Judge feedback

Judge feedback is anonymous and shown in a random order.

• Submission Title:                        Green House

  Submission Tier:             Search for a Star

  Assessor:            Anthony O’Donnell      Lead Artist       Firesprite

   

  As this piece is described as a WIP I’ll review it as such and suggest ideas for how it could progress.

   

  Concept design & Development:

  Interesting choice of concept. The blockout could have potentially gone a bit further but it is a small enough scene to progress as the artist did. There is a nice variety of material types in this scene so that’s something to play to.

  Technical Art:

  <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis" <the="" use="" of="" material="" id’s="" in="" substance="" painter="" shows="" knowledge="" the="" software="" and="" is="" a="" good="" way="" to="" work.="" <="" span=""></span>

  <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis" <the="" use="" of="" material="" id’s="" in="" substance="" painter="" shows="" knowledge="" the="" software="" and="" is="" a="" good="" way="" to="" work.="" <="" span="">The use of materials ID's in Substance Painter shows knowledge of how the software is best used.</span>

  In terms of modelling you could go further and add some more geometry to get rid of the polygonal look of the assets. Even on lower end mobile platforms you’d get away with more today.

  <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis" <the="" fern="" asset="" is="" nice="" and="" produced="" well="" via="" only="" creating="" one="" leaf="" in="" the="" texture="" copying="" this="" element="" around="" to="" build="" a="" larger="" asset.<="" span="">The fern asset is nice and produced well via only creating a single leaf and duplicating it to produce a larger asset.</span>

  <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis" <this="" scene="" could="" benefit="" from="" utilising="" trim="" sheets="" and="" tiling="" textures="" as="" opposed="" to="" baking="" all="" the="" assets="" unique="" texture="" layouts.="" see="" feedback="" sheet="" for="" examples="" of="" this.="" coloured="" glass="" one="" suggestion="" would="" be="" use="" a="" master="" material="" that="" has="" ability="" adjust="" colour="" with="" vector="" 3="" node="" via="" instancing.="" this="" more="" efficient="" flexible="" approach="" develops="" also="" memory="" efficient.<="" span=""></span>

  <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis" <this="" scene="" could="" benefit="" from="" utilising="" trim="" sheets="" and="" tiling="" textures="" as="" opposed="" to="" baking="" all="" the="" assets="" unique="" texture="" layouts.="" see="" feedback="" sheet="" for="" examples="" of="" this.="" coloured="" glass="" one="" suggestion="" would="" be="" use="" a="" master="" material="" that="" has="" ability="" adjust="" colour="" with="" vector="" 3="" node="" via="" instancing.="" this="" more="" efficient="" flexible="" approach="" develops="" also="" memory="" efficient.<="" span=""></span>

  <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis" <this="" scene="" could="" benefit="" from="" utilising="" trim="" sheets="" and="" tiling="" textures="" as="" opposed="" to="" baking="" all="" the="" assets="" unique="" texture="" layouts.="" see="" feedback="" sheet="" for="" examples="" of="" this.="" coloured="" glass="" one="" suggestion="" would="" be="" use="" a="" master="" material="" that="" has="" ability="" adjust="" colour="" with="" vector="" 3="" node="" via="" instancing.="" this="" more="" efficient="" flexible="" approach="" develops="" also="" memory="" efficient.<="" span="">This scene could benefit from utilising trim sheets and tiling textures as opposed to baking all the assets to unique texture layouts. See the feedback sheet for examples of this. For the coloured glass one suggestion would be to use tiling textures and a master material that has the ability to adjust the colour of the glass with a Vector 3 node via material instancing. This would be a more efficient and flexible approach as the scene develops and also more memory efficient.</span>

  <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis" <this="" scene="" could="" benefit="" from="" utilising="" trim="" sheets="" and="" tiling="" textures="" as="" opposed="" to="" baking="" all="" the="" assets="" unique="" texture="" layouts.="" see="" feedback="" sheet="" for="" examples="" of="" this.="" coloured="" glass="" one="" suggestion="" would="" be="" use="" a="" master="" material="" that="" has="" ability="" adjust="" colour="" with="" vector="" 3="" node="" via="" instancing.="" this="" more="" efficient="" flexible="" approach="" develops="" also="" memory="" efficient.<="" span=""></span>

