Inky BGs

[ThreeOhFour]

Hey all,

Yes, this is another "omg new tablet, help!" thread by me .

Disappointed with the lack of clarity for the edges on my previous "painting", I decided to try to go with a more comic-y style of sketch while I am still getting used to this tablet thing. I had a bit of a play last night and today (I try and make myself draw every single day with the tablet in the interest of getting better with it [and at art in general]) and came up with the following 3 sketches:


A bridge!

A house!

A cliff!

I know I should focus on one image at a time, but I wanted to crank them out while I had a clearish picture in my head how I wanted these to look*.

What I'm looking for is advice on... well, everything. Are the lines too thick (I think yes), are the colours alright, the general layout etc? I've not bothered with any opacity variation here, setting the pressure sensitivity to just size. For the lines I used a size 3 brush and a hand that's far too heavy still () and for the colouring I stuck to a size 15 brush.

Any tips you could offer a newbie would be most appreciated .

*(ps, they looked waaaay better in my head )

[skitzo]

That is the kind of look I am going for but i can't get the curvy lines like that (must be because I am using a mouse). What apps do you use to make them look like that and would you be willing to do a request image?

They look great btw.

[ThreeOhFour]

Glad you like them Skitzo. I've been using the Gimp to draw these and yes, using a tablet makes it much easier to get a less rigid look to the image.

I could probably do a request image for you easily - PM me (not email because of spam filter) and I'll take a look for you .

[veryweirdguy]

I like! Almost looks like they were done with a vertor program, what with the obvious shapes and splits between light and dark.

Some people may say to make the outlines thinner or even remove them altogether. To them I say: p'tosh! I would highly recommend keeping them if you are going for a cartoony style. I would even suggest making the outlines thicker for objects in the foreground.

The simple shading is very effective - make sure you keep a solid split line between light and dark. The main criticism I would have here though is on the shadine on your trees (especially the second one) - here it looks like obvious "brushstrokes" as opposed to just shapes. Try to make a single line down the split, like you have done with the leafy areas in the last image.

Very nice though! The sky colour is very effective in setting the mood of the bgs/ Good work!

[miguel]

Hi Ben,
First of all I like your technique and choice of colors, they set a mood as soon as you look at the pictures.
My opinion is that the first drawing works better ( I can imagine a character walking around ) than the others because it has more detail, there is more stuff going on. The other pictures look too still for me, a bit monotonous.
The cartoon feeling is all there and you have a talent for it!

[ThreeOhFour]

veryweirdguy - Cool, I had the same thought about it being vector and wondered if anyone else would. I think this is because I stuck to 100% opacity - I like the vector style, so this is a good thing. I had noticed the tree shading looks kinda crappy myself; hopefully I can figure out a way to do it better. Glad you like .

miguel - Thanks, I'm glad you think it sets the mood. I agree with you that the first drawing looks better - in fact the first one was the last one I drew. I didn't actually intend for them to be any more than just fun sketches, so I'm not to worried if they don't work so well as game backgrounds, but I can see how you like the first one more for a game background. I've done up a much more detailed and game-worthy background by request for skitzo, so if he doesn't mind (and if my stupid, ultra slow internet ever uploads it) I'll post it here as well for your crits.

Cheers for the comments .

[auriond]

I'm thinking this is a great style - simple, yet full of character, and yes - vector-y. How long does it take you to churn out a background like these?

[ThreeOhFour]

It takes me about an hour, I guess? The top one took a little longer because I had to redraw the bridge heaps of times .

The one I mentioned that I did up for skitzo took me about three hours, but is far more detailed.

Cheers

[skitzo]

Here is the image Ben drew up for me.

[toonaholic]

I am actually a big fan of the brush strokes on the tree.  the colors look great.  I also am a big fan of thick outlines. I use a lot of thick outlines, I find sometimes a good thing to do is not to make them all black.  maybe use a dark brown for the tree base and a dark green for leave outlines etc... it really makes the design pop without looking like a coloring book.  I also don't think it is a bad idea to work on several backgrounds at the same time, you can get a better overall feel of where you wanna go without spending too much time on a single piece, and then go in for more detail later. keep up the good work.

