Adventure Game Studio

Creative Production => Critics' Lounge => Topic started by: Mage on Wed 18/02/2004 14:07:01

Title: bckground\character\vegetation for critic
Post by: Mage on Wed 18/02/2004 14:07:01
i've been playing around with a new style for my game, it's not completely finished... i just need to find a good way of blending the path with the grass.. i've been trying a few things but it always looks crappy. i would appriciate if anyone could help me out with this  :-\
(http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/cth1.png)
and a larger version :
(http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/cth2.png)

*UPDATE*
For newest updates see last post (obviouls :P )
Title: Re:bckground in need of advice (and critic ;))
Post by: sedriss on Wed 18/02/2004 15:10:45
The path looks fine to me.
But the outline of the house really shouldnt be there.  ;)
Title: Re:bckground in need of advice (and critic ;))
Post by: James Kay on Wed 18/02/2004 15:29:53
Agree with sedriss. That house outline (the light brown) jars. If it was just slightly darker than the rest of the wood used for the house it'd be fine.

Path. It's okay. You can add depth by having some grass from the patch in the front of the screen overlay the path behind it (It's just a straight edge now, but try drawing some green lines as sticky out grass - but subtly! Like you did with the rock in the foreground and the base of the house). You can also have a small; walkbehind area in that grass bit, so when the character walks south his feet dissapear (unless he is meant to be able to walk onto that grass).

Also, tree is foreground: Nice!
Tree in background: Huh?
Just make a tree in the same style but make it slightly lighter.


Sounds like a lot of critique, but I really like the image! You obviously have the skill to make it even better, so good luck!
Title: Re:bckground in need of advice (and critic ;))
Post by: on Wed 18/02/2004 17:48:21
It's nice. The character deffinatley fits with the background, IMO. It has a deffinite quirkyness to it, to me - it almost reminds me of Jill Of The Jungle.

LOL, but no, honestly. I think it's coming along nicely, and if all the backgrounds to the game will be in the same style, it'll compliment the game very well. The path is fine, it's that gradient fade it's doing, which, I know in reality needs to be there, that makes it look a little odd to me.

:)
Title: Re:bckground in need of advice (and critic ;))
Post by: n3tgraph on Wed 18/02/2004 19:08:00
wow this is the kind of style I love in games

great work!

but I'd work on some sky and outlines on the house
Title: Re:bckground in need of advice (and critic ;))
Post by: Ben on Wed 18/02/2004 19:15:41
I think the outlines are just temporary.. He said he's not finished yet.

I really like this style. I think the transition between the path and the grass works, you just need to add more of the grass creeping onto the gravel, like you did on the top. You might also want to make the character bigger. Right now he seems a little out of porportion..

Other than that, it's good. I like the texture on the leaves..
Title: Re:bckground in need of advice (and critic ;))
Post by: Darth Mandarb on Wed 18/02/2004 19:33:41
I love this style!

I would imagine the outline on the house will be completely removed (as nothing else is outlined and it really stands out!) and, as said, it's not finished!

It's off to a great start!

Suggestions:
* I would suggest adding some shadows/shading (as I always say!)
* Shrink the front door!  It's huge compared to the character!
* Maybe add some clouds to the sky.
* Add some shading/details to the mountains

Keep us posted!

~ d
Title: Re:bckground in need of advice (and critic ;))
Post by: Kweepa on Wed 18/02/2004 20:00:40
Here's what I'd do to the path:

(http://kweepa.com/step/ags/critics/path.gif)

I just cloned some grass up in stalks at the bottom, darkened the edge under the top, then cloned some stalks back into the shadow.

Nice style btw.

Steve
Title: Re:bckground in need of advice (and critic ;))
Post by: Darth Mandarb on Wed 18/02/2004 20:27:54
I like what Steve did ... I was working on something when he posted that!  But here's mine:

(http://www.twin-design.com/random/mage_help02.gif)

I like his path shading a little better!  I just wanted to illustrate the shading I mentioned above.

I added some quick detail to the mountain in the background too (really quick ... but you get the point!)

~ d
Title: Re:bckground in need of advice (and critic ;))
Post by: on Wed 18/02/2004 21:45:48
That's exactly what the path needs.

Do it now!

