After confirming how to look for a realism style, I turned my attention to artists that would help me shape my project. For the older style saloon there was an abundance of work for a Western theme as a couple of years ago Artstation ran a Wild West environment challenge. Similarly for the newer environment there has been a large amount of urban work created the past few years, and with the release of Cyberpunk 2077 a lot of them have a neon style theme that I like. After browsing a huge amount of artist I have picked my top artists for each project style below.
Stefan Morrell
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/mPZxa
- Black and white images show how simplistic models can be made. Games are traditionally lower poly and details are mostly shown through textures.
- Artist doesnt state if the environment is aimed towards cinematics or games
- the wood textures on these buildings look great, the wood is aged and sun-damaged as well as dirty in parts, this very much helps with realism
- Buildings have a sinmilar style and use repeat assets, but hero assets help break up the scene and add individuality
- Buildings either side of a street create a focal point and direct users eyes
- Dust/fog affects add realism and helps to break the ground up from assets
Giovani de Souza
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/J9We5m
- The lighting has a huge affect on the atmosphere, the starry sky and warm glow off the lantures give a cozy, welcoming feel.
- I like the layout of this better, buildings are laid in a street but because of the curve they look less rigid and have a nicer flow
- Environment is not completely filled with assets but in a good way, each building has 2-3 hero assets for individuality but the scene isn’t cluttered.
- Buildings are simpllistic again, main way to tell building differences are by signs or hero assets.
- The ground is noticeable but not distracting from the scene, it blends nicely.
Craig Collins
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/qEQEe
- The environment looks very natural and of the era. The buildings sit naturally on a rocky slope leading to a mountainous area.
- More inkeeping with the abandonment theme I’m looking for, windows are boarded up, textures on buildings look more worn and aged, curtains are closed, signs are askew
- Again buildings are built in a similar theme with similar textures but the main telltale of the buildings are signs and hero assets
- Blue is sky is natural but to me feels too harse for a Wild West scene. I’d prefer to use a sunset and keep the environment in warmer tones
Maarten Hof
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/l0AWO
- Although the scene isn’t in the abandoned theme that I’m going for, it itself is a great scene for different reasons. Its choatic, showing a well lived in town with papers, boxes, bags, barrels and a variety of other objects.
- Again buildings are built in a way that they are similar in terms of style and textures, and their height and width adds character
- Stormy sky has a huge impact on scene, makes it feel gloomy or serious and with the injured character theres the environment reflects the narrative. If this was changed to day with the same scene, it would change the entire atmosphere.
New Bar
Cui Xiaoyu
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/N5gRz5
- This is my favourite example I found of a modern scene and I think the most impactful thing about it is the lighting. Even if we can’t see the light source directly, it has been really well laid out and set up so the reflections light up the rest of the scene
- Blockout is very detailed and is set up so assets are to scale and just to be swapped in
- Walls look modular and textures possibly looked backed
- Rain adds a lot to the look and feel and also help to distribute light
- The creator does not state if this scene is for cinematic or gaming but is likely for cinematic
Ray Vanderhaegan
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/bakQzd
- This artists scene is like a daytime version of the previous artists.
- Decals such as graffeti is a great attention to the brick buildings and breaks up the repetitive patten of the bricks.
- Scene is very cluttered but carefully planned out as the scene still looks realistic
- The artist worked very closely to reference images
Ryan Lam
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/Xz44n
- The thing I liked most about this work is the lighting. The glow of the buildings and streetlights illuminates the rest of the street. Shows that although assets can be very well made attention is always drawn to lighting