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[UE4] The Library (WIP)

ANamedUser
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Hi Everyone,
First post from me, I've been working on an environment piece for some time now, looking for some feedback (feel free to be harsh!!!)
Thanks!

Current:


WIP:







WIP2:




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  • Tobbo
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    Tobbo polycounter lvl 11
    Awesome! Something you could work on some more could be the glass material with the cases. Maybe try to explore the possibility of adding some smudges, or something with a little bit of variation with the roughness map. It might be cool to add lights or lighting fixture inside the cases, or at the very least maybe work on the overall general lighting so they're displayed more prominently.

    The other thing that's bothering me is the framed pictures. In your first pic the picture on the left has some strong vibrant colors and values, (it is more vibrant than the entire environment) and really sticks out as being out of place. Your other pictures look older. I would try and be more consistent. And from the 2nd pic it looks like you have 2 pictures of the gentleman with the hat. Maybe it's just a placeholder?

    Cool scene though! :)


  • ANamedUser
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    ANamedUser triangle
    Tobbo said:
    Awesome! Something you could work on some more could be the glass material with the cases. Maybe try to explore the possibility of adding some smudges, or something with a little bit of variation with the roughness map. It might be cool to add lights or lighting fixture inside the cases, or at the very least maybe work on the overall general lighting so they're displayed more prominently.

    The other thing that's bothering me is the framed pictures. In your first pic the picture on the left has some strong vibrant colors and values, (it is more vibrant than the entire environment) and really sticks out as being out of place. Your other pictures look older. I would try and be more consistent. And from the 2nd pic it looks like you have 2 pictures of the gentleman with the hat. Maybe it's just a placeholder?

    Cool scene though! :)


    Thanks for the feedback!
    The duplicate picture is indeed a placeholder, and I completely agree with you with the second picture on the right.
    Light fixtures inside the case is a good idea could help to highlight the props on display, will work on the glass roughness asap
  • FreneticPonies
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    FreneticPonies polycounter lvl 3
    Refraction, with little imperfections and bent edges and etc. is a good way to show glass off in UE4. Also set translucency to surface forward shading and enable screenspace reflections for it, should show up nice and bright.

    Otherwise... I dunno it looks great! Maybe tweak the lighting, add more variation through decals or whatever to the materials. There's no obvious tiling but it is all a bit uniform, without any patches of wear or scratches or etc here and there.
  • shabba
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    shabba polycounter lvl 15
    I think the first thing that jumps out at me is all the similar scale repetitive elements. Maybe try experimenting with something like
    - creating some areas of rest on the second floor walls
    - try breaking up the ceiling tiles with some large wooden beams running horizontally towards the window 
    - add some decorative inlay or colour into the floor to see what it looks like to draw ur eye across as you have alot of lines drawing you back
    - Maybe try keeping the chandeliers off, given the brightness of the windows, you could try using a strong directional light through it casting  a harsh bright light across the floor, with some good atmosphere through that light/rays. allow the other parts to be lit by bounce light, and maybe put a warm lamp in the left side near the seating area. The lighting in those cases as suggested could be cool too. The goal is just to create some contrast.
    - nit picky but the continuation of the carpet wrinkle from under the shelf is odd, i'm not 100% but i just expect that it would wrinkle differently, or not at all given how freakin heavy those cases would be to move. 

    - I'd also maybe start considering story a bit more, and possibly layout. I would think about the guy that owns this library, and what his interests are... obviously he likes to be surrounded by them as he works, whats his passion? What would he fill the cases with that are his most proud possessions. Is he messy/organized? Because that might be reflected int he way the items are presented in the cases, the way the art is hung on the wall, the look of his desk. Does he have a high stress job? Maybe he's a drinker, and sits in this room surrounded by his things sipping on finely aged whiskey. 

    - in terms of layout, if this was my own office, and i was a dude with this much money I might have laid out the cases/desk differently, B/c when you enter, not only would I want you to see my most prized possession in that case, but i'd also want you to see me, sitting at my desk powerfully. But thats if I was a dude with boatloads of cash.
  • Larry
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    Larry interpolator
    I like your lighting on your far shots, but the last picture seems kind of off. Do you work with depth of field ambient occlusion? Remove it. Also your colors in the last picture seem a little bit on the yellow side, but not the warm yellow, more like, dead yellow

    Also, are the rug folds exactly the same on both rugs? Man at least flip one xD
  • ANamedUser
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    ANamedUser triangle
    Thanks for the feedback everyone!
    Sorry for not getting back sooner, I wanted to make sure I had some progress before posting again. I have a few slightly modified layouts/lighting that I'm undecided on. 

    @FreneticPonies
    Thanks I noticed how nice glass effects add to the scene

    @shabba
    Thanks for detailed feedback!!
    I played with the lighting and window placement and experimented with more 'natural' lighting. Added a bunch of small props to help sell the environment.

