Background Blitz: Next Screen Over (ENDED)

[Snarky]

EDIT 3: Snarky, did you want me to vote?

Yes, participants may vote (and thanks for trying to get the ball rolling, Mad). Mostly people don't vote for themselves, though I'm not going to make that an absolute rule.

I'll wait until the end of the voting period to throw in my two cents.

[Questionable]

Technique - TheRoger - You said yourself that you tried your hand at a style your not familiar with, and I think you managed quite well! With a bit of practice and maybe fiddling with the brush settings, you'll get there or even better acquire your own unique style...

I agree! I love how you did your grass, BTW.

[Snarky]

(I'll close the vote in a few hours, so get your opinions in!)

Mad: Nice mimicking of Ben's technique. I particularly like the lighting around the flame by the sign: very atmospheric! A closer match with Ben's screen would probably need to be a bit sharper (I think he uses the eraser tool to fix up smudgy edges) but I think the biggest point for improvement here is in terms of functionality. It's hard to see what this screen really adds to the hypothetical game. Is there an exit on the left behind the cliff? That should probably be more evident.

TheRoger: Nice go. The way you've done the grass is cool and interesting to look at. Instead of mimicking nihylist's technique you've come up with your own. That's an approach I think you could apply more throughout. Again, biggest flaw is that the background just looks like an extension of the landscape, without really contributing anything of its own. It might also be tricky to have characters walk over all that rolling grass.

Questionable: I quite like the pencil sketch + colors look (which Pinback's original screen is a great example of), and find your style very suitable for an adventure game. For whatever reason, I think the texture on the sky through the window is really nice. Most immediate point of improvement is probably in the use of light and shadow. Your shadows (apparently made using the burn tool, which just... don't) are too shapeless, blurry and timid, and you're hardly shading the objects themselves. Instead of giving form and depth to the room and its objects, they just make it look more flat. Having two light sources (window and fireplace) is a great opportunity to use highlights to really make things pop.

So to conclude:

Idea - Questionable (for adding to the game world in an interesting way, even if it doesn't really fulfill the rules of the challenge)
Technique - Mad (mainly for nice use of lighting)
Usefulness - Questionable (even though it doesn't seem to have an exit, the screen offers a lot to do for an adventurer)

[Questionable]

Idea - The Roger
I think he decided to tackle what was one of the most dificult backgrounds (IMO) to continue. There was no clear sense of direction with the original and he was able to capture the same spirit and emulate the design pretty well. If redrawn with the sam style I could see this being a seamless scroll and it could almost playout like the Opening Credit of a movie.

Technique - Mad
I mean, just really spot on. If I didn't know which was which I probably couldn't tell you who had drawn which panel.

Usefulness - Questionable

Just Kidding - Mad
I like what Roger did but I am having trouble imagining any GAMEPLAY happening in that seen and for that reason it's usefulness is pretty limited. Mad's on the other hand could very well be a BG, part of an intro, a painting on my wall. It's just more versatile.

[Snarky]

Questionable: 6
Mad: 4
TheRoger: 2

The winner is Questionable - unquestionably. Congratulations!

Thanks to all the participants, and the voters.

(I like that this simplified voting system puts more emphasis on functionality, not just technique. While encouraging good graphics is great, I think the BB should emphasize creating good game screens.)

[Takyon]

EDIT: Stupid q lol

[Misj']

Could someone tell me where I can see a larger version of the last image in the collection Snarky posted in the first post.

You mean the one referenced in Questionable's entry?


ps. congrats Questionable!

[Jbass]

awesome!! Congrats
whens the next one starting I'm desperate to get making something