Narnia Background, need c&c!

[Minimi]

For I almost finished Sam&Moos, I figured to start on a new project. I'm working on this with a friend of mine, and it's called Narnia Adventure (Based on the book Lion, Witch and the wardrope" by c.s. lewis.

I made this first test background in a hour... and I need some advice on how to improve this. I wanted to draw the game with the tablet, though im not really good at it yet But Could you give me some advice on how to make this picture look better, and maybee rearrange some things?! Thanks in advance!

ps : It's made in Photoshop, and dont mind about the snow at the foreground, its just there to give an idea of snowing... im going to use the snow/rain plugin

[12431]

it's nice and all, but i think you use to much effects. and you haven't shaded at all. other than that, it's not that bad

[Ginny]

I'd love to see a Narnia game! Is there a particular reason why you chose The lion the witch and the wardrobe and not The magicians nephew for example, which is the first?

Anyway, nice background, thouh is a little, uneven I would say, but I'm not quite sure what I mean, lol.
Needs more shading I agree. I like the lamp-post but the lamp on it IMO needs to be less dark a color, and emits light of course, so around it thing s should be lighter and have a little yelowish hue, umm, sort of .

Anyway, why not show a hanger with a coat (only part of it though) instead of one of the foreground trees. Or is that too far back in the closet, I don't quite recall?

[Hobbes]

Check out IMDB, they're turning The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe into a movie!

(Let's just hope it's a good movie)

[Minimi]

Well I saw the movie the lion the witch and the wardrobe already, and I have the cartoonmovie from 1992. Thats a really cool cartoonmovie, and because the lion, witch and wardrobe has such a good meaning behind it (christian) and I also loved it alot I decided to make a game of it. Though this picture is just testing, because I need to figure out what kinda drawing style im going to use. I could Also choose for 3D rendered pictures, tell me your opinion on this one!

Also just about the picture above... yes I know the lights are bad, and there aren't any shadows!



PS: I spelled adventure wrong ooops

[Necro]

Yeah as said above , too many effect...

Straigth away i notice , no shading and horrible gradient, wierd shiny things that seem to empisise the black lines are on top of them, for snow I would use white -> blue shades too to give it a cold feel.

the rendered piccy to me looks cool , but I hate rendered pics ingame.

[Pessi]

Seeing you're going with 3D images this information is kind of out-dated, but might help you in the future. Perhaps even with sketches for 3D images.

Anyway, the main problem I see you're having is that you're not thinking in 3D. You must remember that every object can be presented in basic shapes: boxes, spheres etc. Using such basic shapes when starting to sketch out an image is very beneficial. Ultimately, it makes the image look a whole lot more 3D, but it also makes the progress a lot faster, not only because it minimizes the need to adjust the sketch afterwards. This is basically the same system Igor introduced to many of us for character animation.

Next time you draw, try to either imagine the scene in your mind or make a real quick (less than a minute) sketch of it to get the overall look. After that, start figuring out the composition and shapes in more depth by using basic shapes for the objects. You can use cross-sections to emphasize the 3D look.

It won't take much time and it will make the whole progress a whole lot easier. You will be able to think in a whole different way of the shapes - in 3D. With the primitive shapes on the background (on a separate layer in Photoshop with little opacity, if you wish) you can render the final objects with ease.

Let's say you would start working on the final composition based on your previous image. You would first think whether the scene would work well in your game. Walkable areas etc. You should also consider how placing of the objects could be improved. Is the stump relevant in the game? If it is, move it closer, on this side of the lamp. It it's not, try and make it less distractive. So that it doesn't really even draw attention. So that the player knows it's only part of the detail of the scenery.

After you have those and more figured out, start blocking in the basic shapes. Here's an example of what I mean.



AT THIS POINT you probably wouldn't have such defined sketch on the background, but I had it there because I didn't use a quick sketch at all. I would though if I were to make the background for a game or something.

In any case, after getting all the basic shapes down you could make it less visible and start making the final lines on it, details and all (as black outlines are part of your style). Eventually after getting those right you could start coloring the image on multiply layer or a layer that is beneath the sketch.

By the way, why not take everything out of Photoshop and use anti-alias and other features it has to offer? Or is it just a style thing? Not saying AA is something a good image must have but it's good to test out different tools as it gives you a whole lot more options.

As a sidenote, as in - not helpful anymore - the sketch and a colored version. I always get carried away. But hey, it's great practice!

Finally, I don't know where that weird all-knowing tone came in my post but I hope you can ignore it.

[Minimi]

Wow! Thanks alot Pessi! That was really usefull help! I'm going to try this out, making a 3d primitive for everything. I looked at your 2 drawings, and I can only hope to draw once as good as you!

I myself am going now on the 3D tour... but ofcourse I know an adventure looks better when its hand drawn, but o well... I keep practising that, and when I'm something better at that, I'm making a game handdrawn...

Pretty strange, I'm better in 3D than a simple 2D picture