[Ryan Timothy B]

I love how with your new wacom tablet, you're still using the pixelated look with your 640x480 backgrounds (with those 100% opacity brush circles).  It's a very different affect than any other I've seen.  I'm not a great fan of it, but it does look good and eye catchy.

The one for Skitzo though, almost looks as though the plague or something has infected the town.  Like some crazy mold clinging to each building and street.  Or I'm just crazy; that's more likely.

[Dualnames]

I liked the pixelated look more. But i really think this style owns as well. but question remains does this style fit for your pixelated drawn characters?

[miguel]

I liked the pixelated look more. But i really think this style owns as well. but question remains does this style fit for your pixelated drawn characters?

Yeah, everytime I try to draw in a different/cartoony way I've quit because my characters don't blend well.
The thing is, it's much easier to animate a pixel character than a drawing.
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Ben: The screen you did for skitzo is very arty, almost impressionist (reminds me of Van Gogh's 'La nuit...something'. It captures the lamp light as it reflects  on the street,  the scenery is damp and almost wet, you can feel the humidity in the air. That's my first impression of it. I would love to see it oil painted!
So, I do think it could work on a game, or cutscene maybe, but the characters have got to have the same quality and feeling. Add some good music and good plot and there you go!

[ThreeOhFour]

toonaholic - Thanks for the note and, yes, I have thought about using coloured outlines. My big problem here is that I do my outlining first, with basically no idea whatsoever what the colours will look like, and guess the colours on the run. I'm sure I'll get over this but .

Ryan Timothy - It's easy for me to stick to a style, but in reality I aim to expand my style and not limit myself to using one technique. This is just for now whilst I am getting acquainted with the tablet - I hope to move on once I am more familiar with it. The dot style (mould ) is my way of adding a bit of texture and a stylised light gradient to the image.

Dualnames - I was thinking the same thing last night, but remember these are more practise backgrounds than anything else. Thanks for the nice comment .

miguel - Could you perhaps mean "Cafe de Nuit"? (Hope I got the spelling correct). If so, then yes, I am very familiar with the piece (Not that I know anything at all about art). I would oil paint it if I had the skill to .

I appreciate the comments, all. I have thought about the technique I use to do this in my head and should be able to simplify it a lot, perhaps even halve the amount of time needed to do one of these backgrounds (a whole hour seems excessive for something so simple).

[Ubel]

That's some pretty damn good looking art! I love the style. Well done!

[ThreeOhFour]

Thanks .

I remain amused by the fact that nobody has told me off for having disgusting linework or drawn perspective lines on the town background, asking whether I've even heard of a vanishing point before .

[Dualnames]

Ben i know you're at the moment trying to find a unique style for that game of yours , and as well as working on that tablet of course. Anyway i really think it's cool..

[Snake]

Wow - I don't have anything to criticize about. Those backgrounds are all awesome - f*cking brilliant!

Keep up the incredible work, Ben! I love that one of the buildings...


--Snake

[Tuomas]

I remain amused by the fact that nobody has told me off for having disgusting linework or drawn perspective lines on the town background, asking whether I've even heard of a vanishing point before .

Those are a few obvious errors yes, but the colour scheme you're using just catches the eye so well, that most won't even pay attention there. I like the way you use colours here, it's always been my biggest problem. Basically I can't say the drawing was exellent or correct and it seems to depend a lot on the colours, but it works well, extremely well if I may.

[ThreeOhFour]

Dualnames - Actually, I've got the style for "That game of mine" . The graphics are 98% done for it, so I don't plan on redoing any. Nice to hear you think it is cool .

Snake - You're far too kind sir. I enjoy drawing in this style but do hope to progress on to better graphics soon.

Tuomas - I agree, I don't think it is an excellent drawing by itself, and anybody seeing the pictures as just linework would probably pass them off as children's scribbles. I'm pleased to hear the colour scheme works well - I was stuck in a low saturation rut for a while there, and it is nice to move on.

Thankyou for all comments, and please, if there is anything you think I could improve, let me know .