Judge feedback

Judge feedback is anonymous and shown in a random order.

• Research & Development The courtyard at Skipton castle is really interesting subject, as it is fairly in tact compared to many other castles which are in ruins. However, I am not convinced by the idea to mix it with the Dark Souls aesthetic, which has a very stylised and unrealistic take on this stuff. I think these two ideas are more or less in conflict with each other, and betrays quite a muddled approach. It would have been far better to just go with the reproducing the courtyard as is, and making it as realistic as possible OR making a high fantasy stylised castle courtyard. There is some decent reference gathering in evidence, but it merely illustrates the above point - that these two aesthetic goals are incompatible. A really good piece of concept art could have proved me wrong, and shown how they could have been brought together, but this was not attempted. Technical Art The project is very weak on a technical level. There is not much evidence of an understanding of modular design. The modelling is very basic, barely more than blockout for the most part, and looks unfinished. The materials are of a poor quality. The stone is noisy and unrealistic. It looks more like concrete. There is virtually no attempt to engage with the surface - for instance differentiating between stone and mortar. There is little understanding of designer evident. The cracks on the brick in particular look really bad. Overall the colours are way off, there is little evidence of any understanding of PBR and realtime rendering. It is a pity because the actual reference shows a great depth and variety in these surfaces - for instance the sandstone walls show different colours of sandstone, pinks and reds and greys and greens and so on. Zbrush is mentioned in the workflow outlines, but I struggled to see where it had been used. There were at least two really perfect showcases for a really nice sculpt and bake - the crest and the wall around the tree. Neither looks like it has been sculpted at all in ZBrush, neither looks like it has had any time spent on it at all. The stone walls could have been a really strong statement, having such good reference from the Skipton Castle shots. You can see that the stone is dressed and finsihed to quite a high quality, and is quite sheer and smooth. However what we get in the final project is a default to the standard and cliched lumpy bevelled stone wall. Creative Art There is very little evidence of creativity in this project. Despite starting with some very rich source material, the final result is disappointing and underwhelming. There was no engagement with the aspects of the reference that were so interesting. For instance, the pebble cobblestones under the well could have been a really awesome designer show piece, but wasn't attempted. The tree in the centre of the courtyard is really interesting centre piece, however what we have in the final project is very disappointing. I understand that time constraints play a factor here, but here are some examples of alternative solutions: Use Speedtree to generate a good looking asset and make it clear that it was used, along with textures because of time constraints. You may well have got a pass for this. Another solution would be to remove the tree entirely and leave the well as it was originally designed (the tree was a later addition, planted after the restoration). Viewing the Roughness buffer the scene is very inconsistent - for instance the stone on the bar windows is full white, while the stone on the walls is full black in places. The use of moss decals and blending is well-intentioned but completely lacking in the execution. The grass is poorly made and poorly placed. There is little evidence of the most fundamental art skill - observation. Observation of the the way the crest was constructed, the way the walls were finished, the way the windows are constructed. It feels unfinished, which of course kills any sense of aesthetics and mood that was intended. Documentation The documentation was present. The reference was adequate. The material renders were of a particular poor quality however. Final Presentation The final presentation did nothing to elevate the project. The lighting and composition of the final shots is completely uninspiring.
• Your geometry should be the focus here. You have a good grasp of the texture side of it, but if you ignore the shape and form your scenes will look imbalanced. Keep working on your shape language.