Treehouse WIP, Amateur organic (Large images)

interrogator_chaplain

Hey guys, so I'm working on my second portfolio piece for school and I'm doing an organic model to contrast my two hard edge pieces that I'm also working on right now. So I went and found some concept art and got permission. Now I need to tap into the famous Polycount hivemind for a critique of where I stand:

The concept:


Here's what I've got so far:











So that's what's done so far, as I said before organic isn't usually what I work on but I really need to change that. So this is something I need your help on, tell me where I'm going right, where I'm going wrong and so on.

Keep criticism honest but constructive, this is basically the first thing I'm posting on here. I can take a lot of strong criticism as long as it leads me to a better product in the end.

Thanks!

Utility

Good start so far. All I can really say is that your roof looks rather shapeless- have you considered what the material will eventually be? It looks like it should be thatch or something similar, but in the concept art it looks extremely vague. You could go for straw or even leaves/mud or some other kind of thatch, which would be pretty cool. Are you going for a more cartoon-y feel? That would give you some lee-way in terms of shape, but you should still define it as more than a blob. Or a jelly monster.

...Actually, I just looked at the concept art again and now it looks like a bowl cut on a Dutch kid. And the house is crying in horror...

Are you going to flesh out the scene with the same sort of props and lighting? That would really make it shine. Especially if you can see into the house even slightly. Good luck!

...Also, is it just me, or does the giant branch in front of the door look odd?

interrogator_chaplain

A cartoon style texture would be something that I would like to try as it would be pretty contrasting with the realistic texturing that I usually do. I might give that a try.

The roof I think will probably end up being probably thatched with leaves in it.

I planed on making a bunch of props, the ladder, the planter, a few of the plants and then set it all on a circularish base with grass and a little bit of the path on the left side.

Broken_Lawnmower

interrogator_chaplain, Hello! My Name is Broken_Lawnmower.

This Is A Very Nice TreeHouse you Have!
However (!), there is a Problem (oh no!). The Branches Are a Little bit off. They Don't taper! (well some of them). Reg TreeB's gen. start out Thicker andthen become Thinner. Forexample the 2 Large branches That form That house's Cradle and The one juting out ofthe house Start Thin And Then Expand, While If You Look at your Ref, all teh visible branches Taper. Tapering Your Branches can help Ground the Tree (omgtreepun) And Sell its "solidness"

anyWays, Someday i hope to Live in a treehouse. And I hope that It can be As Nice As This One. Because it isnice. bye

D-Boy

Give your own spin to the work. Since the concept focus more on mood and atmosphere, you have more freedom to add, or change your 3d models according to your own understanding of the concept art.

occelcon

If you're trying to stay true to the concept, it looks like there's quite a bit of overhang on the tree house. Try to get some of that going on and you'll be golden for now.

interrogator_chaplain

Updates! Who doesn't love updates!

In these updates:
- Branches now taper!
- Fixed branch thicknesses!
- Added some individual elements! (Plant box, chimney stack)
- More branches on branches!
- Added a bit more overhang and indents to the roof!
- At least 90% more exclaimation points!









I think I'm pretty close to the UV'ing stage, I've made up my mind that I'm going for a texture style pretty close to that of the concept art, heavy on the shading and light on the physical texture of the tree, I'm a bit aprehensive about this because it's radically different to the normal style of texturing for me. If you can offer any tips about how to work with that style I would hugely appreciate it!

As always your comments and critiques are very much appreciated!

Thanks!