GR#164 - Room Interior - RPG-view Gameart shading

[Kich]

I started this piece based on a sketch I made last week. Never mind the plaster corner on the northeast, I replaced a standard tile for testing. I'm going to detail it to semi-realistic, but before that I want to get shading right.



The matter is that I'm not knowing how to shade it. I know my main light source is the window (whereas it's a daylight), but theory is punching practice on the face.

This a3um's Study is kind of a inspirational piece, always when I think sun rays and shadows I remember those dust pixels on the light and I drool.

Any thoughts, please?

[HezaKey]

Hello hello!  Here is my edit.  The walls next to the window will actually be darker because they receive much less light (although still fairly lit from ambient light bouncing back.), while that 90 degree edge on the curved wall will be darkest because light has to make it's way around that corner.  (there could also concievable be a slight shadow on the floor there as well, depending on the intensity of your light source.)

I also assumed that the window is the one and only light source, so if there's an overhead light or anything you'll have to adjust for that.

Also, google sketch up is a free program and fairly easy to make simple structures.  You could do a mockup in a few minutes and the change the light source to whatever you need.  It might prove very useful to you.

[Kich]

Hey ho! Oh, my brain knew that something wasn't right on those walls, it really goes much better being darker.

I made some improvements following your explanation, moreover thank you for that and for your edit. I think now shadows are taking shape. Btw I'm not very happy with the couch's empty top, maybe I'll add some curtain fabric over the left side of it to deceive a little bit (or maybe not).



Should I change something or I keep going?

[Tapsu]

I find the intense stripes on the carpet disturbing in the sense that it doesn't look like a flat carpet (more like rails for some huge machine). Maybe less contrast or narrower stripes would help to recognize it as a carpet at first glance.

[YellowLime]

I don't know much about lighting, but I'm not a fan of having the wall that pops out (right one) a darker color than the background wall.
I also find the shadow gradient along the wall weird... If you're gonna go with it, I think it should be a much more subtle change.
(And even if you were to want that extreme value change, you should avoid having such obvious banding)

All this advice is invalid if you wanted a heavy light/penumbra contrast (like the unending light reflection on the floor suggests)

I fidgeted with it a little bit- removed the extreme gradients and changed the wall colors to what I think would be more appropriate (though the window wall probably should be darker than that...)

(not sure if I remembered to change the color of the wall between the potted plant's leaves)

I assumed the room was well lit, but if you want an old empty house a la a3um's pixelart, the darker point of the room would be the far right corner, which wouldn't receive direct lighting (only a bit of rebound from the room). The 'middle' corner (which you had most heavily shaded) would also be dark, but not as much as the far right corner.

Also, the shadows that the sofa and statue cast are too short for the suggested angle of the lighting (alternatively, the lighting reflection is too long compared to the shadows of those objects)

Hope I wasn't too confusing

[Kich]

Tapsu, I pretend to make some texture for the rub/floor/stairs. (: Nevertheless if it continue to not read very well then I apply vertical bands or a pattern.

YellowLime, you're right about the walls. I tried a darker color there and I think it's better. It probably will have a natural glimmer coming from the door from the bottom, but the big windows are the main light source anyways.



I fixed some things, started to work on the curtains and sketched some angled shadows on the stair steps. I think the upper steps wouldn't have angled shadows, do they? Speaking of the sofa and statue shadow extent, I'll try to do something about it. Thank you.

[Nameless Force]

There are two types of lighting: direct lighting and indirect lighting.

With direct lighting, the sun is shining directly through the window, so you would see the shape of the window projected into the room, with hard borders.  Quick-and-dirty edit:


With indirect lighting, the light through the window is reflected light and is coming from all directions, so you would have soft shadows that only loosely follow the shape of the object that casts the shadow.

[Stava]

Nice work 

I made a edit on the curtains to make them blend in more, and made the windows same size

[Kich]

Oh, I completely forgot this column shadow, Nameless Force. Thank you for the explanation and the edit. ^_^

Stava, that's an awesome edit. I made some adjustments based on your thoughts, thank you. Also I changed the intensity of the light source and removed the previous rub bands, I'll try to do something different on it.

[HezaKey]

oh, quick note.  Shadows do not multiply if there is only one light source.  So the shadow of the window running over the sofa should all share the same value, instead of being banded like they are now. 

This is actually pretty well represented in the previous edits that Stava and Nameless Force made.

[Kich]

oh, quick note.  Shadows do not multiply if there is only one light source.  So the shadow of the window running over the sofa should all share the same value, instead of being banded like they are now. 

This is actually pretty well represented in the previous edits that Stava and Nameless Force made.

True, alright then.

But there's something I still don't get.



The second one looks better to me, but isn't supposed to exist a shadow up there like in the 1st image?

[astraldata]

One thing I think I should add is that even though something looks good up close and isolated as you have there with the sofas, you always have to think about the "big picture" in terms of readability.

If you were to step back and look at the first one with fresh eyes, you'd get a feeling of dappled light on the living room. In the second one, you'd get a sense of something off, but likely wouldn't know what it is (and it may not really bother you that much, but your brain will tell you *something* is off regardless). It may not look right, but it is indeed correct when looking at it from a big picture view and with fresh eyes.

You might not like it because the cast shadow's coloring on the couch might be too harsh for you, and in my opinion, I think it is for me. I doubt the reason you don't like it is because it looks 'wrong' though (the second image I mean).

[Kich]

Sorry for my disappearance. This piece is under slow-motion construction.


I think I finished the wooden stairs. I removed the statue (I'll redo it later) and added a recognizable carpet, I guess.

Thank you a lot for the tips, astraldata.

[DatMuffinMan]

Perhaps make the stairs overlap the white border on the tap to make them seem as if they're leading to a higher level more?

[Kich]

It's a good idea indeed. I don't actually know if I'll use the borders anyway, they look inconsistent for me.

[Pix3M]

Horizontals are more effective at conveying.... horizontal planes.

Verticals convey a feeling of height that might look a bit chaotic with floor boards

[DatMuffinMan]

The stairs do look better in my opinion, but something still seems weird about them - I can't convince myself to see them for what they are meant to be. This might interfere with the modern look of the rest of the room, but perhaps have them form an actual stairway (like standard wooden ones, with vertical 'steps' connecting the horizontal ones), and then have the vertical ones darker than the horizontal ones to show the difference in orientation.

On a side note, everything looks so pretty next to the other objects; palette, design, layout, all look really nice!

[Facet]

Yeah, the floating stairs look a bit like curved or recessed forms with such a strong gradient across each, I'd expect them to be fairly flat with the light behind them, previous versions look fine to me.

I actually really like the vibe you have about now without so much material texturing; the few fully detailed little touches pop and play nicely, and the white baby grand on floorboards is pretty darn classy looking, I'd personally dial the table detailing back some, and enjoy the general sleekness.

Not a fan of the cornice/border thing 'cos it's not clear what it is exactly. I like the vertical boards here because they harmonise with the lighting direction and draw the eye up to the window.

[r4c7]

The dimensions and shaoe of the baby grand seem wrong to me. I feel it should be a little longer in the back. Here is an image for the shape:
Spoiler

You can hopefully see how the curve to the smaller edge is more gradual. If you open the lid, it would look magical. I'll try to make an edit during the week, but it seems like its still a wip, so you may fix it by the time I get to it. Iif you want to make it into a full grand, you'd have to mess with the shape massively.
Also, just my opinion, It would be even greater if you tilted the piano, but you would have to completely redo it.