  <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis" <this="" scene="" could="" benefit="" from="" utilising="" trim="" sheets="" and="" tiling="" textures="" as="" opposed="" to="" baking="" all="" the="" assets="" unique="" texture="" layouts.="" see="" feedback="" sheet="" for="" examples="" of="" this.="" coloured="" glass="" one="" suggestion="" would="" be="" use="" a="" master="" material="" that="" has="" ability="" adjust="" colour="" with="" vector="" 3="" node="" via="" instancing.="" this="" more="" efficient="" flexible="" approach="" develops="" also="" memory="" efficient.<="" span=""></span>

  In terms of material definition in the feedback sheet I focused on the base of the astrolabe but the theory can be applied across the scene. The one in the scene has a normal map where the grain is intense and produces a rough / bumpy surface. In reality these bases are polished wood so would have little influence on the data in the normal map regarding the grain and a fairly smooth surface for the base (little roughness variation). The grain would only influence the albedo / diffuse. Roughness would be effected by wear and tear on the object such as the edges highlighted.

   When breaking down a material think about how it reacts to light ( roughness / metallic ) and how it would feel to touch. If it’s bumpy / rough you’d expect some normal map contribution etc.

  Creative Art:

  <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis" <the="" general="" layout="" and="" look="" of="" the="" scene="" is="" similar="" to="" source="" reference.="" in="" terms="" lighting="" i’d="" suggest="" not="" using="" a="" spotlight="" as="" it="" has="" described="" document="" removed="" cast="" shadows="" scene.="" i="" feel="" loss="" adversely="" affects="" especially="" around="" foliage.="" better="" setup="" would="" be="" skylight="" for="" ambient="" light="" level="" with="" directional="" angled="" come="" through="" intentional="" opening="" top.<="" span="">The general layout and look of the scene is similar to the source reference. In terms of lighting I’d suggest not using a spotlight as it has as described in the document removed the cast shadows in the scene. I feel the loss of shadows adversely affects the scene especially around the foliage. A better setup would be the skylight for the ambient light level with a directional light angled to come through the intentional opening in the top.</span>

  Also the ivy would benefit from leaf cards having different rotation angles to generate a nicer overall form that would give a better response to being lit.

  Written Documentation:

  <span class="MsoIntenseEmphasis" <the="" production="" diary="" is="" clear="" and="" simple="" with="" some="" discussion="" of="" processes="" followed.<="" span="">The production diary is clear and simple with some discussion of processes followed.</span>

  Final Presentation:

  As this is still a WIP it’s not possible to deep dive into final presentation feedback.

  Some suggestions would be to get assets into the foreground to be able to frame the final shots. Try to get some final camera placements organised early so you can compose the shots and play to the camera.

   

• To make this piece more creative it would have been good to see a more unique take on a scene in the style of Myst. This current scene closely resembled the Greenhouse from Myst III.  To move away from this you could have used the collected references of other indoor greenhouses and windows to make sketches and concept art. It would help you to design a greenhouse with a different structure, architectural elements and composition. You can use elements of what inspires you like the windows from Myst whilst not recreating the original scene.  Something else you can do is come up with a narrative behind the scene. Think about the characters that would visit this scene - who are they? What is the scene used for? This will all help to mould the scene. You can use this information to determine whether there would be signs left of characters visiting.

• A great enviro.   However it falls short on lighting issues, and the back windows feel they need more texturing wise to gell them in with the rest of the scene.   The assets are amazing.  the globe, the flooring and the seats work well.  and the foliage is a correct way to create them.  in conclusion a well made enviro that is only let down by a little more visual gelling together of the scene.

• Research and development - Scene was thoroughly researched and an interesting concept. I have taken a star off as I would of liked to of seen different layouts of your assets during the blockout phase.

  Technical - Your modelling looks solid and well optimised for game assets - providing some tri counts would help clarify this. Your materials are a solid start but I think you need to do some more research into a PBR workflow. This is the native workflow in UE4 for materials and I think only a couple of your assets are reading as they should (metal, stone etc). Choosing to add foliage in a project is always ambitious and I think you have executed the planted ferns well but I would of liked to of seen some more variation in the ivy as the repeated block is noticeable, having just 1 more variant for a scene of this size would of worked better. 

  Documentation - Process was documented well. It would of been nice to see your lighting and material setup explained a bit.

  Presentation - Scene was presented well although a playable exe would of been preferred.