Desert Background - Improvements + Arrows

[steptoe]

Hi

I have a few desert backgrounds. As you can see I am not what you would call artistically gifted.  

How would you improve the sand of this desert?



Updated:



cheers

[Mouth for war]

Hey! This was just a VERY quick edit...but maybe something like this? Not very satisfied with the result but maybe you can make something from it hehe...just to make some variations in the sand so to speak

[Darth Mandarb]

My main problem with it is that it lacks any sense of depth to it!  Also you should try to avoid the smudged/blurred edges along the ridge line (especially when other parts just a few pixels away are jaggies).

I did this in about 15 minutes so forgive the sloppiness of it:


- added some "levels" to it to make it have more sense of depth
- added some noise to make it more sand like

Use google's image search for "dessert" or "dunes" and load up on some reference material!  It can only help!

[steptoe]

Yar

Looks good Darth...Adding some Noise is a great idea.

I have also added sand dune shadows.

Also some scenes are 1000 wide.

cheers

EDIT As I have only a few desert scenes with overhotspot directions (N,S,E,W etc) I find it a bit cumbersome between overhotspot, regions and walkable area.

I have thought about showing feint, but visible Arrows to point the ways you can go (where more than one way you can go) which also use overhotspot.

Do you think this would be acceptable?

cheers

[Monsieur OUXX]

The issue is that we don't know what we're looking at.
- If it's a close-up, then you should see the texture and bumps of the sand.
- If it's a landscape, then we should see the horizon line and possibly dunes.

[Anian]

EDIT As I have only a few desert scenes with overhotspot directions (N,S,E,W etc) I find it a bit cumbersome between overhotspot, regions and walkable area.

I have thought about showing feint, but visible Arrows to point the ways you can go (where more than one way you can go) which also use overhotspot.

Do you think this would be acceptable?

I suggest you look over some photos of the desert on the net and take some of the details that appear in photos and thus kind of draw attention to room exits. You basically drew a desert but for example there's no point of reference - what was mentioned by Ouxx - we don't know what we're looking at, is that like a small totem sticking out of a ground or a 10 meter totem.

Adding details and more "stuff" always helps, you can put stuff like skulls buried in the sand, individual dunes that surround exits, a dried up pond, small rocks, snake trails, 2-3 piled up bricks from and old temple or something and generally more texture to the sand.

Also desaturate the colors a bit, the original was better than the updated version.