[WIP] Stylized Island (for portfolio)

HolySour · Sep 28 2025

Hey whats up Polycount,

I’m working on a portfolio piece — a stylized island environment. (inspiration, sea of thieves) I’ve been focusing on blockout, and overall playability for the past couple of days. scaled to SoT

I’d love feedback on:

Shot composition (do any of these even look ok) I feel like im going crazy or missing something. not sure how to shoot an island for presentation in a portfolio.

Focal points & balance advice?

Here are some quick view port screenshots. Any thoughts while I get to modeling would be super helpful!

I just seam to be lost in the sauce of shooting an island ( anything else that sicks out? let it rip please! )

Thank you a ton!

Vastra · Sep 28 2025

This is looking great!

I really like the feel of the island, the shapes and overall composition read well. The large thorny/spikey elements stand out nicely, but it’s hard to judge whether they’re too dominant or just right without knowing your final intention.

Are you aiming more for an exaggerated stylized look (Sea of Thieves style) or something a bit more grounded? Knowing that would help give more focused feedback.

Looking forward to seeing where you take this!

Eric Chadwick · Sep 28 2025

Agree this looks pretty good so far.

What are the curved spikes on the beach?

The torii gate is oddly placed, for better placement I would suggest reading more about the symbolism behind these gates.

Some of your props are placed alone, which creates an uncomfortable feeling. Probably not what you intended. We have an Art Bible here that has a good explanation of how to create rhythm in prop placement, see "Allods Online - Creating a World in 7 Days" http://wiki.polycount.com/wiki/Art_Bible

HolySour · Sep 29 2025

Vastra said:

This is looking great! I really like the feel of the island, the shapes and overall composition read well. The large thorny/spikey elements stand out nicely, but it’s hard to judge whether they’re too dominant or just right without knowing your final intention.

Are you aiming more for an exaggerated stylized look (Sea of Thieves style) or something a bit more grounded? Knowing that would help give more focused feedback.

Looking forward to seeing where you take this!

Thank you for taking the time to reply!

That actually is a spot im hung up on. However, either some large Horns ( maybe from some mythical sea beast ) or some spikes ( both conveyed as a warning that this place is hostile to visitors, or once was ).

And "Sea of Thieves" yes! that's exactly what im shooting for!

HolySour · Sep 29 2025

Eric Chadwick said:

Agree this looks pretty good so far.

What are the curved spikes on the beach?

The torii gate is oddly placed, for better placement I would suggest reading more about the symbolism behind these gates.

Some of your props are placed alone, which creates an uncomfortable feeling. Probably not what you intended. We have an Art Bible here that has a good explanation of how to create rhythm in prop placement, see "Allods Online - Creating a World in 7 Days" http://wiki.polycount.com/wiki/Art_Bible

Thank you for your time!

The spikes are either going to be large Horns ( maybe from some mythical sea beast ) or some wooden spikes ( both to convey a warning that this place is hostile to visitors / once was )

Id like it to feel in disrepair, that maybe there "might" be a soul inhabitant. however they are no where to be found.

I understand you on the Tori gate for sure! do you think using it as a way to show disrepair/abandonment would read well?

10-20 years of not being cared for. similar to the busted dock?

For me its more of a personal reason " to take care of yourself or be swallowed " but i know that might not come across to others. so i am totally open to changing it.

lastly this art bible is awesome! thank you for sharing it! I see what you mean, i need to get more clustering around the large natural pieces, more rock "debris" for example?

[WIP] Stylized Island (for portfolio)

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