Anyone familiar with the King's Quest saga, please give some feedback or criticism, preferably of the constructive sort :)
The royal family, not sure if King Graham looks a bit... ugly?
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/grahamValanice.jpg)
and Lolotte so far,, still need to tweak the dress, but, maybe she's a little boring..
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/lolotte_concept.jpg)
and Genesta, Im happy with her so far,, kinda looks like a child though;:
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/genesta2.jpg)
Wonderful, creative work!
The faces are different from the original look, but I actually really like the 3d treatment you've given them. Genesta, in particular, is a completely different look, but in the original KQ4, I always thought Genesta was unattractive, particularly in close-ups. The ears and big eyes give her a nice, ethereal quality.
My criticism is mostly on the texture of the clothes. Graham's tunic, in particular, looks like stretchy latex, and is so tight, it shows his ribs. That particular costume would fit Spider-Man better than the King of Daventry! Other than that, I love Graham's face, although I could go for some more gray in the hair and some wrinkles (he's retiring, remember?).
Wonderful models, and beautiful colors!
Thanks Antipus :),
I guess I assumed the pics would be scaled down and you wouldn't notice the fine details of the clothes,, (a 640X400 res with a black frame),
but I can tone down the shine and specular quality of the fabric, it does look a little cheap here and there, I agree,
and looking at Lolotte now she kinda looks like Yoda's evil half sister.. XD
I like the characters and how they are done except the breasts of the women, because it reminds me more as if they got their skin painted than like wearing clothes. ::)
Quote from: Tabata on Thu 02/02/2012 23:56:12
I like the characters and how they are done except the breasts of the women, because it reminds me more as if they got their skin painted than like wearing clothes. ::)
yeah, that sucks, I've already tried to remedy the problem, but the clothes still look too tight. It's going to be less visible when scaled down, the models, but I will loosen the clothes even more, thanks for the observation, I appreciate it Tabata :)
A wrapped breast (http://blog.costumeantique.de/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/1840_dubufe_-_young_girls_1.jpg) has a very a different shape - even in a corset (http://blog.costumeantique.de/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/1680_Victoria_Albert_Museum_-_English_Stays.jpg) you won't find the shown effect (http://blog.costumeantique.de/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/1872_la-mode-illustree_01.jpg) between the breasts.
I don't have any skills with those programs, but you/the program may get a more realistic results in creating the clothes without using a real formed breast at the body? ::)
Uploading two different versions; one with got more 'realistic' lighting than the other one with more uniform lighting and colors. Which one do you prefer and what do you think about the saturation of colors and contrast/brightness/darkness?
Other ideas and c&c would be greatly appreciated too :)
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/kitchen1.jpg)
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/kitchen2.jpg)
That is extremely impressive! (http://www.smileyvault.com/albums/userpics/12962/claps.gif)
I prefer no. 1 with the intense reflections. The water tank is crazy good! :o
Only the shadowed corner near the fireplace I prefer in no. 2, since the individual objects are to be seen much better there (the candles, churn and kitchen appliances).
It usually isn't about realism or uniform (for the sake of lighting everything) but you should use the light sources to draw attention to things that are important, to draw the eyes to significant things and at the same time you can use less details and hide in the shadows things that don't need to be used/interacted etc.
But all in all I prefer no. 1. as well, it looks more dramatic.
I'd go with the 2nd one, simply because it'll probably be way easier for you to integrate your characters into the backgrounds in-game.
AGS has a few lighting/shading functions (shade/brighten/tint the whole character by a specific amount or colour), and you could probably have a few more coded in (characters having shadows, etc.), but even with that, you'd run the risk of the characters looking out of place, as if they'd been pasted onto the screen. This particular room may not be all that problematic (except maybe if the player moved the character to the left, shaded side of the bench so that technically, part of the character should be lit, and the feet should be in shadow), but you'd definitely run into problems in later backrounds.
THanks, and that's a great way to explain how to use light! put the less important things in shadow,
I sometimes use shadow to accentuate objects, the more pronounced they are, the stronger the shadow,, but contrast in pics is really hard to get right, too little and it'll feel bland and boring, flat and uniform. Too much and the pic will look fragmented and disconnected,
I think nr1 is best too, it's only got one light source coming from the window including some atmosphere and sky. The other one has 2 more lights,, as a result you see everything, which also makes it a bit flatter,
I think Im gonna go for a compromise and use nr1, but brighten up the darkest shadows like behind the fireplace etc, but try to keep the dramatic feel without making the animated sprite look out of place,
the kitchen belongs to the ghostly mansion, and is actually extremely similar to the kitchen in KQ3 in Mannanan's house, which I did a few months back to get some experience, it turned out way too bright and washed out;
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/kitchen2day.jpg)
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/kitchen2night.jpg)
as for dramatic lights, I did a 3d pic of Rosella being cooked by the 3 witches where I deliberately put in some intense green atmosphere and lights for all the witches respectively, maybe not too realistic, but it kinda looks like a storybook illustration, maybe I should try to keep it like that for the in-game graphics too;
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/witch2.jpg)
You do realize that those witches are supposed to have no eyes, right?
