Adventure Game Studio

Creative Production => Critics' Lounge => Topic started by: Esterlin on Mon 29/05/2006 21:38:00

Title: First background, need some critics and ideas
Post by: Esterlin on Mon 29/05/2006 21:38:00
First background and I could use some ideas about what should be behind the house.

Title: Re: First background, need some critics and ideas
Post by: Renal Shutdown on Mon 29/05/2006 22:09:04
Whizz.  Bang.  Hello, Lens Flare.
Title: Re: First background, need some critics and ideas
Post by: lo_res_man on Mon 29/05/2006 22:15:25
I actually like the lens flare at the top right, but the bottom ones, no.
the shadows are too similar, and the walk way is way to flat. and what in Yellowbeards baby are those glowing thing? the grass is nice, you realised an important fact, grass is not all green, as well I like the sky.
Title: Re: First background, need some critics and ideas
Post by: vict0r on Mon 29/05/2006 22:19:24
Actually a very nice background. But the lens flare makes it all... no...

What strikes me is that the grass seems to "go under" the house in some places.
EDIT: The closest pillar is separated from the small roof with a thick black outline while the one further away isnt.
The window to the far left seems to be a completely different position compared to the two on the front, even though it seems to be the same kind of window.
The walkway seems to be floating over the grass. Try to add some grass growing up from between the stones maybe. Or something like that.
Title: Re: First background, need some critics and ideas
Post by: fred on Mon 29/05/2006 22:23:44
It's really nice for a first background, but I think you're using too many styles at once - or maybe it just needs cleaning up - the many places where brushes overlap. The lens flare kinda freezes the image in time, like a snapshot - which may be bad for a background with real time action (are characters gonna go in front of the flares or behind them, etc?) But a little cleaning up, and it could work :-)
Title: Re: First background, need some critics and ideas
Post by: Khris on Mon 29/05/2006 22:27:18
892x625 pixels? What format is that?
And the lens flare...oh my, I'm looking forward to all the other "nice" posts :=

Btw, I'd paint over SketchUp-wireframes, not use the actual gfx.
Title: Re: First background, need some critics and ideas
Post by: Esterlin on Mon 29/05/2006 22:27:54
Thanx :D I'll replace the lens flare with a general light effect. I have a problem with the behind-the-house scenery. Using that prespective, I couldn't find anything that would fit :/
Title: Re: First background, need some critics and ideas
Post by: skw on Mon 29/05/2006 23:24:42
Gee, it has the lens flare!!1
Title: Re: First background, need some critics and ideas
Post by: Nikolas on Mon 29/05/2006 23:30:15
Quote from: Skurwy on Mon 29/05/2006 23:24:42
Gee, it has the lens flare!!1
Geee.... after his last post... :)

anyway, I like, but for your background needs I would say that, unless the house is in a very tall mountain (with grass?) and a really not clear sky (the exact opposite of what you see here), it would show a lot on the back.

Try to create a little depth in the back. Are there no mountains? Maybe a city? Some other houses? Trees from the hill going upwards? Different clouds at a different layer?

Also keep in mind my inexperince in CG.

btw, I actually do know that the Lens Flare is a nono but still I kinda liked it in this BG... But never mind. :)
Title: Re: First background, need some critics and ideas
Post by: seaduck on Tue 30/05/2006 16:08:50
For a first background it looks very good!

- never ever use lens flares
- never ever have the camera looking into the Sun
- your shadows indicate that the Sun is actually completely off the screen - no lensflare could occur

- the black outline of the house looks bad agains the sky
- the house appears to be floating due to the slope of the hill, that doesn't respect the house, and due to no background
- the grass must have been hell of a work, but it actually puts it down, because it doesn't get smaller with distance and makes the hill too flat

- the house should be standing on something (small stone wall or something like that), the grass should interact with the house, now it really looks as if you pasted the house over the grass pattern
the wood plank texture interacts with the terrace in a weird way
- the windows are lacking frames and pane-splits. shutters would be a nice touch
- the doorknob should be higher above the ground
- the ceiling seems to be a bit high (with respect to the windows and type of the house)
- the text "Fat Swan Inn" doesn't respect perspective, and is hardly legible

- the roof should extend farther beyond the walls
- drainpipes would really spice things up
Title: Re: First background, need some critics and ideas
Post by: Exorph on Tue 30/05/2006 20:43:49
Yeah, the text is kind of strange from a practical standpoint.
It's faint and rather small, plus you can't see it if you're standing to close to the building since it would be obscured by that roof-thing.
Title: Re: First background, need some critics and ideas
Post by: A�rendyll (formerly Yurina) on Thu 01/06/2006 13:23:30
Hmm... a pretty good job for a first time.

But that doesn't mean I will show mercy:

- Add some flowers, trees, etc. to make it look less empty. Maybe a well is  also a nice idea.
- it's too geometric and it loks a bit fake for being so perfect.
- The lensflare makes it hard for characters to walk on the background without walking in front of the lensflare. That'll surely look odd.
- The windows look awful. They're more like smeared paint on a white wallpiece.
- The outlines do look weird since they have a different amount of pixels, you know what I mean?

So far, that's all I can critisize.

Keep up the good work!
~Yurina
Title: Re: First background, need some critics and ideas
Post by: Ali on Thu 01/06/2006 20:33:32
I don't think the gentle yeomen passing by would be able to read the name of the Fat Swan Inn because of its faintess and also because the porch thing would obscure it. Perhaps you should consider adding a sign to the front of that porch thing, and putting an arched window where the words currently are.