Environment Art Testing Mark 1

I have been diving into visuals this week and starting to answer what Hounds of Valor will actually look like. There has been a lot of testing in regards to environments.

The visual look I am leaning towards is painted, simple textures. I replaced the flat green toon grass shader with a textured paint that gives subtle variation and texture to the flat ground. I also have been testing light normal maps to add more depth but have not found the best balance to it.

I believe this painted look with fuzzy edges and visible brush strokes could work to make foliage and other object look soft and fluffy, something that will be very important when it comes to the characters. The rocks textures are given a different treatment. a subtle texture on them I think can help but will want to make sure they keep their solid, hard look compared to grass and foliage.

The other explorations have been with rendering. There is a very high number of image effects and shaders which can be used to help bring the model and texture work forward.

The toon shader has been a common fall back for me, having used it for my mobile game and it being a natural pairing with simpler models. I love the ability of a toon shader to simplify complex objects and allow a character to stand out. But a number of effects and fidelity are lost with them.

I looked at The Witness for inspiration, they use more realistic lighting with simpler textures to create what looks at first to be toon shaded, but has so much more beauty and depth. I’m not there yet, but its a good goal to work towards.

These examples are some out of the box image effects I have looked at that could help build a stylish visual design for the game.

Two tone shader override

Toonish Outlines

Color Correction Exaggerated

Color Correction Light