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[UE4]Writer's Desk

polycounter lvl 11
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riot polycounter lvl 11
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screenshot1_c_by_skate54-d7lsmfh.png

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I've started working on a small scene to get used to the unreal engine 4 and its new material system mainly, but also to have some fresh art for my portfolio.

I've also created a rough concept of the scene, specially for the mood but also the layout, even though I plan on adding some more things.

concept_by_skate54-d7ekzbp.png

For now I have the typewriter created. The specs a little bit excessive(5 layered materials, 13k tris) but since its a next gen "hero", closeup prop, I figured I'd go a little bit crazy this time. The wood planks material is the default from UE4, I'm using it as a placeholder until I create the desk.

screenshot3_by_skate54-d7ekzgw.png

presentation_by_skate54-d7el2p0.png

I'd like to get some honest feedback on this, if I'm heading in the right direction or not. Thanks!

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  • DWalker
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    Have you considered adding a partially-filled sheet of paper to the typewriter?
  • riot
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    riot polycounter lvl 11
    @DWalker: Yes, I thought about it, but I'm biased between adding it to the typewriter or just putting it on the table like in the concept. Going to try both options, to figure which one works best.
  • JoshWilkinson
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    JoshWilkinson polycounter lvl 9
    Judging by the scale of things, I'd say your planks in the back ground are three inches long and one inch tall; not really practical at all. I'd suggest swapping them for desaturated bricks. I see that your concept has small planks/ bricks like that but it just isn't working in 3D. If I had to guess, those planks are painted to act as "noise" to keep the eye focused on the center. Add some noise to your brick specular and you should keep everything focused
  • riot
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    riot polycounter lvl 11
    @BringMeASunkist - You're right, the planks are totally off. They're used only as a placeholder until I'll have the desk, so I'm not really worried about them. And yes, the wall behind the desk will be made of white painted bricks, like in the concept.
  • LuCh!
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    LuCh! polycounter lvl 5
    nice, that typewriter is looking sweet!
    though it's not in the concept i suggest adding an ash tray with a smoking cigarette on the left side,
    adds a little light on the opposite side of the desk light and some sweet particles that are still different from the coffee steam,
    also fits the theme perfectly

    great start, keep it up! ;)
  • Jeff Parrott
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    Jeff Parrott polycounter lvl 19
    The typewriter is looking cool so far. But that concept! More of that stuff. Really like how you rendered the concept.
  • riot
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    riot polycounter lvl 11
    Thanks guys! I had some time to work on this these days, so I made the table and a chair:

    screenshot4_by_skate54-d7g2v4p.png

    Still early wip. Feedback is very welcome!
  • atomander
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    atomander polycounter lvl 7
    Loving the atmosphere of this piece.
  • riot
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    riot polycounter lvl 11
    a little update on this:

    screenshot6_by_skate54-d7hi24n.png

    screenshot7_by_skate54-d7hi222.png

    screenshot8_by_skate54-d7hi1yp.png

    I'll start working on the books and paper sheets next.
  • riot
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    riot polycounter lvl 11
    had some free time last couple of days so I did some progress on this piece:

    screenshot11_by_skate54-d7jzvqy.png

    screenshot12_by_skate54-d7jzvm2.png

    next i'll create some assets to fill the right part of the desk since it's a little bit empty, probably a coffe mug or something similar.
  • riot
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    riot polycounter lvl 11
    screenshot17_by_skate54-d7ko8xa.png

    screenshot16_by_skate54-d7ko897.png

    cigarette_both_by_skate54-d7ko9cq.png

    worked on the lighting and colors a bit to give the scene more mood and also added an ash tray and the mug.
  • snow
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    snow polycounter lvl 8
    Looking good. Not entirely convinced on the wall texture, looks more "handmade" than the other objects. Were 4 people smoking at the same time or did he have 4 ciggies at once?
  • riot
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    riot polycounter lvl 11
    worked on the lighting a bit since it was really dull and boring, also added some new assets. painting on the wall is by Andrew Glenn, all credits to him.

    screenshot21_by_skate54-d7l40rs.png

    @snow: lol, now that you mention it, it looks really silly. the guy might have been a beast, but I don't think he would be able to smoke four at once, will fix that. I agree about the wall, I'm not really convinced either, will definitely change it once I finish creating all the assets and approach the final stages.

