My first Background

Afflict · Sun 19/02/2006 21:18:41

I am taking a bash at this background thing...
So what do you think heres my experiments so far
*Cartoon cloud
*Realistic everything else C&C please
*resolution 320X200

Special thanks to Zyndicate! The man knows what hes doing!

Edit:// Bad part is it took me about 5 minutes to make this picture 100 times better! Looking at it now however its a great cartoon style!
Edit:// Well added a path change the clouds set up brightness and contras...
Wow there are alot of tools in these paint programs!

skw · Sun 19/02/2006 21:54:21

Well, redo the grass (Is that a hill or a path?) and it will be really neat background.

Try some grass / perspective tutorial.

Daniel Thomas · Sun 19/02/2006 22:59:27

I would add some more shades and highlights to the grass. The desert(?) I dont know, I just overcolored your shades with a little warmer colors (yellow this time).

Heres a quick paintover, if you dont mind, mainly added more shades and highlight colors.
(didnt do all, just down left)

Afflict · Sun 19/02/2006 23:33:46

What tools do you use to highlight?

Daniel Thomas · Sun 19/02/2006 23:41:54

I use a WACOm tablet. I usually just use the tablet when doing quick paintovers, just to show the principle of what im trying to do.. You could probably just pixel it if you got the time, but the tablet really makes it faster.

Afflict · Sun 19/02/2006 23:43:21

Kewl software package and stuff? I got a tablet for christmas and well frankyl dont really know how to use it... (I know half of the guys at ags want to kill me right about now

)

Daniel Thomas · Sun 19/02/2006 23:48:48

Hehe, you really should get down and learn it, its worth it :>

Myself uses photoshop, but it work with any software where you can use pen-pressure, If you have a WACOM i know there should be some tutorial in the CD-ROM.. otherwise i explain fast: Press hard where the grass starts, and release the pressure the closer to the end of the grass you come.. nothing special or fancy, just experience some, and use like six different colors(could use more or less, but I like six colors)
the more grass and colors you use, the more realistic it will look, i guess.
GL HF, hope it helped some :>

Afflict · Sun 19/02/2006 23:53:09

Its not a WACOM but yeah its not bad I really had fun with it though...

Mmmm you mean use six colours in the gradient? What in program tool or function should I use?
I will plug my tablet in in the morning its kind of late... here in sa right now.

Edit : New image at top post!

Daniel Thomas · Mon 20/02/2006 00:23:47

Great improvement, now everyone see why you should use/get a tablet ;P

In photoshop I use HSB colors to pick, then you easily can pick warm and cool colors, but its just a mather of taste I guess.

I would though gank up the brightness some on the picture, unless you're going for night, then you have too mix blue in all the colors :>
But thats something you can play around with when its done.

Afflict · Mon 20/02/2006 00:26:18

Quote from: zyndikate on Mon 20/02/2006 00:23:47
Great improvement, now everyone see why you should use/get a tablet ;P

Hehe unfortunately still havent touched the tablet will hook it up 2mro though!
Once again thanks for the great advice!

Daniel Thomas · Mon 20/02/2006 00:41:58

Ah ok, you did it the hard way, GW :>

my pleasure, just trying to improve my own artwork :>

Neil Dnuma · Mon 20/02/2006 02:11:37

Nice improvement, I'd only suggest a change in the perspective department on the path you added in the third edition.

It's too wide at the horizon. It's like 3 kilometres wide at the horizon.

Look at this:

LilBlueSmurf · Mon 20/02/2006 06:25:31

Without seeing anything in the distance, it makes it look more like hill (which maybe it is) so the path may be fine in that case. Otherwise, yeah, you may want to vary it's width more between front and horizon. It also seems kind of odd to go from lush grass right to a sandy dune with a cactus.

Afflict · Mon 20/02/2006 10:43:16

Yeah, its a kind of a hill over to the other side, tried to put in some mountians to show this?
I dont know what do you guys think?

MMM..

Not comfortable with this huge hole in the middle!!
Ps I just love my mountians!

Edit//:: I realised that the mountians kind of kill the scene, they should be more gray will do with those later but heres one I did before those ealistic ones...

Saberteeth · Mon 20/02/2006 11:30:01

How 'bout putting in some background, some more mountains in the distance and some more detail on the grass(not the grass, I mean acctually ON the grass(put a bush, a cactus, anything that might improve your image.).

Daniel Thomas · Tue 21/02/2006 00:34:16

Yea, in this i drew the horizon guideline, and drew by it. If I hadnt drew it that high the picture would looked kinda like a platformer and not that much depth, I think for adventuregames its good to have the horizonline atleast above the middle(comments?)
I also drew the clouds lower and added some backgrounds montains.
What you should think about is what that grass is doing in the middle of the desert? :>

and you wanted me to explain the grass thingy i mentioned earlier, I made this picture to help me.
1. thiswould be something you would go for if you wanted CMI look (ofc this isnt such a good example)
2. Here I worked with my tablet-pen by just drawing grass-straws one by one with a 1pixel brush. drawing from its root and up. I also made a simplified "close up" to show how it looks.
3. Just a close up of a straw, just want to show that they should start widher and fade away, My close up ofc failed with this since i was lazy on the pressure :>

Hope this helped some.

Afflict · Tue 21/02/2006 02:23:03

:o

Wow

:o

No really brings tears to my eyes! Great work! DIdnt I say this man knows what his doing?
Anyway WOW again.

Thanks for the TUT!

And what grass in the middle of the desert you guys must be imagining it?

hehe