I have a reference but when reviewing videos I am no longer happy with my outcome and feel it is worth submitting without further revision (3rd times the charm after all). As I said though, I have at least 5 models sitting untextured, one for Player Studio and the others possibly for Portfolio that should be done; but I made myself a promise to make a character this month, that must come first. Have to hold to our own schedules after all.
I worked on the earlier kitchen cabinet modules, combined them, changed the surfaces and handle and added some trim. Probably still not acceptable to Player Studio, but I'd put this in my prestidge homes Anyway, I hope you all like it.
Rawl, First, let me say I'm loving your more recent work. The new TP stand is genius. The detail work on your cabinets is gorgeous. Now, incoming Jazabelle's $2. I was going to say $0.02, but I realized I used up my $0.02 a long time ago. Feel free to disregard it all and to think nasty thoughts at me. Do keep in mind I can't do what you do at all, and this is just the thoughts of a decorator with a passion for housing and furniture in real life voicing her opinions where they may not be wanted. Hopefully what I say can be helpful for you though. My only suggestion? The wood itself. I can see why SoE feels it's too mass produced. (Edit: Ah, went back and reread the entire thread again from the beginning. The original cabinet had wood grain, and they said it was too mass produced. Hmm, it might have been the lack of trim, and the fact that the wood grain was too repetitive? Natural wood grain is very random. Sorry, gah! I can see why you feel like you're pounding your head against the wall. Perhaps detail trim with wood grain? Or this smooth version you've submitted will hopefully be accepted, although I personally would have preferred something with a wood grain like the white oak kitchen set below Leaving my original post below anyway, just in case it might give you some ideas.) It's too smooth to me. Too flat. I suppose it could be painted brown, but something about it says "wood" to me. I personally am not that fond of the sumac for that very reason no matter how much I may wind up using it (it needs more blemishes!)--if you look at antique furniture, while it is gorgeous and built of incredible craftsmanship, the wood grain is not perfect. Wood grains are beautiful, and most old craftsmen knew how to work with the grain rather than disguising it. Some examples of real-life cabinetry shamelessly yanked off of Google images for you to peruse: An antique white oak kitchen (probably my favorite of the lot): An antique hoosier cabinet: Another oak antique cabinet (I happen to love oak for the strong grain and rich colors that take stains well): And another cabinet in a similar style: Some various woods with varying degrees of grains and colors: Your halfling door is gorgeous. It's the right idea (although quite a bit more weathered looking due to the color). You did an excellent job of working with the grain on that one. If you add a bit of grain to the cabinets, I will buy them off of the Marketplace until I run out of Station Cash. As it is, I feel like I would walk into a home improvement store, stare at the current cabinets and think, "They're gorgeous. It's a pity they're particle board with a veneer." You are improving by leaps and bounds with all of the practice you're getting. I cannot wait to see where you are by this time next month. Cheers, Jaz
Thanks Jaz for taking the time to provide me with examples. That's more helpful than anyone has been so far. With regard to the wood image, I'd like to make every door and piece of wood on a cabinet unique, but due to the limitations of space (512 x 512 pixels image) I can't map that much variety onto these cabinets. So, that's partly why they look mass produced. I tried a different wood texture that had more character but it just didn't look right to me. If they decline this one, which they probably will, I will change the wood possibly using one of the examples you provided. I am endeavoring to follow their advice but advice like, "make it look older/used" it so vague, I can't really do much with that. I need someone to show me how they make stuff look older/used. The picture doesn't show off the texture of this wood much, but it does have texture, and when you look at it from an angle where the light hits it right, you can see that it isn't at all smooth. The normals map controls the texture bumpyness, so depending on how high that bumping is set, it could look really aged or weather worn. In this picture I had the normals set fairly low. (SoE can adjust the normals setting to whatever degree they deem appropriate prior to releasing an item to SC store.) I'll model a cabinet using one of those pictures you provided and name it the JazCabinet (On second thought I might not do that, you might not want your name associated with something you don't like.) Thanks.
I hate to be a bother but can you perhaps PM me your UVW layout? I may be able to help capitalize space more to allow more varied wood gain, depends on the resolution you are aiming for. I know for my Dark Table I had to do a lot of tiling to get it to work. This piece has been accepted and should be added at some point, least according to Corvic before the Player Studio forum-redo. https://www.dropbox.com/s/1is9v6lc828g6a8/LargeDarkArcaneTableModelSheet.jpg With it being Dropbox I had to do direct link. Please be respectful of the work and only view. - Note the metal-bind points are distressed. - The top is cracked and shows scratching. - the metal "teeth" are scratched as well showing how the item was damaged during it's time in the Void (where this furniture was themed from). I think that is more what SOE is meaning by "distressing" your work. I also used an existing style within EQ2 as a launch-point specifically this image, this is also the theme I am following (void/dark wizard) for the rest of my housing set. I am planning time atm over the next month to finish some more pieces while working on my Security Guard for my UDK-Level. If you have Skype, say so in the PM I can share-screen and show you how I go about it (or I can write up a tutorial of how I make things look damaged).
Hi Estred, I can't find any place where there is the ability for me to PM you. I clicked on your picture and looked through your profile, and I don't see a way to email you. I do have Skype and you can find me listed as jerry.dechant. If you have Facebook, you can find me there as well. I looked at your picture, it looks very nice but I can't see the details you mentioned in your post. I can't see the distressed metal binding or the crack and scratches. (I couldn't enlarge the picture to get a better look.)
When I get home I will see about contacting you, on these forums a PM is called "start a conversation" when you click on a profile. I am currently at school laying out the next few weeks of work before my Capstone class (basically final English Class). Look forward to speaking with you. Edit: I do have Facebook, but I never check/use it. I only log on it maybe 4 times a year. I will be more active with my Twitter when I make one at some point.
