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Intergalactic Spaceship

Donkey_Kong
polycounter lvl 11
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Donkey_Kong polycounter lvl 11
Hi, My name is Kevin. This is a 3D environment that I am working on for my Major Study at the University of Hertfordshire. The scene is loosely based on the trailer for the new Naughty Dog game: Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLGy63pt9vA It's still in the block out stage but all feedback is welcome! The scene is based in an alternate 1985, hypothetically mankind discovered space travel after the end of the Second World War. This is the interior of a ship developed in the 80's in this universe

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  • d1ver
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    d1ver polycounter lvl 17
    Keep going man! 
    Lock in your cameras first and then light your block out and you will in good shape.
  • Donkey_Kong
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    Donkey_Kong polycounter lvl 11
    Thanks for that feedback, I've added in locked cameras and I have worked on another lighting pass
  • Donkey_Kong
  • d1ver
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    d1ver polycounter lvl 17
    I don't think counts as locked cameras. What are you lenses? Are you using an 80mm or a 30mm? Why? What are you focal points? What is the foreground/midground/background of every shot?

    If you going to just replicate the trailer shot by shot that's ok but then pick the shots and learn from them. There is a lot of very deliberate camera and framing choices there. Which are going to define how you light things and how much effort is worth putting into the props. 

    Otherwise there is some great reference here:
    https://imaginemore.art/?library=Cinematic+Art&search=space+ship+cockpit

  • Donkey_Kong
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    Donkey_Kong polycounter lvl 11
    My focal length varies slightly image to image to image. it's generally around 35mm but I have lowered it to 20mm in order to fit all the assets into place in the scene as the space is so tight. To be honest, I haven't considered the foreground, background etc. Should I look into this?

    Hmmmm, so should I target some areas to focus detail on in order to show it off in a video and then use less detail elsewhere? I am going to make my own version of the ship instead of copying the video frame for frame

  • Donkey_Kong
  • d1ver
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    d1ver polycounter lvl 17
    My focal length varies slightly image to image to image. it's generally around 35mm but I have lowered it to 20mm in order to fit all the assets into place in the scene as the space is so tight. To be honest, I haven't considered the foreground, background etc. Should I look into this?

    Hmmmm, so should I target some areas to focus detail on in order to show it off in a video and then use less detail elsewhere? I am going to make my own version of the ship instead of copying the video frame for frame

    20mm is rarely used in film (unless you're Terrence Malick 😅) It's just generally considered not very cinematic:

    It just starts looking more like CCTV footage (or an amateur environment artist portfolio😬).
    More cinematic camera angles are usually the ones with longer lenses but of course it varies based on intent.

    If you want a gateway drug to understanding cinematography I highly recommend this talk by Robh Ruppel that I curated for the Art Direction Summit about 10 years ago:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHg9L9xXrMQ
    Robh is one of the best artists on the planet and is responsible for some iconic visuals.

    And yes the process is usually:
    1. Block out exceptionally powerful compositions 
    2. Light them
    3. Produce assets that are going to be seen from these camera angles and with this lighting (sometimes corners are so dark you don't even need to waste your time with details)

    You can do it the other way around you will just spend a lot more time and it will most likely not turn out that great :) 
    Best of luck!
  • Donkey_Kong
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    Donkey_Kong polycounter lvl 11

    Thank you for sending that video. I watched it and then spent the last 2 weeks trying to learn more about composition and cinematography. I have changed the camera to a 40mm with an anamorphic lens. It's trying to replicate Panavision cameras from Blade Runner. For the textured image, I have worked on the placing of the camera and the lighting. The rest of the images are mainly for the composition. I will try to alter the lighting based when I have some basic textures added. Do you think this is an improvement?
  • d1ver
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    d1ver polycounter lvl 17
    It is indeed an improvement @Donkey_Kong

    Here is how I would approach this next:
    1. Pick 1 shot that you will use to prove out the whole process
    2. Add a placeholder character as reference for scale. You can use metahuman to get something close.
    3. Use it to better understand if you got the proportions right. For that you will need to place the character in the right spot and then try to match the camera position and focal length. From there you can overlay the image from the trailer over your image and quickly adjust the proportions.

    I would suggest the cockpit as it's the coolest part! 🤩
    As you can tell from the image yours is a lot more crammed:
    The Heretic Prophet
    Most of the screen-space will be outside, so you can get it as an image from the trailer at the beginning and just focus on the juicy cockpit modeling.
    The Heretic Prophet
    And the cockpit will give you options for these really cool cinematic compositions with long lenses and shallow depth of field. 
    The Heretic Prophet
    That would be my 2 cents. Let me know if you that makes sense or if you have any questions. 
  • Donkey_Kong
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    Donkey_Kong polycounter lvl 11
    Ah man, this is amazing advice. I'll try implement it over the next few days. Thank you so much!
  • d1ver
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    d1ver polycounter lvl 17
    You got it bud! Keep it going 💪💪💪
  • Donkey_Kong
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    Donkey_Kong polycounter lvl 11
     Unfortunately, I haven't had the chance to work on the cockpit yet. I'm trying to work through the other rooms as I have weekly meetings with my university and they want to see textured work. I'll try to move on the cockpit this week.
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