Hi,
I'm new to these forums (I just signed up) but I recently made my very first background and I was wondering if people could tell me how to improve it.
(http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/template1_copy.png)
(http://img73.imageshack.us/img73/5089/template1copylargekg6.png)
I made it in MS Paint and then touched it up in photoshop.
The game is a short one and this is the start room and basically you have just woken up in there and don't know who you are or where you are.
Thanks
1) Use more consistent outlining colors. The way it stands now you seem to have just arbitrarily decided the outline color of various things as you drew them.
2) Don't use Photoshop to add noise. Used sparingly it could be used to add a little texture to certain surfaces, but you shouldn't have used it so liberally. I see it on the walls, ceiling, door, filing cabinet....As this is your first attempt at a background I'd say best to just avoid this method altogether.
3) Shading. You haven't used any. This isn't as high-priority now until other things are fixed, but you should definitely keep it in mind that you do need to add some shading, especially given the fact that the only available light sources appear to be the windows.
4) Perspective. Perhaps most notably the filing cabinet and the window sill appear misshapen. However, if that is supposed to be a man laying torn-in-half on the floor, you also have other issues. For example the fact that the man would have to either jump or use some type of stool to reach the door handle (if he were still alive of course). This isn't so much to do with the background itself, rather the sizing of the characters, however you included this character as part of the background, so I figured it was worth mentioning. On that note however, the door handle does seem too high. Try comparing it to a door in your house and you'll probably see what I mean.
Quote from: monkey_05_06 on Wed 10/10/2007 04:08:33
1) Use more consistent outlining colors. The way it stands now you seem to have just arbitrarily decided the outline color of various things as you drew them.
2) Don't use Photoshop to add noise. Used sparingly it could be used to add a little texture to certain surfaces, but you shouldn't have used it so liberally. I see it on the walls, ceiling, door, filing cabinet....As this is your first attempt at a background I'd say best to just avoid this method altogether.
3) Shading. You haven't used any. This isn't as high-priority now until other things are fixed, but you should definitely keep it in mind that you do need to add some shading, especially given the fact that the only available light sources appear to be the windows.
4) Perspective. Perhaps most notably the filing cabinet and the window sill appear misshapen. However, if that is supposed to be a man laying torn-in-half on the floor, you also have other issues. For example the fact that the man would have to either jump or use some type of stool to reach the door handle (if he were still alive of course). This isn't so much to do with the background itself, rather the sizing of the characters, however you included this character as part of the background, so I figured it was worth mentioning. On that note however, the door handle does seem too high. Try comparing it to a door in your house and you'll probably see what I mean.
1) Okie dokie.
2) Well originally I had no noise in there and it just looked plain and boring. When I added it it made the room seem more real.
3) Hmm yes now that I think about it I really should learn to shade properly. I've tried before but I just plain suck at it.
4) The man is dead (you wake up to find him there). Yes now that I look at some doors I do realise how low down the handles actually are.
Thanks
Don't quote the complete previous post.
As for the pic:
The air vent clashes with the rest of the pic.
I'd remove the outlines completely.
The things on the side walls are too wide.
The air vent clashes in part due to the fact that it is one of the few things in the picture to use solid coloring. IMO the rest of the picture should reflect the style of the air vent more than the other way around. This goes back to what I said about the noise filter. I'm no artistic expert...in fact let me be the first to say that when it comes to graphic design: I SUCK.
However, I guarantee that anyone you ask with real experience in the low-res background field will tell you that simply using noise to add texture is not a good idea. The room is very empty which simply draws more attention to the noise.
My first suggestion would be to do away with the noise, and then add more to the room. It doesn't have to be anything important to the game, and unless the situation for the room dictates that it be so empty, it would help to have more....stuff...in the room. For example, the filing cabinet implies "office" to me. Maybe add a desk or a bookshelf? Again, it's your game, but these are just some of my ideas to try and help improve the room.
I wouldn't say "remove the outlines completely" as that might lead to confusion about how things should look, but make the outlines better aligned to what they are outlining. For example the filing cabinet is gray so a medium-dark gray outline would probably work better than just a solid black outline. This defines the shape of the cabinet without drawing as much attention to the physical borders.
And I also agree with Khris that (looking at it now) the door and window are too wide. In fact, the door appears to be as wide (if not wider) than the dead man lying on the floor (which actually compared to the size of the room/door/filing cabinet is still some type of dwarf).
Quote from: MilkAndCheese on Wed 10/10/2007 07:35:50
4) The man is dead (you wake up to find him there). Yes now that I look at some doors I do realise how low down the handles actually are.
I think what he meant by that is that the scale is off. The man is super tiny -- if he stood up to full height he'd only be as tall as the file cabinet.
Scale can be an easy thing to miss. I drew some crates in my first room and realized that there was no way they could possibly fit through the door I had drawn! It's a good idea to figure out first what the size of your average person is going to be and then let that dictate the height of objects. Sometimes when thinking about scale I actually have to go stand next to comparable objects -- things like doors and windows are often bigger than you think they are.
The perspective is a bit odd. I would make the angles of the floor less steep than those on the ceiling. It will make the floor look flatter and the ceiling heigher, and avoid the foreground/background problem that the current one has (sometimes it looks to me like it is recessed, sometimes it feels like it is popping outwards).
My only other suggestion is that you might think about outlining things in colors other than straight black. Black lines give a very unnatural look to things, since almost nothing is really outlined in black. Usually outlining things in a somewhat darker hue than the original object is a good approach (the filing cabinet would be outlined in gray; the door in dark brown), as it implies an edge without making it seem absolute.