the lights.
- The red lights on the left side , I think there are too many and the illumination looks like they are off, but they are glowing and emitting a small amount of light?
- I'm not sure the wooden pillars are working with the scene. The level of saturation and lack of wear make them look new. But wood as a support structure would be a really old world choice?
- You could do all kinds of different old support structures without resorting to wood. Lots of chances to add in a bunch of different shapes that can interact with your lighting.

Nizza_waaarg

prolly repeating what's been said but...
More dynamic/interesting lighting would be cool imo, seems to be all over the place right now and more focus and contrast would be nice to see i think.
Also a couple more unique props or somthing of interest would be nice. Seems really bare atm even with the trash scattered about. Maybe a bit more story and interest (not sure how to go about this is all :P)

lookin good overall, just needs a little more to it

Jeff Parrott

Paroxum and A. Kincade - check on the more trash and rubbles. and pushing the lighting more in the tunnel. I'll definitely work that in.

Vig - Thanks for the awesome crit. Super helpful. The lighting I jacked up a bit of the brightness to be able to see it. I probably need to adjust my monitor a bit. I checked on another computer and you're right it's not enough contrast. I'll definitely add that. The red lights are just casting a glow. I suppose I could put more space and add it an actual light. I like how it looks on the paint over a lot. The support beams are actually a rusty metal. Apparently I have to rework them. The beams over the tunnel on the left are wood. I used to have it as a mine shaft and that looked out of place. I was thinking of making it a giant metal door or something. Any ideas on that? Thanks again for the in depth crit. Just what I was looking for.

Nizza - Agreed on the more contrastly lighting and more unique set pieces/props. I was thinking of a generator or something on the left side. Something that I could model a high res version of I think. Good call!

Thanks again for the crits everyone. Really helpful stuff. I'll work them in during my next update.

Mark Dygert

Yea the beams need work. Kind of tried and true but I suggest doing something like a bridge strut, a few crisscross pieces, some old rivets or or bolts covered in years of paint and grime, cold be cool? Maybe some wires or pipes running along them...

Jeff Parrott

Good idea! Definitely like the idea. I'll try to come up with an interesting silhouette to work that out. The big things I really want to do are the support beams, lighting tweaks, extra detailed set prop, and something with the right tunnel area. Thanks again!