Hi Jaz, This isn't quite done, but I thought I'd show you and get feedback. It is based on the picture I've left in your quote. Obviously not exactly the same, I didn't want it to be. The rolling door still needs some work, and there is no bump map applied to this image so you can't see roughness. See yas!
Rawl, I think that's quite possibly the best thing I've seen from you yet (besides the halfling doors and stove).
I really like the stove, the wooden TP holder, and the halfling doors the best so far! The brown halfling door especially. I hope you won't mind some critique on the most recent cabinets. While it does look similar to the photo, I think it looks more "retro" than "antique". The drawers especially. I don't really have a thorough explanation why but here's my family's old kitchen to try and help me, heh. The tiles and cabinetry are from the 1950's, and I think that's why I'm thinking "retro" when I see the model. I did some Googling to try and help and I came back with a few items to see if I can help some more on either tweaks or future models. There's [this] French buffet from the 18th century, [this] cupboard/dowry cabinet from 1895, and [this] cabinet from 1860. The fine details I don't think could be modeled with the limit on the poly count, but perhaps it's something that could be worked out in textures (is normal mapping the term I'm thinking of?). Both rubylane.com and antiques.com had a lot of nice examples when I went peeking in for furniture. I want to say go for things pre-1900 in structure. Everquest 2 obviously has architecture and furniture of things even "older" in style, but really with SC items like the Castellum, Ebony, and Cherry Grove sets you've got inspiration from all sorts of time periods. Hope that's at least a little helpful. >_<
Thanks. I appreciate your thought and the pictures. I'm assuming you are referring to the of the Baker's Cupboard (the latest picture/project which I am still working on.) I still have some refining to do on it. The prior kitchen cabinets which include the sink are more modern looking, and they probably won't be acceptable for EQ2. Someone told me they look too boxy. The thing is, kitchen cabinets for the common person in the late 1800's and early 1900's aren't all that fancy. For the most part, pictures of the kitchen aren't available so much because it was the place where the work was done. It typically wasn't fancy at all. If the owners were wealthy, they had servants to attend to their dinning needs and may seldom if ever make a visit to the kitchen. So, the kitchen cabinets were plain and functional, basically wooden boxes with shelves and doors on them. Some didn't even have doors on them. Dinning Room cabinetry is a different story and your pictures are wonderful examples of the fine craftsmanship and pride the cabinet makers put into their work. The furniture currently available on SC isn't kitchen furniture, it is Dinning Room and Bedroom furniture. What I've been trying to do is provide stuff for the kitchen that people would put in their homes which wouldn't make them use up their limited item count to build everything out of other stuff. I'm experimenting with different looks, so stay tuned.. I may eventually create something that both the players and SoE like By the way, the Gnome Elite Woodburing Stove has progressed another step towards being approved. (Pending Content stage.)
I love the new cabinet! The tp holder is absolute genius! On the cabinet ( if I may offer a suggestion? ) I would go with solid wood handles and knobs, instead of metal/rock looking ones. That is once again, just my personal opinion. Or even possibly Tinkered locks on the doors? I LOVE YOUR WORK !!! And I am NOT critiquing something that I cannot do! I am just offering a suggestion, maybe for future items?
Slight critique, In my opinion none of these cabinets fit in a fantasy environment. It looks like you opened an Ikea catalog and went shopping. You need to get a little Norrath in there. Just my own two cents.
I would buy Rawls stuff - Personally I do think it fits, it fits better than the new cherry blossom stuff does, but thats just me and my sense of furnishings. Maybe the designers should take a look at what the players are creating in their homes using umpteen untold numbers of items to get the effect rawl is offering in 1 item? Just an idea
Just my opinion. No need to get snippy. I'm just trying to help get his stuff through the pipeline faster.
Yes, i realize that, i didn't mean to sound snippy and was just coming back to post to please not take it that way I'm sorry, I do like the new cherry blossom stuff, it's just the first thing that came to mind as an example Tobey. * goes sits quietly back in her corner
I just sent a PM to Morg and I'm going to post here, It's just my opinion of what this stuff should look like. So take it or leave it. "There is just a real ornate/carved not pre-manufactured look that is missing here. I almost feel like this is stuff I might see in the sims. It doesn't have a lot of character. I would like to see players pushing the limit and making really unique stuff. What would hobbit hole furniture look like? What do the sets in Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings look like? What would a Troll decorate his home with? That's the direction I think it needs to go, know what I mean?"
Oh you got me, I guess I will stop using that catalog as a reference With regard to your comment, ".. get a little Norrath in there." From the kitchen furniture perspective, there isn't much available to use as a Norrathian style reference for kitchen cupboards, etc.. The stoves are about the only kitchen items I can think of which are currently available in Norrath. While the stuff I've made isn't stylistically appropriate, I've been trying to fill a player need for kitchen cabinets, (so far unsuccessfully.) I'm still trying to clarify in my mind what people will like (and buy) that matches SoE's style restrictions. Thanks again for your comments. I do appreciate them. Best regards,
Rawl, I think your stuff is a good base to start with, Now push it further. Rarely will I get a character animated without someone on the team checking it out and say "Uh I don't think so!" I get wrapped up doing a character for six weeks and they start behaving in undragon like ways
Ok, I had an epifany ( i know i know I should use spell check ). But what about that same cabinet with Neriak ( or any city ) style windows and maybe a S shaped iron handle on the doors? with a Lil Inlaid Iron scroll in the the top left and right corners of the cupboard doors?
