not very innovative concept, but hey, it could be useful for some game I do some day.
(http://esseb.com/andail/treehouses3.jpg)
There are parts I'm less satisfied with, for instance the border between the sky (which might also be too bright) and the trees/bushes. I guess I could have done some more smearing.
Additionally, the whole image kind of inclines to the right, making it look like heavy wind or something.
This is what it looked like some hour before the final version, just for documentation:
(http://esseb.com/andail/treehouses.jpg)
I don't know if you were actually going for that style, but as it is, the picture looks out of focus.
It may be pleasant enough, but playing with a bg like that would give you a headache.
Quotethe border between the sky (which might also be too bright)
Depends on where the game takes place.Where I live the sky often looks like that in the night, when it gets that dark. At least in the summer. I don't think it looks windy.
Thething I wonder about is, how deep into the tree is the door? If it's 10-20cm and if that's a light, then shouldn't the door have a shadow at the top and become brighter downwards?
Those were my two slippers.
I'm no expert on these things, but...
In the picture, it looks like it's night time (hence the lantern and the tree/window light. The moon isn't pictured, but it's rough location at the moment appears to be the forest floor. What I'm saying is, I think you should invert the gradient of the sky background, so as the lightest shades are up the top. That lantern sure is bright, but I don't think it's bright enough to be causing that much of a glow. And also, yeah, darken the sky a bit.
Here's a dodgy paint-over just to show you:
(http://www.deakin.edu.au/~benjamip/ags/andail1.jpg)
EDIT: Oh, and it looks fantastic as it is, by the way. I'm a sucker for good ol' forest backgrounds.
thanks for the feedback so far!
Flibble, you're right it's out of focus at some places. I will resize it more carefully if I use it in a game some day.
Gurok, I see what you mean, the problem is that if you look at an evening sky, the fading never goes in that direction, unless the sky is really misty or hazy. Your gradient would have worked if made in another colour than blue, since blue means a clear sky. This is definitely worth trying, but I don't have the time right now (but it would prolly also make the image more interesting).
I get the feeling of Paper Mario. For you who don't understand what Im talking about I mean that it feels like a thatre-scene where painted papers are put up in rows. And since I really like Paper Mario I also like this. ;) But then you need all your bg's to be like this too keep the pleasant feeling of flatness.
I think it has a nice Discworld 1 like feel to it. I'd only note that there isn't much ground in the shot - not much space for a character to walk. It looks more like an establishing shot from a cut-scene.
The only thing I would suggest is clarifying the edges of the door/window to show depth and that they are actually set into the tree.
Like it- especially the "day" version :)
My only critic is, that background tend to get too blurry when zoomed in. Try to define edges and details a bit more, so that the pic will look sharper. Other than that, love it.
Some modifications:
(http://w1.872.telia.com/~u87210460/AGS/treehouses3_mod1.gif)
The jist:
(i) Removed the blacks and replaced with darks.
(ii) Changed the general light from front to left, creating more depth (I hope).
(iii) Changed the sky color and tinted the whole piece more red and blue.
That looks ace loominous. The light source was distracting.
Nice setout though Andail - looks all fairy tail n stuff.
For the final piece i would definately make the trees in the back and the sky blend together a bit more - it looks almost cut n paste in parts.