A short render to test out normal maps, sadly they didnt really add anything so I dropped them. The colour is just about there but I am going to re work the composition so it seems less like a random collection of assets and perhaps a little more contrived.

This is a high quality render to test lighting and colour and give myself something to crit before starting the final render. Compositionaly I think i need to perhaps put in some more trees, or re-arrange the existing ones better, to create a more dense feeling to the forest. The lighting and perspective are pretty much there now, the fog really does help create that sense of depth. Also normal mapping still needs to be applied before the final render.

A full render to get an idea of whats going on, and also something i can look at and begin tweaking. In this render i broke the connection between the light and the fog to create a smoky look, while it was a nice experiment i think the fog is more in keeping with the original concept. The trees dont look like they belong in the same environment so I'm going to begin re working them so they fit in together. Also normal maping the assets is another area I can explore.

One of the first playblasts of the scene, mostly to see if the fog effects looked good. Lots of things still need fixing though, such as the white lines around some assets from rushed alpha masking. Also the saturation could do with being raised and lights need to be added.

Note: the trees popping in and out of fog is due to mayas viewport, in the render no such popping occurs.

Backdrop for the scene.

Foreground elements to help frame the shot.

Ideas for woodland flowers, as alchemy plays a large roll in both the narrative and gameplay these are an important addition to the environment.

Painted creatures to populate the scene, not hugely relevant to the narrative, but do add a bit of life into the scene.

Initial concepts for assets to populate my environment.

For this project I aim to produce a couple of environment scenes by blending aspects of 2D matte paiting with 3D tools. I will place the seperate "assets" on a polygon plane and arranging them into a scene, then take a 15-20 secound shot panning from one side to the other. This will create an illusion of depth and provide a dynamic display of my environments.

My first environment will be a dank, misty forest which the first protagonist and her band of revolutionaries takes refuge in while on the run from the crown. As such the environment needs to provide a sense of safety, but also will grow inceasingly dark as the environment around begins to reflect her delirium. Obviously this will be difficult to communicate all at once, so the boiled down concept would be a tranquil yet slightly sinister forest.