Hey Lambonius, and yeah, I know, I actually did some tests and it turned out with no eyes or just one they looked,, well,, weird... :), so I decided to leave it out,, though this is just an illustration (not in-game),
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/one_eye.jpg)
How about to lift the eye a bit more and place it, where the "third eye" is used to be? (http://s14.directupload.net/images/user/120210/8az46p8c.png)
Quote from: Tabata on Fri 10/02/2012 22:23:44
How about to lift the eye a bit more and place it, where the "third eye" is used to be? (http://s14.directupload.net/images/user/120210/8az46p8c.png)
Yeah, that could work! I'll defin. consider that when Im creating the in-agme art of the witches,
Uploading 4 different different versions of the frogpond -during evening/night,, not sure what looks best?
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/frogpond_screen2.jpg)
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/frogpond1.jpg)
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/frogpond2.jpg)
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/frogpond3.jpg)
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/frogpond4.jpg)
I love the scene by day. The sky and the pool are magnificent! And birch trees.. I love birch trees!
Something seems off to me about all four of the night scenes though. They look more like viewing a day scene through heavy sunglasses rather then being outside at night. I think one issue is the clouds: at twilight and at night, clouds should appear darker, not lighter than the sky around them (unless they are lit by very strong moonlight, for example, but that isn't supported by the rest of your scene).
Also, all the colors seem equally dimmed. At twilight, usually blues seem to become more luminous, while reds begin to look blacker (Again, except when there is a strong red sunset, but that doesn't seem to be the case here). I think the sky and the sky reflected in the pool look too greyed out in all of the four examples. I would suggest making the sky and pool a richer, more luminous blue, and then slightly highlight the white tree trunks and darken the red flowers.
During the day, the light is coming from the sky, but also from the reflected sunlight off the bright ground and grass. As you approach evening and night, though, the greatest source of light should be the sky, followed by the reflections in the pool. They should be much brighter than the surrounding landscape. They really should 'glow' a bit.
Hopefully that makes sense! I really do love your screenshots so far. This is a very exciting project!
mmm!, guess they're not dark enough, and yeah, the sky doesn't really look right either,
I made a new one, though more of a moonlit atmosphere instead of a sunset with darker skies,
I also put in some extra color and brightness in the water, nice idea,
nr2 has more of an environment light while in nr 1 I added a strong blue light in front of the scene, I think I like that one the best,
Im not sure if it's too dark though... ?
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/froggie11.jpg)
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/froggie22.jpg)
Wow, what a difference!
I'm torn between the images, personally. I love the blue light in number one and the way the tree trunks 'pop' a little bit, but I think the lightness of the sky in number 2 creates a beautiful atmosphere. There's more contrast, glow, and drama to that image.
The way you've done the clouds and stars is perfect, I think. It really looks like the very last trace of sun setting behind the pines (or just the beginning of moonrise) is lighting the clouds at the horizon. Very nice!
Yeah, I second that, the lighter sky is actually much better, more dramatic.
I'll go for the blue one then and keep the lighter sky,
thanks for the help Reagel!:D
wonderful art â€" as always (http://www.smileyvault.com/albums/userpics/12962/thump_up.gif)
The night sky is a big progress! Nontheless I'd like to see a bit of the moon (to make an extra reflection in the lake). In that case you could go with number 2 because of more light resource in it.
The only thing, that is a bit strange to me are all those flowers opened during nighttime. ::)
Thanks, and yeah, I have a visible full moon in some of the pics:)
as for closing the flowers at night I would have to model the flowers over again, and since you can hardly see them in the dark it would probably not be worth it, but it is a cool idea though :)
a little update, the crypt and some closeups, (it's the most boring screen in the whole game so I had to do redesign the scene from scratch);
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/crypt_screen.jpg)
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/crypt_clsup_mummy.jpg)
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/crypt_clsup_mummy2_screen.jpg)
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/crypt_clsup_anubis.jpg)
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/crypt_closeup_cat_screen.jpg)
Pandora's box, tried to make it look simple, yet ancient,
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/Pandoras_box_item.jpg)
Lolotte's and Genesta's castle, still in development,,
not sure if they're a bit plain,, or a little too cliche..