:D
Title: Re:bckground in need of advice (and critic ;))
Post by: Akumayo on Wed 18/02/2004 23:04:53
Dude, that style totally rocks!!! Very nice background, add some extra grass on the path, mabye even some clumps on it.  I would deffinently get rid of the house outline though, and that shed on the left needs some boards like the ones on the house.  Other than that, the whole thing looks great!!!
Title: Re:bckground in need of advice (and critic ;))
Post by: Tarison on Wed 18/02/2004 23:14:04
Awesome! Now, how did you do it? ;)
Title: Re:bckground in need of advice (and critic ;))
Post by: on Wed 18/02/2004 23:20:58
I'm guessing the outline is because he said the background was un-finished?
Title: Re:bckground in need of advice (and critic ;))
Post by: Mage on Wed 18/02/2004 23:37:55
yeah it's pretty much incomplete (the image)
thx 4 c&c i've used the advice with the shadow and i think i've got a pretty nice outcome :
(http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/cth3.png)
Title: Re:bckground in need of advice (and critic ;))
Post by: BerserkerTails on Thu 19/02/2004 00:23:16
wow, I love this style!! Reminds me alot of Shadow of the Comet!

http://www.mobygames.com/game/shots/p,2/gameId,132/gameShotId,429/

(Picture from Moby Games of Shadow of the Comet)
Title: Re:bckground in need of advice (and critic ;))
Post by: amaranth on Thu 19/02/2004 00:40:02
the trees in the front are awesome! how did you get that nice grainy look?
Title: Re:bckground in need of advice (and critic ;))
Post by: Kweepa on Thu 19/02/2004 09:30:52
Eww, that Shadow of the Comet shot is hideous!
A really obvious photograph for the sky, and bright blue windows??
Oh wait, this isn't C&C for Shadow of the Comet.

Mage, some more suggestions:
- the texture on the door could be more like the plank texture from the house. I'd take it back to one shade, then draw some very subtle lighter streaks vertically.
- then some shadows - create a multiply layer, set it to 25%, and draw with a black brush, then take the eraser and draw some blades of grass back into it.
Title: Re:bckground in need of advice (and critic ;))
Post by: James Kay on Thu 19/02/2004 09:48:55
The left hand side of the path is spot on!
Title: Re:bckground in need of advice (and critic ;))
Post by: Mage on Thu 19/02/2004 11:22:36
thanks for your critics...
i'll redo the door sometime in the future.
i'm planning on keeping the shading for the end.
as for the trees (foliage) :
i draw the basic shape with a custom foliage brush i made and a very dark green colour (almost black). next i build it up with lighter shades ending with a bright yellowish green. then i duplicate the layer ( don't know if it's neccecairy, i'm just making a new layer for everything :)) and add noise (about 45, monochrome, uniform or gaussian)

EDIT:
work in progress ;) :
(http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/cth4.png)
Title: Re:bckground in need of advice (and critic ;))
Post by: Nacho on Thu 19/02/2004 14:52:36
Woha! This bg has a totally professional looking... sum to that the nice background of the bar you did before, and you'll get a very promising game indeed...

I wish I could do backgrounds with that feeling...  :'(
Title: Re:bckground in need of advice (and critic ;))
Post by: on Thu 19/02/2004 15:02:50
Brilliant!

You're going to be very popular.

^_^
Title: Re:bckground in need of advice (and critic ;))
Post by: Vel on Thu 19/02/2004 17:52:53
Totally smashing! Your game will rock without a doubt. By the way, that character looks to me kind of like parker from shadow of the comet.
Title: Re:bckground in need of advice (and critic ;))
Post by: Mage on Thu 19/02/2004 19:59:21
Quote from: Farlander on Thu 19/02/2004 14:52:36
sum to that the nice background of the bar you did before, and you'll get a very promising game indeed...

what bar ? :D
anyway thanks for your feedback... i appriciate it.
and as for the resemblance (spelling correct ?) to shadow of the comet :
i'm trying to capture the climax of shadow of the comet... this is going to be a H.P. Lovecraft inspired game... i just hope i can handle it.
Title: Re:bckground in need of advice (and critic ;))
Post by: Erwin_Br on Thu 19/02/2004 21:38:43
Very, very nice background.  :o

Be sure to show it to us again when you completed it.  :D

The only suggestion I have is to change the door a little. I think the witdh could be decreased. I've only seen that kind of large doors in hospitals where they need to move entire beds through the doors.

--Erwin
Title: Re:bckground in need of advice (and critic ;))
Post by: Nacho on Fri 20/02/2004 17:30:10
Eeer... It was you who uploaded a bar/pub before, wasn't you? It was cool...  :)
Title: Re:bckground in need of advice (and critic ;))
Post by: Das Plans on Sat 21/02/2004 09:35:55
Wahooo...

I know I'm  a little late, but I had to tell you how much I like your background. Great, great work.

