If these are your first attempts at terraining, I'd say you've done a a decent job.
But there is certainly a learning curve to be had here.
Firstly, I'd like to point out the fact that you made a "showcase" as your first thread,
for many reasons we prefer if you make separate threads for your terrains in the beginning,
and then, only when you have accumulated a fair number of terrains you are proud of, is
when you should make a showcase.
Anyway, formalities out of the way, I'd like to address three items of interest: Scaling, focus and backdrop.
Generally speaking, you are doing alright, doodad variation and placement is decent, the fog work is alright,
there's some rotation fixes to be had, and you generally have a decent eye for quality doodads. But.
The scaling is way off in most of these, most doodads are... Generally the same size, and some are too large.
You need to pay attention to textures when making scenic terrains, many doodads shouldn't be scaled too much,
like the birds in the first terrain, all the structure doodads in the second, the ruined archs you use as ceilings in
the third and like the statue, and
especially the ferns, in the fourth. All good example of doodads that look more
or less terrible when scaled too big. Otherwise you also have a problem with varying the scaling, especially with
the flora. Trees should always be varied in size, from small saplings to large robust trees. And underbrush, like
the ferns, should
never be larger than the trees.
The focus is also skewered in most of these, for one you have the camera far too zoomed in on the doodads,
you should pull it back some, to get a broader view of what you're making. Additionally, when you're this much
zoomed in, you really get to see the bad textures on doodads with bad textures. You should also play around
more with angles, three out of the four terrains actually look like they were all made from the exact same
angle, with doodad, fog, lighting and ground changes to make it seem different.
And lastly, the most important thing of them all: The backdrop: there isn't any. You need proper horizons in your
terrains. If there is one redeeming factor for a terrain, one thing that can make an otherwise shitty looking terrain
seem nice, it's a properly made backdrop, the feeling that the world goes on and on and on and on. All four of your
terrains suffer from a very old terrain board expression called "end of the world." It is basically how we describe it
when a terrain seems like it simply ends at the horizon, like if you walked across it you'd fall into a black, bottomless
pit of eternal WorldEditor hell. This is done by clever fog fork, having several layers of mountains, mountains behind
mountains, extending the size of the map and making it seem like the terrain melds into the sky in the distance.
These are three factors I think would improve your terrains tremendously if you focused on improving them.
And please do us all a favor and make a new thread the next time you make a terrain, it's much more easier
to relate to one terrain per thread, than to having to comment on all of them at once. Hope to see more from
you, and good luck in your endeavors in a dying art