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/LOL_CASTLE_TEST.jpg)
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/GEN_ISLAND_TEST.jpg)
Lolette is too pretty ;-)
See this - http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=39874.0 ?
I don't know which is Lolotte and Genesta, so I'll just call them night castle and day castle.
I love the night castle. It's got a lovely twilight atmosphere, but you can still easily make out details and texture. It is cliche, in a way, but I'm not sure if that's a bad thing. It's a fairytale castle, and it immediately looks like a fairytale castle. It's instantly readable to the audience.
The day castle is also instantly readable as a fairytale castle. It's a little too sugary-sweet for my taste (I think it's the pinkness of the roofs), but my taste runs to the dark and Grimm fairytales, so there you go. There's something that bugs me a little about the texture of the tower roofs of the two shortest towers in the middle. Their roofs look extremely shiny, almost wet, while the other roofs have a more matte appearance. I'm not sure if it's intentional, but the right-most tower has a slightly bulgy-in-the-middle look that gives it a kind of cute or cartoony appearance.
I think you could give a little tweak to the purple-lined path coming towards the viewer, since it looks like it is narrower in the foreground, and it should be wider in the foreground than in the background.
I love the perspective you've given to the sea and sky. I think you could even exaggerate it a little more and make the sea a touch darker in the foreground and lighter where it meets the horizon.
As I've said before, WOW, I love your backgrounds. I think you are doing an amazing job.
Quote from: Uhfgood on Thu 22/03/2012 21:39:47
Lolette is too pretty ;-)
See this - http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=39874.0 ?
I actually used a morph called 'demon' on her so.. :),, I dunno if she needs to be less 'pretty',, I don't want to make her ugly per se, (considering she probably knows a lot about transfiguration magic when she made Edgar green and deformed, but I can make her more scary,, like her eyes, make the pupils more oval, like a snake's,, and intensify the red and glowing color of the iris. I think that would make her a lot more threatening,
Reagal; I really like your observations,,, they're all right on and I totally agree, the water should be a little more solid and blue, and I should probably tonë down the shininess of the roof tops,, (and the foreground-bg toning,, great ideas!,
(btw, he actual angles are just temporary so it's going to look better when I zoom in on the different parts of the garden, like getting the pathway more in view),
Just a few ideas.
The horizon should be a little curved. If possible then a bit lower or higher. Right now it is almost exactly in the middle and it somewhat bothers me You could just move your camera for that so no further editing is required for it.
Quote from: Lad on Fri 23/03/2012 22:20:13
Just a few ideas.
The horizon should be a little curved. If possible then a bit lower or higher. Right now it is almost exactly in the middle and it somewhat bothers me You could just move your camera for that so no further editing is required for it.
oh yeah, the angles are just temporary (and just to show the geometry and objects), it won't look like that in the final thing, (and I agree, the horizon is too high for the pink castle, the other one is also not very good, the angle. In the close up pic Im going to move the camera much lower and tilt it up so the dark castle will seem more ominous and intimidating (almost like a 3rd point perspective),
a little bit of tweaking,
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/1.jpg)
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/2.jpg)
That's an enormous progress to the first version!
Now you could walk directly into it to smell at the flowers - wonderful work!
(http://s14.directupload.net/images/user/120310/uafb4ylc.gif)
Thank you, cute princess btw! :)
,
and that's exactly what I intended, keep models high res and high poly so I could zoom in or walk in without loosing detail.
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/statue.jpg)
Some opening screens Im working on (Im kinda unsure about the trumpet players,, and maybe just skip the columns behind them and add in a more medieval courtyard, it looks too,, I dunno celestial or something now... hm
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/opening.jpg)
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/opening_test.jpg)
Since it is a remake, I think, the trumpet players belong there.
For my personal taste the frame is too similar to the most colors of the background â€" I would prefer it darker (maybe golden, like old frames (http://www.fotoalben-discount.de/images/product_images/popup_images/9165_0.jpg)) and the blue from the letters darker, to become more separated and to stand out from the bg.
And again an unbelievable wonderful sight to the garden. (http://www.smileyvault.com/albums/userpics/12962/good-sigh.gif)
Quote from: Tabata on Sun 25/03/2012 10:57:53
Since it is a remake, I think, the trumpet players belong there.
For my personal taste the frame is too similar to the most colors of the background â€" I would prefer it darker (maybe golden, like old frames (http://www.fotoalben-discount.de/images/product_images/popup_images/9165_0.jpg)) and the blue from the letters darker, to become more separated and to stand out from the bg.
