Neighborhood School

[Matt McDonald]

Something that I have been working on from home. Kansas City has some cool old schools. I still need to texture it (obviously), add some entourage and get something in there for my glass to reflect.

 

Any comments? crits?

 

Rendered in Mental Ray, Max 2008.

 

Thanks

Matt

[Dave Buckley]

first major things that jump out, are that the render appears a little to dark, and the verticals of the building not being straight is a little distracting (right click on your camera and add a camera correction modifier, will sort out the verticals for you)

 

other than that, looking forward to watching it progress, kep posting updates

[mrucereto]

I would recommend shifting the camera over to the left a bit. Might help with the shot. The wall to the right is pretty plain, and you won't be missing anything if that goes away. You will add more interesting features on the left of the view.

 

I'd also be interested to see the camera correct on the shot, but I would be leery that you might lose some of your perspective. I don't mind the barreling of the camera.

 

Can't wait to see your update.

[Matt McDonald]

I haven't had much time to mess with this but I added (a little) texture. Moved the camera over and tried the camera correction which I'm not so hot on. I've included with and without. You be the judge.

[archdelineator]

I would lose the camera correction, it makes the building look very stiff & less realistic.

[Trip Johnson]

I like were you're going with it. You mentioned that old schools in your neighborhood was your inspiration for this render so I think you might want to go take some pictures of these old schools and try to capture the look through updating your textures. I'm not sure of the look you are trying to achieve whether it be new construction or old building but right now it looks to clean and pristine. Perfecting imperfection is very important when trying to fool the eye into believing something is real when it isn't.

Dirty up the concrete and brick, add color variance to the texture, add some weathering to the wall caps and corners, anything that you notice from the pictures that you take of the old schools. I like the composition of the picture but the texturing needs some work. Good luck and keep the updates coming.

[Dave Oliver]

wow all these midwest people in one post is rare.

 

im in columbia and have friends in the architecture schools at KU and Kansas State

 

as well as fun trips to visit friends down at troost & emanual cleaver @ the KFC with the bulletproof drivethough

[nymn]

i agree that the camera mod makes the building look kind of rigid and stiff as well... but the shot without it has some edge sheer along the buildings corners which is equally as distracting to me as the rigidity of the other... the sky could use something to break up the monotonous blue color and also the same effect applied to the glass so it reflects something... i like the camera angle alot and the texture does indeed look clean, if that was what you were going for you nailed it.. looking forward to the updates.. nice work

 

~sg

[mrucereto]

wow all these midwest people in one post is rare.

 

im in columbia and have friends in the architecture schools at KU and Kansas State

You obviously aren't a true "Columbian" if you have friends at KU and K-State. I might let the K-State thing slide, but KU? Come on, the only good thing about Lawrence is that it burned down. TIGERS!!

 

As for the image, my vote is to drop the camera correction.

[adamsanders]

Dave, you been drinkin' today?

[Matt McDonald]

NYMN: edge shear? I don't follow. Could you explain?

[nymn]

yea im sure there is another word for it... im talking about the vertical edges of the building's corners, window frames, etc... that looks jagged when they should correctly render straight.. the picture with the camera mod off looks like it is rendering jagged vertical lines.. my bad...

 

~sg

[Matt McDonald]

Gotcha. Thanks.

[adamsanders]

Antialiasing.

[adricorrea]

The Good thing about the camera mod is that you can actually increase or reduce it until you find a happy medium.

 

I think, apply the cam mod, but reduce the 'Amount' to half of the figure and find a point that you are happy with.

 

As for the materials, I think you need to made them more rusty;) and put a nice sky. A nice sky is always a good starting point

[Matt McDonald]

A modest update. Just added a little more color, a little more variation to brick, a little more reflection to the glass and little bit of entourage.

 

I don't disagree about weathering some of my textures, the "brass" for example. I'm not too interested in trying to make this look old so I don't want to beet up too much.

 

I need to get my hands on some more entourage libraries, and I think that a better sky is in order. I'm not happy that you can't see the various steps in the foreground (I'll need to look into that) and I could use some better textures on all of the concrete stuff.

 

I guess this is my "to-do" list.

 

Maybe its a non-starter but what do you all think about having people leaving vs. coming. As I have worked on this all I can think about is "Schools Out" but maybe as a promotional image it would be better to have people going to school rather than fleeing it.

 

Anyhow, thanks for the comments.

 

Matt

[archdelineator]

Right now with the people running from the building I can imagine a fire breaking out. I think you should have a mixture of people coming & going into the school. Most of the entourage could be focused on entering the building but have a few people facing the camera.

 

How about a taller tree? Something slightly taller than the bay windows over the entry.

[Matt McDonald]

OK so here's an update. I've got some people and I worked on a lot of the textures. Let me know what you think about the cast shadows going toward the building. I kind of like them... I think that they add depth to the rendering (with and without are posted)

 

Its the same ol' MR Sky. It doesn't bother me as much now that the building is darker. I probably should still get some clouds in there to add some life. We'll see.

 

There are also some fancy ornate pieces that I need to model... I probably need a fresh head and some coffee on a Saturday morning for that. I'm certainly not going to be able to do it on a school night.

 

All your thoughts and comments are welcome.

Matt

[mrucereto]

I agree, the shadows do add some depth, but they are a little dark and distracting. You also lose the "flower patch" over on the left side of the image with the shadows turned on. I guess I do like the shadows, but just not so dark.

 

What color are the window frames and the door? They look a little green? Could be my monitor... unless that was your intent.

 

Also, not sure why I never commented on this before, but what's up with the Charlie Brown Christmas tree?

[Matt McDonald]

OK, updated post. I've added a bit more detail to the model, added a new sky and worked on the shadows.

 

Here are some comments that I have received and I would be curious to hear your thoughts:

"The sky is too blue"

"The tree breaks up the building"

"The handrail around the tree suggests that the tree shouldn't be there in the first place"

"The people are spread too far out"

 

Thanks for your time.

Matt