[UE4] Savannah Environment WIP

Mime · Jun 2016

I've started work a few weeks ago on a new environment.
* latest update

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Its based on a concept by one of my coworkers, Vlad Ricean. ( https://www.artstation.com/artist/vladracean )

I've strayed away from the concept a bit, i'm unsure if i should bring back the browns as they are in the original concept, but it seems my version is to green and lush. I seem to have looked at too many Uncharted 4 screenshots. :awesome:

A few progress shots along the way.

Feedback is welcome , as always.

Mime · Jun 2016

@SimonRiverin Thanks, i am using those

Some more work
Feedback appreciated !

FreneticPonies · Jun 2016

The weird orb thing at the center is really cool! That being said the grass is decent but could use some improvement, and the trees leaf plane silhouettes really need work. There's too many big planes packed too tightly together and seem to be at random angles. Here's a good ref:

You can see how small the leaves are, how clustered near the top they are, almost like an umbrella shape, maximizing how much sun they take in without wasting leaves. If need be you can up the tri count a lot to, you can get away with 40k+ tris for a tree now if you have good LODs.

The fog also looks slightly strange for how close it is, feels dusty but there seems to be too much green around for that much dust (notice how short/dusty/dry the reference pic looks compared to your scene), or polluted but again the scene doesn't suggest that.

Mime · Jun 2016

@FreneticPonies thanks for the feedback ! i redid the trees for the millionth time

I redid most of the vegetation actually.

This is what i had yesterday.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/an/gac4e4bpz4kt.jpg

I like the lush grass , but it seemed out of place in a savannah type environment.
So i redid the ground texture and trees, and removed some of the grass. I also finished most of the props. No more temp geo. The composition of the sphere seemed a bit odd so i redid that as well.

This is what i have now.
As always feedback is appreciated.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/bo/nuj9g8va982t.jpg

FreneticPonies · Jun 2016

The grass looks a lot better! Feels slightly strange to have such a huge color contrast between the orange and green, but otherwise awesome. The fog in the background now matches the foreground better as well.

But the huge leaf planes for the trees still look... PS2 era? They're also too highly saturated for the scene, like the trees are getting all the water while the gras is dry. Cut down on the size of the leaf planes, add more of them, cluster them around the top of the tree would be my advice.

Mime · Jun 2016

@FreneticPonies thanks for the feedback!

I did another vegetation overhaul, i think it looks a bit better.
I also worked on the lighting and atmosphere.
I'm about to call this done. There are places i could improve on , but i think it's time to move on.
Here are the final screens.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/e5/gkn884n2iuhi.jpg

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/yl/7x4msba2e3yo.jpg

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/qg/zi090v0irsjp.jpg

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/c1/9dytk84pugb8.jpg

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/bc/vxvi6tb0ck2j.jpg

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/nt/n606v88eb4pf.jpg

Leinadien · Jun 2016

Looks great my only critique would be that the ground looks a bit wet while the grass looks dry, not so much in the early pictures but in the latest ones.

ninetitle · Jun 2016

Hi, very good work would be interested in you workflow ( and how you did grass, lightning etc...).

amirabd2130 · Jun 2016

good work. I also agree with @Leinadien

Benvox2 · Jun 2016

Awesome! Yea the lighting is really nice and it would be great to see how you did it. My only concern is that the two taller grasses seem to have little or no height variation, it makes the repeating blades slightly obvious.

Mime · Jun 2016

@Leinadien @amirabd2130 did a few adjustments to the ground and grass.
@ninetitle @Benvox2 i'm gonna do a breakdown when i get a bit of time.
I'm calling it done!
More shots : https://www.artstation.com/artwork/vm6ed
I'm gonna record a video of it next.