And again an unbelievable wonderful sight to the garden. (http://www.smileyvault.com/albums/userpics/12962/good-sigh.gif)
great ideas, I eliminated the columns and all the other clutter too. Still looks a little weird, but defin better,,
also changed the logo a little, the colors, so the gold letters stand out more,
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/trumpets2.jpg)
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/logo2.jpg)
some other opening screens, I dunno if the remake stone wall feels a little under saturated with color compared to the original..
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/wall3.jpg)
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/wallx2.jpg)
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/yesno.jpg)
Just a thought ::):
I don't know, if it is "allowed", but since it is the perils of Rosella, how about giving it a bit of color by changing the flowers to little roses (something about between delicate - to dusky pink) and adding some thorns?
I'd prefer the shadow of the insignia to be a bit stronger because of the very present "IV" in front of it detracts.
The letters from the second one are very light and in front of the light stone very similar. I don't know, if it fits, but I can imagine them in a darker metallic would look nice (like the frame from the trumpet players).
I haven't played any of the KQ games (gasp) but I have to say i've been following this thread with keen interest. Not having seen these backgrounds before, i'm liking the comparison images a lot. Your graphics are absolutely gorgeous and i'm amazed at how quickly you're weaving your magic to bring them to life :o
I can't add much to what Tabata has already suggested, perhaps only that I find it hard to identify if it's flora (thorns, brambles or similar) framing the relief in the first image or whether it's cracks in the concrete. Looking at the original i'm still not sure, it could go either way. If it's thorns, perhaps a tiny bit more shadow to raise them above the background.
QuoteI find it hard to identify if it's flora (thorns, brambles or similar) framing the relief in the first image or whether it's cracks in the concrete
They're creeper vines:
http://mayang.com/textures/Stone/images/Stone%20Walls/stone_wall_vines_4210116.JPG
Karens should modify the title screen shading to emphasize that they are vines and not indentations.
Interesting ideas! I never thought of changing the flowers and design, but I don't see any problem with it being a little different,,
I did a test with different light and color, not sure what looks better or worse,,
the yellow ones are nice too, but the pink go well against the blue stone,
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/walls.jpg)
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/walls2-1.jpg)
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/wall_example2.jpg)
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/yesno-1.jpg)
6
classic red roses...
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/red.jpg)
closeup of nr. 6;
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/6.jpg)
with the logo...
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/logowall.jpg)
I think 6 is a bit better, just because it's not that "classic" as red roses. Which btw make me think of Alice in Wonderland, while the pinkish once are still romantic and poetic yet not too "girly", if you get what I mean. ;D
Quote from: anian on Thu 29/03/2012 16:40:02
I think 6 is a bit better, just because it's not that "classic" as red roses. Which btw make me think of Alice in Wonderland, while the pinkish once are still romantic and poetic yet not too "girly", if you get what I mean. ;D
yeah, the pink isn't bad, it's got more of a deep salmon sort of quality than the bright girly kind of Barbie doll pink,, Im a bit unsure though cause I think the deep red works better against the brown color in the planks under the logo,, hm, what do you think Tabata, I have a feeling you've got some kind of vision here? :)
I really like the changings! The pics are beautiful â€" well done! (http://s7.directupload.net/images/user/120329/7vsqn5n2.gif)
For using ingame I would go with 5 or 6 (the closeup from six looks very similar to the color of the one that has the number 5 on my monitor, so I am not sure about it). Let's say the pink roses from the later closeup are my favorites for the game.
The reasons: The idea of roses came from Rosella and the proposed color was meant to be in relation to the pink castle with the wonderful garden and the roses there.
(http://www.pic4ever.com/images/pinkglassesf.gif)
If you don't feel that comfortable with it because of the girly-style you could try to use different kinds of pink for some of the roses or try to give the roses a touch of red to get a bicolored sort (http://origin.kaboodle.com/hi/img/c/0/0/171/3/AAAADF9HGY4AAAAAAXEwYA.jpg?v=1312510635000)?
I think the castle is very girly itself, so why not the roses? But that's only me. If it was a "stand alone" pic I would prefer a real intense but dark red, but it belongs to Rosella so that's why I would go with the "girly roses" here ;)
Edit:
Barbie would have chosen No 3 ;D
Thanks :P,,
and yeah, that's a good point, seeing as the roses in the garden and castle are similar to the pink version,, pink it is then! :D,,
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/finalpink0.jpg)
a template for a new cover idea,, maybe add some extra faces or something around the frame,, sorta boring though. so if anyone has any ideas, let me know,
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/cover_idea.jpg)
updated and finished Genesta and Lolotte;
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/gen2.jpg)
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/lol2.jpg)
tweaked the cover, not sure about the composition,, too noisy, busy...
