Home 3D Art Showcase & Critiques
The BRAWL² Tournament Challenge has been announced!

It starts May 12, and ends Oct 17. Let's see what you got!

https://polycount.com/discussion/237047/the-brawl²-tournament

Nuclear Bunker Office Environment Art (WIP)

triangle
Offline / Send Message
sol_m triangle
Hello! I’m a second year uni student aiming to specialise in environment art. This is the link to my portfolio:  https://solo_m.artstation.com/

I’m making a nuclear bunker office set during the Cold War era as a part of my assignment. My main inspiration comes from CoD Cold War, other inspiration comes from Poppy Playtime and Cyberpunk 2077 (for lighting and mood).

I have started with props and I have made a bunch of radios, cabinets as my back ground assets. My hero assets would be a desk of objects with the two computers being the focal point.

So far I have received feedbacks that some of the knobs on the radios are too low poly, I’ve been trying to be more generous with the poly count on my other models whilst trying to fix the knobs. (will update when done)

Any additional feedback will be greatly appreciated!

(modelled in maya and textured in substance)

Replies

  • sol_m
  • sol_m
    Offline / Send Message
    sol_m triangle
    This is my first time trying to fit this many objects in a single texture set (table not included). Additionally, after receiving feedback that some of my models are too low poly, I have been more generous with my models.
  • iam717
    Offline / Send Message
    iam717 sublime tool
    Neat, its still good to keep the less in mind though.  (lowpoly remarks.)
    Coming together, good updates.

  • sol_m
    Offline / Send Message
    sol_m triangle
    First version of lighting block out. I have received feedback that the lighting is too dim for a government funded nuclear bunker. As well as raising awareness that things like lamp are not really needed for a place heavily invested by the government. I will also modify the roof to be curved (more of a tunnel look) to emphasis the nuclear bunker look.

    (there will be more props on the desk in the future, right now it looks very empty)
  • Eric Chadwick
    Looking great so far! It would be nice to see your mood board, the collection of key references you're using.
  • sol_m
    Offline / Send Message
    sol_m triangle
    Thank you! Yes! I forgot. These are my references.

  • sol_m
    Offline / Send Message
    sol_m triangle

    Update:

     

    I’ve made curve ceilings (and added pipes) and adjusted lighting. I have prepared the wall for a tiling texture and the supports for trim sheets. I used a texted density of 10.80 with 4k resolution. 


    The pieces are modular, I had a thought of doing this in PCG but for the scale I’m going for it’s not worth it atm. I might do it just to try it out if I have the time.

  • sol_m
    Offline / Send Message
    sol_m triangle

    Help needed:

     

    I used spline meshes for the pipes. By default they had nanite on and it took away all my subdivision for the deformation. I disabled nanite and now the optimisation view mode seem to have a problem with my topology?


    The price I payed for this is that now I have huge amount of poly sitting on top of the ceiling, can I leave them like that? If not, how can I optimise this?

     

    my only idea is to set up HLOD but I don’t know how to do that. I tried to increase the LOD but don’t know how to control the render distance for my liking, it’s pretty deep for me at the moment.

    Could also convert the entire thing to a static mesh and set up nanite on those? I don’t want to try too much stuff until I got another opinion.

     

    Please help, thank you.


  • sol_m
    Offline / Send Message
    sol_m triangle
    Update: I’ve been told that the optimisation view mode is not the best way to assess performance and that the amount of poly I have is not the end of the world.
  • sol_m
  • sol_m
  • littleclaude
    Offline / Send Message
    littleclaude hero character
    Looking really good, I love it. 

    If you’re up for it, consider adding a bit more story "gamification" to make the piece even more engaging. Try to tie your creative decisions back to function and context. For your bunker scene, this means ensuring each object reads clearly from the player’s viewpoint, that the environment supports a narrative or gameplay moment rather than being purely decorative, and that your material and lighting choices not only look great but also feel authentic to a Cold War–era facility — think worn concrete, analog controls, and grime consistent with long-term use.

    Ideas

    Who used this bunker? Military, scientists, civilians?

    What’s happening now? Abandoned, recently evacuated, still active?

    Tone: Is it eerie and desolate, or sterile and functional?


    And if you’re ready to push further (you know you want to) :)  I’d suggest going one level deeper by actively presenting your work with a test silhouette view of a grey human asset to refine its proportions and orientation.

    Indiana Jones and The Great Circle - Shanghai Environment Breakdowns by Vytautas Katarzis - https://www.artstation.com/artwork/P6k3G3.

    Indiana Jones and The Great Circle - Wooden Scaffolding Kit by Pawel Kostecki - https://www.artstation.com/artwork/vbmOba.


    Notice how professionally they present their work. This presentation takes time but it makes all the difference

    But with that said, what you have so far for a second year student is looking great!  :) so I totally understand if you can't face doing any of that and just want to move onto your next project as I know you have loads on, maybe something to think about over the summer :) 

    P.S. If you want to add even more, lol! :) 

    Make a Video with Story Hooks

    To make it memorable:

    • An old intercom with a faint voice crackling through.

    • A control panel frozen mid-countdown.

    • A single flickering light over an old map.

    • A propaganda poster peeling away to reveal graffiti.

    Small narrative touches elevate mood into emotion

  • sacboi
    Offline / Send Message
    sacboi godlike master sticky
    During the height of the cold war (1980s) served in a heavy mechanised brigade so had traipsed thru hardened command structures, as part of my duties. Abiding memories aside from grime, body odor + cigarette smoke were of cables leading every-which-way alongside paper strewn everywhere with tatty edged maps pinned centre stage, anyway basically an analogue environment although desktops did start to make their appearance. 
  • sol_m
    Offline / Send Message
    sol_m triangle
    More progress, I’m planning on using decals to break down the wall and the floor a little bit more, as well as further set dress the scene with existing props.

    i will also add content to some computer screens.

    Any additional feedback will be greatly appreciated!

  • sol_m
    Offline / Send Message
    sol_m triangle

    Interior done (for now), please do give any feedback on this, thank you!

     

    One major mistake I made is that I used a lot of 4k texture early on and now I’m running out of texture streaming budget. I’m currently getting the shimmering texture artefact on some of the props.

     

    I tried changing the anti-aliasing setting as well as the lumen settings to make them stabilise. I have converted some decals into 2k (although some of them probably should be fine at 1k) and I will focus on texture optimisation where I can.

     

    I have another lighting scenario with the emergency lights.

  • Eric Chadwick
    I would add a bit of colored lighting somewhere in the scene, to add a bit of visual excitement to your renders. Right now it's a bit monochromatic, which makes it more dull than it should be IMHO. This is a great scene with lots of great details. A bit of hot/cool rim/bounce lighting would really make it pop. Look at your profile pic for a little bit of inspiration!
Sign In or Register to comment.