    @Larry
    It was the fog causing inconsistency when zooming in/out. Tweaked it so that it stays consistent




  • ANamedUser
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    ANamedUser triangle
    I'm still  unable to post new images, will update with new images whenever I can.
  • ANamedUser
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    ANamedUser triangle
    Finally got the image posting to work.
    I have couple slightly different layouts/lighting that I'm undecided on

    Layout A


    Layout B



    Layout C (2nd Level Removed)
  • wirrexx
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    wirrexx ngon master
    Laouy C, is more like a "office Library" for me, while it has it charm.  i find A to be th best, my eyes are drawn to the center and the contrast pops the scene out better. At the same time, A and B seems to be set during different hour time. Hard man. love A and B :P
  • FreneticPonies
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    FreneticPonies polycounter lvl 3
    The extremely dark shadows don't work with the fact that it's daytime, where's the daylight bouncing around? I'd try changing it to night time and the light from the windows to moonlight.
  • Larry
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    Larry interpolator
    For a victorian style scene you have, the buildings tend to be very high so layout C is not recomended
    Layout A has some sort of sunlight on the backside of the table, in front of the office whereas i see no windows in such a place.
    personally i like layout B because you incorporate more in terms of lighting, sunlight plus interior light
  • Ruflse
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    Ruflse polycounter lvl 6
    I like layout A, it has lightning contrasts and composition that atract more the eye to the center of the scene; layout B is cool too because of the sunlight and you get a better idea of the place, but it doesn't really has any focus point. Layout C has too many empty space for my liking, it just makes the place feel distant and small (at least for me).

    I would go with layout A with contrasts a bit softer in the sides (near the two plants in the front) or B with some intensity variation in the lights, maybe making the sun or the hanging lamp stronger and making the others a weaker, or something to make the viewer look at the table, like a small lamp or a candle while also making the rest of the lights weaker. But in the end I would say it depends of how you want to present the scene: A helps you identify the mood and the center of the library while B gives you a better general idea of how it is.
  • Doxturtle
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    Doxturtle polycounter lvl 8
    Personally I like B the most, the 2nd level with that sunlight coming in is really nice. Feels very grand. 
  • ANamedUser
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    ANamedUser triangle
    Thanks for the great feedback guys!


    @wirrexx@Ruflse, @Optimus
    I went back and played around with layout A, and I agree for composition it is the best choice.
    I've brightened up the upper level so that its not completely a blob of darkness, but without drawing too much attention


    @FreneticPonies
    I've increased the indirect lighting and brightened up the scene quite a bit. Moonlight seems interesting, I'm thinking of trying a pass with that. I don't think moonlight can compete with the interior lighting unless I keep the room really dark, it could just be night time though.

    @Larry
    My bad I should have used a screenshot with it zoomed out a bit further, in layout A the windows are centered at the top left of the upper level.


    A shot from with similar angle as B, with updated lighting.






  • Finnn
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    Finnn greentooth
    When I think of libraries, I think of old and dusty books and air that is filled with this special smell of secrets. You caught that very well I think

    The indirect lighting improves the visibility alot.
    You could try to implement some subtle light shafts coming from the window.
    Layout wise, the center feels a little stuffed to me. You could give the props a little more space like in your C Layout.

    Anyway, really looking forward to see the scene finished !






  • shabba
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    shabba polycounter lvl 15
    @ANamedUser I really like this update! Definitely feeling better!

    Personally I would choose Layout B.
    - Layout A feels to cramped, although I like that perspective alot, as it feels pretty powerful and focused, but you lose alot.
    - Layout C just doesnt feel right losing the height.

    Somethings I might consider addressing:
    - add very subtle line breaks to the edges of those carpets, dont go overboard, I mean super subtle. There is one thats huge, which is fine, but you have alot of very straight lines in this scene, would be good to break some of those up /w the organic objects where you can.
    - The seat cushions of that couch stand out oddly, it looks like a large flat beveled face /w hard smoothing groups. Maybe address the cushions so they match a bit more of the arm rests/back? (not with the diamond pattern, I just mean rounder shapes)
    - I'd be curious to see how you can better improve/focus your lighting to help draw the viewers eye in an intentional way?
    - What does it look like if you move the windows slightly left, so the natural sunlight illuminates the front of the desk creating a sharp contrast between the values in the woods, drawing your attention more to the desk.
    - The lights in the right corner draw alot of attention, and dont really seem to add to the scene and make my eye jump around alot. Maybe try turning those off, and see if you can get more bounce light into the room
    - add in some volumetrics on those windows/lights
    - maybe try a chandelier shape that is conical, and had some direction line that push the viewer towards the desk?
    - The pot lights up top should have their emissive off, as they dont really seem to be contributing light to the scene
    - rotate the plants, as i think they have been rotated in pairs and its obvious
    - the 'treasures' in the showcases are pretty underwhelming, such gigantic cases with such tiny things.
    - what can you think of to break up the upper railing? Can you put in a few larger columns that are 2-3x bigger than the spindles? and you add some detail that acts as a structural aspect but also decorative to to break up the trim details below the railing?
  • Tetranome
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    Tetranome polycounter lvl 6
    Lovely!
    I wonder if I'm alone in thinking the fog is pushing the richer colours away too much?
  • ANamedUser
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    ANamedUser triangle
    @Doxturtle oops sorry I missed your comment. Thanks!

    @Finnn
    Yeah it really does, less of darkness blob up top and in the corners haha. Thanks yeah I do see that it looks a bit too packed, mostly that the cabinets appear too close to the center couches. 

    @shabba
    Thanks! Your feedback has been super helpful!!
    I fully agree with you in regards to having many straight lines in the scene, I'll be looking at working in more organic shapes into the architectural element. Lots of things I'll need to play around with, will keep this list handy for the next update. Thanks again!

    @Tetranome
    Thanks! You're not alone, I've been struggling with that all the way through haha, still tweaking it!

  • cmc444
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    cmc444 polycounter lvl 11
    Beautiful work! 
  • ANamedUser
  • Finnn
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    Finnn greentooth

    @Finnn
    Yeah it really does, less of darkness blob up top and in the corners haha. Thanks yeah I do see that it looks a bit too packed, mostly that the cabinets appear too close to the center couches.

    It's not bothering, your scene looks great. I particulary enjoy your book material.^^ I've read your interview on 80.lv, really great insight.
    Keep it up!
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