Concept Art & Mockups - Aquatic Ruin Mockups Needed!!

Yeah, I could model that fairly quickly; simple as making a cube with enough geometry and applying the proper twist to it. But the real work comes when trying to match the color tones and lighting exactly through a render. The post model work is what turns me off to the idea. I don't see why Gambit doesn't just do it; he is better at 3D than I am. What I would done is model it in 3D, texture on the checkers and trace the lines. Because looking at the loop, some of the shapes do look a bit stretched. But maybe it just seems weird because it is from a side view.

 

Hey! That's not fair, Let me have some fun too hahaha!

 

It is supposed to mirror on itself, and I had to slap it together when I made it to make sure things lined up as best they could.

 

HD Background only:


Original Background only:


HD Background zoom:


HD Background zoom moar glowz affex:


Original Background zoom:


More accurate Background placement composite:

 

Those glowing Xs seem strange. I don't think they're meant to be glowing lights.

 

Awesome, but it looks a bit odd that everything has two light sources... I'm thinking it might be better to just apply the lighting to each object individually.

Also, about those big cylinders in the background, I think they're supposed to be grey, just with little light applied to them. Note how even the yellow parts aren't visible in the shadows, either. Same with the bridges connecting them.

 

This, also, there are some color errors like in the upper part, these black cilinders should be gray and the "megamack hose" should be silver... I suppose that the red light in the left of everything shouldnt be need EVERYWHERE... maybe in some pieces... but oh well...

 

I hope you are all kidding, because when I look at it, it seems that the amount of awesomeness that is the foreground is the same amount as the suckage of the background.

 

Hm... So far my main concern is that it may be too bright. The brightness and contrast should not be so heavy that it clashes with (or even overpowers) the foreground. While the idea of bringing a little more neon into Chemical Plant doesn't necessarily sound that bad, I can't help but feel as though we're pulling a Joel Schumacher.

If you decide to keep the neon, I say at least tone it down. But really, I think the stage is already bright enough with the glowing red sky, fluorescent mega muck, etcetera. I think the whole point of the factory background was to give the stage a darker, grittier feel to it. I mean, just look at the tones they used - the black, rusty brown, that dingy green... Basically, don't make the stage brighter and shinier than it needs to be. Again, remember, it's a factory, not a casino.

I'm also going to say right now that if I had to play through all that neon at blistering speeds, I would either have a seizure or my eyes would explode. Seriously, just picture it.

 

Seconded, The BG must be a work in which 3D rendering is not the basis...

I think someone should take the pipe segment Maximus constructed and begin working on it, by someone very talented, to turn it into a 2D art piece. Do we need, and are others willing, to take part in such a venture? I think we all need to see where this 3D thing is going. I think as good as it all looks, there is just something "Lazy" and "Inauthentic" about relying solely on them, so lets see where this is going already!!!

I just whipped up the second image real quick so we could at least have an idea what the tiles may be closer to, in terms of color (still not perfect).

1. original



2. color change

 

THIS.

Seriously, that looks a fuck ton better colour-wise, ESPECIALLY on the metal ceiling and floor. The blue pipe looks a lot brighter, and therefore, a lot better, as it really suits the level and game.

 

Sorry to be a board pig here, just wanted to throw up another simple little change I did, because I'm not sure if people are aware what happeneds to the 3D objects as its tiled...
So I removed some shadow and changed others.

 

I could have given you a render sans-shadows at higher resolution if you want. Because if you were gonna go and make my renders look awesome, I should give you better renders. Really awesome job.

 

The foreground needs a parallel-ray light source (like the Sun) instead of a point source and it should come from either the right and/or above (or perhaps it should behave separately on different objects?). Also, I think that there is too much emphasis on the diffuse color and not enough emphasis on the specularity. The metal should shine and the glass tube should shine, both with increased specular reflection and increased specular hardness.

Also, maybe the blue liquid should have the property of emitting light to give it the luminescent look it needs.

Keeping the shadows will definitely add to the 3D look, for better or worse.

 

I think the pipe sticking out and the other shadows add a bit more depth to the render. Now it just looks alright, instead of just pure awesome.

Seriously, I loved how that pipe stuck out from the rest of the metal work.

 

I've been asking him to fix his lighting as well. Blue Streak probably put it into better words than I did. It's really all that's left to do a more thorough evaluation of it. As for the glass tube, it would probably need to have a glass material applied to it to create the effect described. Probably less work than going through trial and error in the material settings too.

So. MaximusDM. Please. Fix. The lighting.

 

It isn't just the lighting it is the materials too (ie how the surfaces react to light). And I am not particular good at it. I've said this over and over again. It isn't really a cop out. I just had crappy teachers. My composite renders I had brought them into photoshop and was tweaking levels and such in there. But I'm not particular good at that either, but subsubstantive is. I doubt that is just adjustment layers, looks to be more hands-on detail work.

Its a learning experience.

 

Am I the only one who can't seem to load more than the first few lines of that?

EDIT: Never mind, works now

 

Series of Tubes Roller Coaster:

 

Both glass and shiny metal have a really high specular hardness in real life. They create a lot of direct reflection and don't really scatter light that much. If you want metal that's less shiny and subtly textured, consider generating a brushed metal texture by applying turbulent cloud noise that has been greatly stretched in one direction. Water-damaged metal could probably be simulated from cloud noise as well, though I don't actually have experience with doing it.

If you don't want to put in a parallel-ray light source, you could also add ambient lighting to at least make the environment brighter.

Great job with the series of tubes, but in the game the paths are supposed to weave in and out from the player's perspective.