Also, it's quite instructive for me - I always had problems drawing exterior locations with all the trees and stones and stuff. Now I have something to cling to.   ;D
Title: Re:bckground in need of advice (and critic ;))
Post by: Mage on Sat 21/02/2004 15:29:24
i just want to show you some more work in progress (none of these are finished,actually they are in an early stage) :

(http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/cth01.png)
the pic as seen before with some improvments

(http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/cth02.png)
The title screen ( the game still needs a title )

(http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/cth03.png)
an overview of the village

(http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/cth04.png)
The mains character home
Title: Re:bckground in need of advice (and critic ;))
Post by: James Kay on Sat 21/02/2004 16:04:28
It's all looking very nice!
Keep up the good work!
Title: Re:bckground in need of advice (and critic ;))
Post by: LordHart on Mon 23/02/2004 04:17:56
Holy fuck!!! :o

I want to have your child... so I hope you're a chick, otherwise it might not work. :P

Farl, I think you're probably thinking about Herr Steins bar. Or my crappy one...
Title: Re:bckground in need of advice (and critic ;))
Post by: Mage on Wed 25/02/2004 16:33:53
(http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/cth5.png)

some work in progress on this one :
it's still not finished as you can easily see :)
just wanted to know which chandelier fits better.

oh and can anyone help me finding reference to inner and outer house designs from about 1920-1930. I'm especially looking for reference about mental hospitals (cells) from that time.
any help would be appriciated.

Oh, and blackbird :
i didn't trace nuffin and the program is PSP 8.10
Title: Re:bckground in need of advice (and critic ;))
Post by: Neole on Wed 25/02/2004 19:03:50
Great stuff!
Title: Re:bckground in need of advice (and critic ;))
Post by: Mage on Sat 28/02/2004 10:36:25
hmm.. seems like the post got lost somewhere.
so here i am again and the problem is water,
so if anyone can tell me how to improve it or give me a link to some tutorial or something that would be great.
(http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/cth6.png)
Title: Re:bckground in need of advice (and critic ;))
Post by: Ben on Sat 28/02/2004 20:08:06
The water looks good to me.. I think the only way to improve it is to add reflections (I see you started doing that already).

Since you're going for FOA/MI1 style, you might want to look closely at the water in those games..
Title: Re:bckground in need of advice (and critic ;))
Post by: Mage on Wed 03/03/2004 20:12:03
Ok, so here's my first ever walkcycle :) i'm pretty proud of myself alought it still needs alot of lil' tweaking and stuff :
(http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/walk2.gif)
oh.. i couldn't enlarge it with the program i'm using so if anyone would be so kind to post a zoomed version, that would be good :)

P.S.
i'm still looking for some kind of method to do the lake (water). any kind of help would be much appriciated.
Title: Re:bckground and character (animation) in need of advice
Post by: Darth Mandarb on Wed 03/03/2004 20:23:06
(http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/walk2.gif)

I would speed it up just a tad.
I would lower the raised knee in both mid-points, it's more like a running animation placement.
I wouldn't have the arm (in the forward positions) go up so high.  Just move forward.

Excellent for a first animation though.

~ d

edit Just FYI - You can double the size by just adding width and height tags to the [ img ] [ /img ] code.
Title: Re:bckground and character (animation) in need of advice
Post by: Damien on Wed 03/03/2004 20:26:31
It's a great walkcycle, but I seems that when his knee is in the highest position, his other leg moves backwards too far, and you should bend his arm gradually during the walkcycle, it looks weird when it bends just in one frame.

x2
(http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/walk2.gif)
I zoomed your walkcycle using this code:
[img width=70 height=78]http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/walk2.gif[/img]

Title: Re:bckground and character (animation) in need of advice
Post by: Kweepa on Thu 04/03/2004 08:56:25
For lake water, your best bet is some reference material (from a google image search or photos you take yourself!).

What I would say about the water you've drawn is - it's nicely textured, but water isn't blue. It should reflect the sky more than anything else. Also, the mountain reflection should be much less crisp, and darker than the mountains themselves. Then the water shouldn't just fade out towards the shores. On large lakes there can be "waves" near the shores. And maybe there should be a bit of depth cueing.

Look here for example.
http://www.sunbanksresort.com/photogallery/pages/sbcampsites.htm (http://www.sunbanksresort.com/photogallery/pages/sbcampsites.htm)
Title: Re:bckground\character\vegetation for critic
Post by: Mage on Fri 05/03/2004 15:07:34
Thanks for your advice.. i'll fix the animation sometime soon.

here is the lake background... i played a bit with the water :
(http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/cth8.jpg)
(i couldn't save it as png.. some error popped)

And here is something new, i've been playing with diffrent kinds of plants (trees mainly) and i want to know what you think, which looks the best and worst.
(http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/cth7.png)
Title: Re:bckground\character\vegetation for critic
Post by: kaaZ on Fri 05/03/2004 15:15:12
Since your style seems consistent and all these trees and plant are beautifully done in the same style I couldn't point one out that's the best or the worst...they're all pretty good...
Title: Re:bckground\character\vegetation for critic
Post by: Corby on Sat 06/03/2004 08:49:23
WOW! I'm amazed and very very jealous! The thing I like most is how you do your rocks and trees! Reminds of the way I do business but I like yours better!

(http://igloo.zapto.org/~corby/caparosasite/Art/Corby3-640x480.jpg)

I can tell you used a underpainting/overpainting method, very good work! I think I may steal the colors you used for that rock in the first pic! :)
BTW I love how pixalated it looks! Keep it up!