[FINISHED] Snow Forest

cello8080 · Jul 2020

Final Render

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/xs/jccl9z4pyq8r.png

Hello all,

This is my first time posting here, glad to finally be joining this community. I would appreciate feedback on this scene with regards to composition, lighting, overall mood and feeling. I would love to add this to my portfolio soon, but want to make sure it's as good as it can be before taking that step. Any feedback is appreciated

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/v4/u4gpdh70fa66.png

teodar23 · Jul 2020

Hey,
About the lighting, there should not be a black spot like that in mid day lighting:

And the shadows/skylight is too blue. I know that you are going for a slightly stylised look but it looks like an instagram filtered photo.
Apart from the skulls and drawings there isnt much of a story with this image. Meaning, it has a sort of story but its not very interesting.
I know you are focusing on comp, lighting, etc. but i cant stress enough how bad the clouds look. The default ue4 skybox is not a good way to present your scene. The internet is full of free hdris and even the ue marketplace has some nice free sky alternatives.

cello8080 · Jul 2020

thanks for taking the time to give your feedback. yea I need to boost the story for sure. For the clouds, I will start hunting down some new ones and get those in! Will post some updates later

cello8080 · Jul 2020

UPDATE

So I added more roughness variation in the materials, lifted the shadows and made them less blue - edited the sky to be more in line with the environment. fixed the landscape tessellation not showing up in screenshots. adjusted the bloom and sun colour slightly, as well as edit the fog. Hope these changes are bringing it in the right direction

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/ur/uw437teyuebi.png

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/02/665525lmpf85.png

Alex_J · Jul 2020

I think you have wrong texture for the ice. This ice looks too thick, too cold. It's out of place. Will add some interest and realistic detail if you had broken bits of translucent ice. Also makes sense as this seems to be an area of human traffic.

this ref isn't exactly what I have in mind but gives an idea. Sometimes you can have a surface of ice but the water underneath has drained out. This way you could have a trail that is bordered by broken ice shards leading into the hut.

Broken ice on a pond Stock Photo 311638319 - Alamy

also consider pushing the contrast between yellow earthy tones and blueish cool tones. Use ambient light to brighten entire value range up a little bit.

Ashervisalis · Jul 2020

I might echo teo on the story bit. I didn't notice the skulls or the hut until after looking at the image for a while. If you want the viewer to see those things as focal points, you're going to need to use contrast, lighting, shadows to draw their eye in. The path will help that, but right now the shadows are obscuring the path, and the hut is the same colour as the rocks behind it. You could bring the skulls closer to the camera... like really close, right in the foreground, I also think the sun shining from the top right of the image is way too overpowering. Maybe consider a completely different time of day for the sun/lighting.

I don't see anything wrong with the clouds or the sky colour. Those look pretty natural to me. In general I think the scene is put together quite well.

cello8080 · Jul 2020

yea the ice has been bugging me a bit, will work on giving it a less opaque look.

Will have a look at the huts - the model isn't 100% final but I will lighten the thatch albedo, that should lift it a bit. Thanks for the feedback guys

cello8080 · Jul 2020

Small update

I worked on fixing the ice shader, gave it a colour that doesn't look like its a deep river, and also added some depth to the material. not 100% happy with it yet, but it definitely feels better from where it started in the thread

the overall atmosphere has been warmed up a bit (have not addressed the bloom yet though) looking to tackle that and some of the story issues soon

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/6g/azkrmaxarmnz.png

teodar23 · Jul 2020

Better but that ice is too uniform in color, if you look at some refs you will see that it basically blurs whats underneath so you would have rocks, mud, grass, etc. Basically splotches of color here and there.
Another thing that caught my eye is the specularity of the snow on the right side of the image: the specs are quite large and unrealistic.
Also, not required, but you could use a blending technique on the snow so that the transition is not so harsh.

cello8080 · Jul 2020

Thanks man, totally agree with the Ice being uniform in colour. I'm working on adjusting the sides of the river to be higher up as well so the ground is not on the same level as the river. I also attended to the oversized specs on the snow XD. Will post more updates later today!

cello8080 · Jul 2020

I have to admit that I'm really starting to get a good feeling from this environment now. All the changes have given it so much more life.
Still want to add more scatter rocks and a couple of trees.

I removed a lot of the "story" elements, they are feeling forced so I'm focusing on getting the environment to a place that I'm really happy with