EDIT - Changed my images too grey shaded versions, because i didn?t want any confusion over what was mine and what wasn?t. Its alllllll mine. all of it.
[img] http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e229/pinheadion/grey2.jpg [/img]
[IMG] http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e229/pinheadion/grey1.jpg [/IMG]
Hello hello hello,
It?s been a long time since I posted any WIP, but I think it?s about time I displayed what im working on.
It?s an old farm environment, with the farm house's interior being completely modelled as well. I plan on having a walk through, maybe even getting some in game action and then taking some footage of me running around for my folio.
At its current state it has taken probably just over a month to model everything (3/4 of the time being spent on the interior of the building).
I still have a long way to go in terms of unwrapping and texturing surfaces as the current textures have been a little rushed (testing normal maps and so on), im normal mapping a lot of the more major assets such as the large tree that has broken and fallen through the roof, the telegraph poles, and the corrugated iron on the roof.
Some ideas I have for the future are more assets around the place. I want an actual farmed area, and maybe even a place for the chooks.
I?m trying to concentrate on actually finishing what I have though without thinking too much ahead.
If you like the environment I urge you to visit my site at [url]http://stefanallaki.bravehost.com[/url] just put up recently with more pictures and bigger versions.
So any critique is welcome. I know it?s hard to crit something that isn?t finished or even close to it, but I will be posting updates as they come. Enjoy
Stefan Allaki
Hey Djenx thanks for your crit, most of the points that you put forward are caused by me trying to quickly get something renderable that looks ok. Not a very professional thing to do......
For example the trees in the background have just been placed there for now because it conveys the atmosphere im going for a little better.
Same with the ground, I threw an FFD box on a plane and just made the ground uneven so I had something to work with.
You?re definitely right about the big tree and the little trees. Not just just the size but the colour as well. Those background trees are only temporary.
There's no road as of yet, but I can see how it looks like that, im hoping to get one in there soonish, more dirt tracks from a tractor rather then actual road though.
Your right about the house, it does look like it?s got a nice new coat of paint haha, and your right again, that?s because I haven?t applied a texture as of yet. There's also a checkered wheel barrow next to the house. I haven?t unwrapped anything inside the house yet either apart from beer bottles...
Thanks again Djenx for taking the time to give some good critique
Good work, full marks for effort to making a complete scene, that's something that goes down very well.
Looking at this objectionally as a portfolio piece, one of the biggest things holding it back is the use of recognisable stock textures -- you mention you used them, credit there (and you may just be using them for placeholder), but the fact you can recognise a number of textures sourced here, it lets the rest of the scene down. There's two bad things about this, first is how much effort someone is going to think you put into your work, and second is the implication of using others material in a professional environment. Not an issue now, but since it's a folio piece, it's an issue for an employer looking at this. "Will this person do a google image search and slap someones copyrighted material onto a mesh and call it done? Will they use stock material from the max map library or another potentially legally troublesome source?" It's something to be aware of how it comes out for someone viewing it. Sorry if this has sounded harsh, but it's a pretty prevelant reason of why person x gets hired over person y.
So general rule of thumb, if you're going to source resources instead of creating completely hand made assets (nothing wrong with that), then use resources which are royalty free or that you've paid for, AND make them your own "original" work by using them as resources to create new textures, instead of using them straight off the shelf.
Hello J.I. Styles,
I definately understand what your saying. That was drilled into us last year at the AIE, so before i get this thing into my reel the trees and background textures will definately be replaced. I dont want any confusion over what is really mine and what isnt. I was going to create my own tree TGA's before posting it, but decided not to spend time on that yet and created a ground texture that was mine instead. As you said its mainly just placeholder texture for the moment.
Thanks a lot for the critique
Just a few crits
*your seem to be working with a very low poly limit compared to what's out on the market today, if your going to use normal mapping then go all the way with it & use denser meshes as well. Though I really like the low poly look you have going there.
*the hill in the background looks way to sharp
*The big/chunky tree looks really out of place/proportion next to the black trees.
*It looks like there's supposed to be a road to the left of the house, but then it looks to bumpy to drive on and blends in with the rest of the ground a little to well. Maybe you could lower it slightly, where it curls around the house to help sperate the two areas.
*the neglected house looks like it just received a new coat of paint (looking at it again I?m sure it's just a fill in texture)
*the lighting looks nice but you need to move your sunlight out a little further towards the background so that it catch more then just the big tree & roof top (the hill to the far left seems completely unlit). The sunlight could be a lot stronger as well, at the moment it looks to diffused.
I really like your modelling style, it's refreshing to see such a high level of detail on what I assume is still a low poly house, it really give's it character[^]