After not really much thinking, I came up with the following idea for designing backgrounds (especially indoor ones):
Why not create the room with a 3D prog like e.g. Maxon Cinema 4D, then export the wireframe and paint over it?
Sounds perfect for establishing a perfect viewpoint and correct perspective.
BUT, instead of (IMO ugly) rendered bgs, I'd end up with my own art.
What do you all think? Has anyone ever tried this?
-Chris
EDIT: One could even do some more preproduction by exporting different wireframed objects at a time and thus creating several layers as guides for the bg.
i've been planning to do this for a game i've been brewing for about a year now, only i was going to use solid shading rather than wireframes.
i also once used this technique to help me draw a chair because i totally suck at drawing chairs, but then again i'm not exactly a great 3d modeller either.
it's a good idea for those of us that don't really like to stray too far away from primitive shapes...
This is actually how I do the BG's for my "game".
I'm not that much of an artist, so it helps alot with perspective and stuff.
blender3d.org <-Nice opensource 3d-suite(with toonrendering capablities)
Hmm. Seems I only actually make a post here every 2 years :-\ Well, see ya in 2 8)
I tried this too but... the truth is, I never really managed to get the 3droom in size and perspective or the position of the camera that way, that it could really be used in an adventuregame... maybe someone can offer some basic-room template we would just have to put chairs, doors and beds inside ? ;)
Tried that awhile ago...
But I didn't like it much.
Perspective help is useful, but at least *I* love to draw things without pre-set lines and restrictions, it's just blocking creativity somehow.
But you actually don't need to render wireframes.
Just build 3d room with simple materials and add a light source too, with shadows enabled! Then you can even measure how light falls and how shadows go. Also, solid objects should be gouraud shaded, so you can see how much light is here or there. Flat-shaded objects just have darker and lighter edges :(
Render the whole scene and use it as a background layer (paint program with layer support needed), onto which you completely redraw your own picture.
Helpful, yes.
But time consuming too. And not that fun.
What I would really like to see is a application where I can draw 2D graphics with vanishing points and then be able to tweak the vanishing points as I go along, making the lines follow. Do you understand what I'm thinking about? Is there a program out there that does this?
I get you, that seems like an awesome program, if it should excist. SO ANY NICE FREEWARE PROGRAMMERS MAKE A PROGRAM LIKE THe ONE DESCRIBED BY YOke KTHXBYE!
Darn good idea! If I had the expertise, I would gladly do it. What you'd need is a vector style engine, like Adobe Illustrator.
Inkscape (http://www.inkscape.org/) is a free vector-based drawing program.