Background critics : Atlantic Ocean plain/top of cliff

[Monsieur OUXX]

Hi all,

Once again, a rather gloomy (yet luminous) background. You should hear the wind blowing when watching that picture.
It will be animated, so that the rays of light appear and disappear slowly.

I also plan on adding birds in the distant sky.

If someone feels like animating the sea, then please be my guest as I suck at this.

And of course, post your critics. I've taken in account previous critics about both the sky (to avoid it looking like a mountain) and the way I render distant grass (so that it doesn't look like trees).

[Khris]

A technical question: you've again scaled this image to a width of 900; why 900 and what's the original size?

[cat]

If you want wind you have to animate the grass in the foreground.

[Monsieur OUXX]

A technical question: you've again scaled this image to a width of 900; why 900 and what's the original size?

It shouldn't be 900. It should be 960. I asked Paint.Net to scale 300%.
WTF?

@Cat: I know, thanks. Don't twist the knife in the wound.  :'(

[cat]

Ok, more crits on the painting:

I totally like the mood in the centre of the pic, the colours, saturation fit perfectly. What bothers me a bit are the two green tones on the right, they have too much blue in them i think. Also in this special light the building on the right might have some strong highlights.

[Monsieur OUXX]

What bothers me a bit are the two green tones on the right, they have too much blue in them i think.

I agree with you. I'm trying to be consistent with the fact that the grass is greener nearer the cliff (it's not that yellowish grass that suffers from the hard winds and harsh cold light). But I'm not happy with it. I'll try to work on it.

About the manor's light: Yes, you're right.

[Khris]

I asked Paint.Net to scale 300%.

Don't, just add width=960 to the img tag:

Code: ags

[img width=960]URL[/img]

[Anian]

Is this a cutscene or playable? Because there might be some scaling problems.

Hmm, you might have to rearrange some things. Lighthouse kind of draws the eye and makes me think it's the vanisihng point of the perspective, but it's actually slightly off, so the cliffs just on the right of the lighthouse, at least to me, lookwrong somehow.
But just looking at the picture, it looks really atmospheric.

[Monsieur OUXX]

I asked Paint.Net to scale 300%.

Don't, just add width=960 to the img tag:

Code: ags

[img width=960]URL[/img]

The reason why I scale the image itself is because I want people to be able to view it comfortably even outside of the Forum (i.e. DeviantArt users). Anyway I'll check why 320 x 3 became 900.

[Mad]

Great image!

One minor gripe, at least for me, is the clean cut look of the pathway. For it to look like a trodden path, the edges should be a bit more scrubby/shaggy.

Another thing is something ProgZmax already mentioned in your other thread, (also a great piece!). The sky does look a bit flat, especially since you've got some light coming through the clouds hitting the ground. Some of that light should also be reflected in the clouds themselves.

Couldn't find a better reference image, but maybe it helps a bit.

Hope to see this in a game very soon!

[Ali]

I think the detailing is lovely, but since this looks like a cut-sceney kind of image I think the composition could be stronger. I think placing the lighthouse off-centre would be beneficial, as well as adding some kind of foreground.

This is a far-from-brilliant paintover, but hopefully it shows an option:

[Monsieur OUXX]

Did you increase the resolution for your Paintover?

This is a BRILLIANT paintover... But I can't do that!
I have the following constraints :
- The Lighthouse is not at the very end of the island. The island keeps going up, but doesn't bend to the right (that addresses anian critics and Ali's elevated cliff)
- The scene has to be consistent with another view (see the thread "Background critics: Shadow-of-the-comet-esque scene"
- The path is a path for one person (not for carriages). (That addresses Mad critics)


I like the fact that you drew the side of the manor, but then I'll have to rework the perspective (the manor becomes much bigger). I'll see what I can do.

[Ali]

This is a BRILLIANT paintover...

No it isn't, and my girlfriend prefers your version. I did the paintover at 900x, by the way.

I understand your constraints. Maybe I want to see this as a scrolling image, with the camera panning across to show more of the estate (and a tree in the foreground...). As it is, the manor is a bit of a tease, because it's not quite in or out of the picture.

It's very nice though, and I love the quality of light.

[Snarky]

I have the following constraints :
- The Lighthouse is not at the very end of the island. The island keeps going up, but doesn't bend to the right (that addresses anian critics and Ali's elevated cliff)
- The scene has to be consistent with another view (see the thread "Background critics: Shadow-of-the-comet-esque scene"
- The path is a path for one person (not for carriages). (That addresses Mad critics)

I don't think the geography (which you could modify, anyway) or consistency with the other screen really constrain the composition that much. In Ali's paintover, just as well as in yours, the island could be going on behind the hill, unseen by us. And either works well with the other screen, or at least could, with minor modifications. And I really think even in the paintover the path looks more like a walking path than a carriageway (perhaps except for what looks like wheel tracks in the distant view).

[Ilyich]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe there's almost a universal rule about natural landscapes, according to which the value distribution is always like this, from the lightest to the darkest: sky -> horizontal plane -> vertical objects like trees, houses etc. And here it's quite the opposite.

Here I tried to light up the sky and darken the house a bit:


I'm not sure if that's an improvement, because the original version has a great bleak atmosphere, but i thinks it's more natural. The same goes for the other background. Hope it helps, but they are great already.

[Mad]

I really like the clouds/sky in your version, Ilyich! It has loads of depth and character and shows off perfectly what I wanted to bring across in my earlier post.

[Sam.]

Been tempted to do this since i saw the first image, it's probably hugely obvious but I like the idea of a sunbeam focusing on the lighthouse, adds a bit of focus to the scene. (sorry for the crappy edit/imageshack hosting)

[Monsieur OUXX]

Maybe I want to see this as a scrolling image

You are VICIOUS!
Girlfriends don't like vicious guys. They like guys who keep it real and don't cheat with resolutions in their Paintovers. 

[Monsieur OUXX]

Been tempted to do this since i saw the first image

It's actually kind-of-what happens in the animated version, but I definitely need to enforce the effect.

Here I tried to light up the sky and darken the house a bit:

That's brillant. I didn't have time yet to rework my skies (in any of the 3 backgrounds I've posted in the last few days), and I think I'll just be lazy and copy-paste yours, as it looks perfect. However, Do you have a way to provide it without the light rays? I process them separately, still because of the animations.

[Ilyich]

However, Do you have a way to provide it without the light rays? I process them separately, still because of the animations.

Nope, sorry, did it all on one layer. But I think it'll be pretty easy to paint them over. Good luck!