Random bg..... Just looking for advice

cpage · Thu 06/04/2006 11:18:45

Hello people here is a random bg (Done completly in Painter) That i would love some advice on!

Please I am looking for 2 types of critsÃ,Â Ã,Â 1 composition related and 2 I would love any technical advise for painter you guys can provideÃ,Â

Oh and also which one do you like more

Thanks guys

Nikolas · Thu 06/04/2006 11:27:22

The first thing that springs in mind is this:

If this BG is atually for a game, the characters will be tiny... Don't know how good is that.

But they are beautifull and I prefer the first than the second.

CaptainBinky · Thu 06/04/2006 11:40:34

The first thing that springs to mind is that you've got a fairly "unusual" landscape there. You've got a valley leading out to the sea, but then a fairly sizeable hill formation blocking the route that the river which formed the valley would have taken to get to the sea.

I also prefer the first to the second

Mad · Thu 06/04/2006 11:53:31

I second Nikolas concerning the first BG! The 2nd one uses far to much red.

I also think you need to tone down the fields and mountains in the background to give them some distance.

The detailing of the gras in the foreground is to big in comparison to the surroundings.
You should use less detail the further the field reaches.

Oops, I hope I made that last point clear enough... but maybe you should look into the scaling of this BG in general.

Don't get me wrong here, I think you've really got something going with that BG in a cartoony fairytale kind of way!

ildu · Thu 06/04/2006 13:44:28

The first thing I noticed as I glimpsed at the bg was that I thought the middle foresty area was actually a grassy knoll way above the town and closer to the camera. Try it. Put your palm on the left side of the image. Doesn't it look like a grassy plain with a hole in the ground, rather than a far-away forest?

But then I noticed that it wasn't actually as I had glimsed, and that it was actually a forest. This kinda disappointed me, since all of the intense depth seemed to be drained out of the image. So I guess that's something to think about composition-wise. Nevertheless, the above one is muchos better. I would change the pattern of the sea though, and I would mix up the cloud composition a bit. Now it looks as if they're in a straight line going diagonally across the image.

Otherwise, it looks really good. I think the depth and composition are a bit lacking, but the painting quality is really nice.

fred · Thu 06/04/2006 14:07:31

It's very ... purple, which I like, but which would become a bit oppressive for a whole game, since I imagine the connected outdoor locations would have to have the same lighting.

I'm a bit split between the top one, where I like the tone better, and the bottom one, where I like the brightness better. Maybe I'd take the top one and make it little briighter, but without the saturation in the bottom one.

Regarding composition, I'm really fond of the terrace on the cliff-side. Put more details like that in the picture. Also, I think there's a problem with the road - I guess it's supposed to lead around the hill, but it seems to come to a dead stop at the base of it. Or wait - is it supposed to lead into a forest? Then the trees should be much bigger (compare their sizes to the houses in the foreground).

Since this is going to be a game background (random in what sense?), I think there could be something at every exit to catch the player's attention. The coast and the hills to the right are pretty detail-empty areas. Maybe put something there to hint at why the player should go there.

Haddas · Thu 06/04/2006 14:51:11

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v86/Haddas/povar.png

Needs more cowb... stars!

MashPotato · Thu 06/04/2006 16:29:07

I think it's quite a nice background, good atmosphere. Like others have been saying, I prefer the first one (though it may be a tad dark) ^_^.

Composition-wise, one thing that stood out for me is the regularity of the clouds--they're all in a line--which makes it look a bit unbalanced. Maybe randomize it a little more?
Also, if the ocean is that far away, I don't think individual waves would be that explicit.

Good work so far ^_^

cpage · Thu 06/04/2006 17:45:44

Its random in the fact that its not for a game its just for fun

I agree the forrest are needs to ba handled differently but i couldny get it to look right $:-\$
anyway keep the comments coming great stuff so far

Also nice edit Haddas

UP · Thu 06/04/2006 21:22:57

Actually, I don't think it necessarily needs the stars. With the stars it's a night bg, but without them it's sort of late evening. There might be a few, if any. I like the evening-feel.

Tomb Raider · Wed 12/04/2006 18:23:18

The background looks really great, but I think you should add a light source, maybe a moon? That way you can have some subtle light for the scene. Overall its very impressive.

Anghellic · Wed 12/04/2006 19:11:30

I added this small moon hope it helps in some way

cpage · Thu 13/04/2006 02:47:01

Wow thanks for the replies! I really like the idea of adding the moon i had originaly had one it was huge and CMI esque but i got sick of it and cut it

also I noticed the clouds were lined up but was hoping you guys wouldnt.
thanks for the advice I will take it all into consideration when I start a new one I will update it into this post thanks again!

aussie · Fri 14/04/2006 11:37:02

I dig.

One thing: shouldn't the horizon be a horizontal flat line? Waves are not perceivable at that scale.

cpage · Sun 16/04/2006 08:21:02

shhhhh........

as i said it was a quick one it was supposed to be flat