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/coverideas2.jpg)
I'd try to make your two major elements bigger: the logo and the girl on the unicorn. I admittedly don't know KQ, but I feel as though the mountain behind her likely isn't as important, and yet takes up almost half of your composition's center. I'd zoom in on the girl, maybe even letting the unicorn horn break the plane of the circle, letting us see the background elements over her shoulders instead of above her (and I'd desaturate the colors in the castle to match the mountain).
In addition, I would spread the KQ logo until the red ribbon was almost touching the outer edges of your picture.
You may be correct that this image is too busy. You could get rid of some elements, but I think you could also work with the saturation of colors so that all of the secondary images aren't competing for our attention.
All in all, though, I like what you're doing with this art, and the game. I will probably be inspired to make your game my first sojourn into the world of KQ.
Yeah, those are great points, the horse, girl and logo defin need to be bigger and more in focus,, and the items around the frame need organizing and more space,
also, Im wondering if I should do the shot at night, with a big yellow moon behind the castle, and maybe a scary goon chasing her on the horse while she's riding for her life in a more dramatic fashion (like the original Sierra cover), her hair up and flying around in the wind,, and with a more panicky expression on their faces.. hm
goon;
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/goon.jpg)
I have recently been replaying KQ4 for research.
This looks really really good and I must say I am really excited to see the finished result. Keep up the Fantastic work Karens ;D
Thank you Sinsin:)
some more tweaking,, slowly getting better,
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/cover3.jpg)
Much, much, much better! Looking very nice indeed!
Is there any way to drop something green in the bottom left corner? It would provide some color balance considering the weight of the green in the other corners.
mmm, yeah, maybe something like this then, balance out the green color sorta,, I like it,
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/coverideas5.jpg)
Trying to find the look for outdoor scenes,,
Which one do you think looks the best? the top, the middle (more contrast) or the lowest pic (glow effect),,
other c&c are welcome too;
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/desertedisland.jpg)
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/testcontrast-1.jpg)
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/testcontrastglow.jpg)
Hmm â€" I know, I should choose the lowest,
because the sun seems to be high and strong and it is the brightest of the pics.
But nonetheless (and just for me) I prefer the first one
because of the better to be seen reflections and structures of sand, wood, ...) .
Sorry, I think I am no help with this one ;)
I agree, the first one :smiley: I like the grainyness of the sand in the second one but the glow is too much I feel. The.. what do you call it.. the sea foam looks a bit too artificial but as someone who couldn't do any better I don't feel I can criticise.
Gorgeous, gorgeous work as always!! :shocked:
I thought the second one would look best, being more contrasty, but maybe the first one has the best ratio between shadow and texture detail,
I think I'll skip adding contrast to the outdoor scenes as well then and go with the original rendered light,, thanks for the feedback!
Quote from: Tabata on Thu 02/02/2012 23:56:12
except the breasts of the women, because it reminds me more as if they got their skin painted
Not to mention they all have huge breasts -- it can be understood for older women (like the queen and the witch) but I doubt your average teenager girl would to 95DD. It's King's quest, not playboy :-D (it can be an esthetic choice, but it ruins my "suspension of disbelief")
Quote from: Karens on Sun 27/05/2012 12:00:35
I thought the second one would look best, being more contrasty, but maybe the first one has the best ratio between shadow and texture detail,
Instinctively I was also immediately attracted to the second one, even though at closer look the increased contrast makes it look slightly more artificial. But still, first impression is always the best I'd say.
Edit by ProgZ: Please don't double post unless your previous post warrants it (more than a few days without a reply). Just edit your message and add your comments.
Quote from: Monsieur OUXX on Mon 28/05/2012 14:29:38
Quote from: Tabata on Thu 02/02/2012 23:56:12
except the breasts of the women, because it reminds me more as if they got their skin painted
Not to mention they all have huge breasts -- it can be understood for older women (like the queen and the witch) but I doubt your average teenager girl would to 95DD. It's King's quest, not playboy :-D (it can be an esthetic choice, but it ruins my "suspension of disbelief")
It's probably Leisure Suit Larry's dream island... including Lolotte castle/house of pain.. hmm :/ heheh
As for the outdoor scenes, I may add a little contrast to the vegetation and the other smaller items, like the anchor and boat, etc, but leave the sand alone,, (the weird looking foam around the island will change too when it's animated with ripples).
a test render of a beach,, (the grass in the back isn't done), but it's.. deadly boring..
any c&c or suggestions are welcome!... :-)
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/Karenssss/testbeach.jpg)