    @ESFGames: thanks, artforgames looks awesome, I will post there once the piece will be closer to finish.
  • riot
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    riot polycounter lvl 11
    Messed with the lighting and colors, added some flowers and the guy's hat. I think I'm done, at least for now, with this project. feedback is welcome tho', will probabably get back to it if there's many things to fix.

    screenshot2_by_skate54-d7lkvax.png

    screenshot1_by_skate54-d7lkveh.png

    More images on my portfolio. article is still wip, so most of the description text and some breakdowns are missing.
  • Cobra8472
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    Cobra8472 polycounter lvl 3
    Great work! I really don't do a lot of stuff like this, so take anything I write with a heavy handful of salt. Perhaps just a fresh perspective than anything else. :)

    I must admit; I'm not a fan of the blue/yellow lighting setup. It's fairly jarring, and in your newest iteration it doesn't seem clear where the light is even coming from (the shadows look very very strange).

    The first iteration of the blue + yellow light seems better, but still not quite optimal.
    It certainly does not capture the mood of your initial concept piece: a somewhat noiry scene where the rickety old writers' desk is illuminated by a single solitary light.

    The beer bottle/coffee/ash placement does not entirely make sense to me. The tilt of the typewriter and the coffee placement indicates (to me) a right handed individual, yet the beer bottles are randomly placed on the left side.
    Looking at my desk, which is a terrible mess at the moment, including beer bottles, they'd be clustered on the right side, standing fairly close together, close to the edge.
    He had plenty of space to put them there, avoiding the stretch to the other side. The same can be said for the cigarettes.

    The beer bottle caps would also be better served to be separated from the bottles themselves, I do think it's fairly rare to put it back on, especially if he's a fairly "messy" individual (as witnessed by the general tidiness of his workspace).

    The wall texture feels very flat and misplaced. Almost like prison-esque painted bricks. Perhaps some wallpaper from the era would fit better?

    Your images also feel somewhat over sharpened, almost as if they lack proper AA.

    All in all, great stuff! :)
  • Nam.Nguyen
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    Nam.Nguyen polycounter lvl 9
    look great !

    I agreed with cobra. the two-tone setup is too strong
  • KrisLW
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    KrisLW polycounter lvl 5
    Great work overall so far! I love the mood of the piece, and the old beat up feeling of the desk!

    I agree with Cobra on the blue/yellow lighting being a bit jarring. I personally am a huge fan of warm/cool lighting set-ups, but I personally think it works better when they aren't battling each other.

    That being said, the blue light as a whole is kind of throwing me off. The shade seems a bit too bright and cyan-ish to be emitting that purpley-blue color of light. I personally liked it better when it was just the white-wash bloom from post #15 (although I don't think the light is quite bright enough for that level of white to be justified.)

    Secondly, I also agree it seems something is weird with the lighting itself coming from the blue light. I mean, it's lighting up the light ray of the yellow light and turning it blue, but it's not lighting up it's own shadow at all? Also, that downward shadow cast by what appears the wooden base of the blue light - it's as if the light source is off to the side?

    Other than the oddities of the blue light, the rest of the piece is looking pretty awesome! :D
  • Pancakes
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    Pancakes polycounter lvl 10
    wow people used to use type writers wow, hard to imagine that
  • riot
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    riot polycounter lvl 11
    I've changed the brick material and the lighting to make it less confusing, more focused and clear that the main light is coming from the desk lamp. Also lowered the brightness on the blue wall light so it doesn't draw so much attention.

    screenshot1_c_by_skate54-d7lsmfh.png

    screenshot3_b_by_skate54-d7lsm7e.png

    Thanks for the feedback guys, was really helpful! More screenshots and also breakdowns on my portfolio

    @Cobra8472: Yeah, practically it makes sense to place all the bottles on the right side, but I put them on the left side because of the composition to compensate for the light on the right, to make the image more stable
  • DWalker
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    The rear-most bottle is penetrating the book on which it's sitting.

    Also, why in the world does he have 5 copies of Jane Eyre? If you want to save texture space by re-using the same book, then I'd recommend either a generic book or something like an encyclopedia which would come in a large set of similar covers.
  • KassEscoe
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    KassEscoe polycounter lvl 3
    beautiful scene!
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