Hi all, new to the boards, though I've been lurking for a couple of weeks. :)
Any ideas on what I can do to improve this pic? I'm not sure about the tree's leaves and something just doesn't look right with that wall up at the top.
It's for a horror game based on a Stephen King short story, so any pointers to add a bit of atmosphere would be appreciated.
I'm going to clean up the tree and add a knot or branch in that dip halfway up (I know the edges could do with a bit of tidying up too).
(http://www.chrishardy.co.uk/media/images/dump/hillside_1.jpg)
Things I noticed:
Grass needs more detail on the lower part of the pic, it is the same all the way back to the house and that makes it look very blurred
The path look like it is humped when it should probably look more sunken in. From where the moon is, try just highlighting the left side before the grass and leave the rest in shadow.
The tree and grass below it look more like an overlay than part of the bg. I think it is because the grass beneath the tree is so different... and red grass?
I like the leaves, except I think you need to keep them a more consistant color, seeing as the grass is all green maybe get rid of the browns reds and some of the yellow, or if you are gonna make it have colored leaves, pick a color and just do variations on it. It just look very odd with leaves ranging from green to red to brown.
Consider adding some short grass creeping onto the edges of the path.
Blur the path, well, not blur, but remove some detail on the path as it gets closer to the house.
I think the wall looks okay, but maybe a bit more color to the house, unless it is supposed to be a black house, it really doesn't go with the rest of the bg.
Oh... and if this is horror, adding some clouds to the sky and making the whole things a tiny bit darker and less saturated might help add to the effect.
Nice background!
Details in the leaves are impressive :o
Your are definetly on the right track
A few thing though:
1) Everything seems soft; that has to do with the colors... I think. ;)
2) Night scenes tends to be more contrasty; darker shadows, and sharp highlights from the full moon.
3) If you are going for a more scary look, I would try an image with less colors, maybe a bit of fog and some stones in the path to show how unkept it is, clouds... more details!.
I'll try to do a paintover to better show you what I mean!
Nicely textured. The path, however, looks like it's made of hay instead of sand. (Or maybe that's the intention, I don't know)
The overal color tone is a little bright and happy for a horror/creepy atmosphere. I'd try using darker and greyer tones.
Keep up the good work! ;)
--Erwin
Here's a quick paintover with some fog, toned down colors, darker shadows (on the stone wall). It probably could use a bit more details, but that's how I would go about it. Feel free to do whatever you want with comments and image ;)
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a220/rocketboy1974/creepy.jpg)
Thanks for the input guys, it's been helpful :)
Changes
* Added more detail to the tree trunk
* Started again with grass below the tree, without red grass (this is supposed to be a mound, higher up than the other grass... should maybe be more obvious?)
* Started again with the leaves, leaving out the browns/reds
* Started again with the texture of the path
* Darkened the image overall, increased the contrast and reduced the saturation
* Added clouds & some ground fog
* Added more detail in the distance and by the wall
(http://www.chrishardy.co.uk/media/images/dump/hillside_2.jpg)
I'm having a nightmare trying to get stones looking anywhere near decent on the path, so I'll have another look at this tomorrow. The house will be changing as well... I've not decided how it'll look yet so I'll update this when I do.
Very nice! That looks a lot more horror like, almost can't tell it's even the same picture anymore :P I am interested in seeing other bgs from this game now :)
Very nice work! :) The fog is very cool.
The only thing I would comment on is the colours - given the lighting, one wouldn't expect to see greens or browns like that - I would expect the whole scene to be a lot more blue and little or no greens/browns because of the blue atmosphere and low light. This can be fixed with some colour adjustments.
I do like the grass and the leaves by the way too :)
That's some marvellous revamping there. I must say I'm really impressed with how you turned that one around! Maybe just a bit paler colours... I dunno. I think it's pretty good as it is
Very nice indeed. Keep in mind that it might be a good idea to make the fog a sperate object. That way you can make it semi-transparent and the character would walk "through" it rather then on it.
I really love the backround, especially the edit. But I'm not sure if I like the fog that much, maybe it stands out more than it should be.
Quote from: Guybrush Peepwood on Tue 26/07/2005 15:31:15
I really love the backround, especially the edit. But I'm not sure if I like the fog that much, maybe it stands out more than it should be.
Either that or make more fog around the current fog to make it seem thick. Or just reduce the capacity of the current ones. ;)
Great background, reminds me of my own style.
I've got one word for that: excellent!