Making lava look like lava

[Menorrah]

Howdy folks.  Very simple background here.  This is supposed to be a rocky  penninsula poking out into an ocean of lava.  ALas, no matter what I do the lava always looks solid.  Any help is appreciated.

-M

[i k a r i]

that could be because you're using straight lines for the horizon and the lava..
You can also try to make the lava irregular near the island edge..

but I don't know..

[sergiocornaga]

TEH LAVA MUST ANIMATE!!!!

[Kweepa]

You could try something like this:

I just put down a pure yellow field and scribbled black blobs onto it with a 1 pixel paintbrush, then painted the bottom edges orange.

There's a bunch of great volcano photographs here:
http://www.decadevolcano.net/photos/photo_gallery.htm

[Menorrah]

That's very nice, Steve.  I'll have to try that out.  My home computer isn't connected to the internet so I apologize if my responses are slow in coming.

-M

[Haddas]

How fortunate that I started on a BG some time ago
it'll never be finished, since that bg compo was closed EONS ago.



The lava was a B**CH to draw, but I think I got it quite ok. If it helps, I'm glad.

[DutchMarco]

You want lava? Indy's got lava!

http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/indiana-jones-and-the-fate-of-atlantis/screenshots/gameShotId,24010/

http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/indiana-jones-and-the-fate-of-atlantis/screenshots/gameShotId,24011/

The style is completely different but it might give you some clues. Good luck!

[Menorrah]

Haddas - nice bg!  I really like the detailing on the rocks.  That looks like it took a long time.  Anyway, here's my new version incorporating Steve's suggestion:



Hmm..Ã,  Not quite sure I've "got" the concept quite yet, but I do like the texture that the black bits give the picture.Ã,  It still looks solid though, and not like the burny liquid it's supposed to be.Ã,  Any ideas on where to take this would be much appreciated.

-M

[Babar]

If you ARE doing it like that, there shouldn't be any "pieces" (the black bits) underneath the land, otherwise it'll make it look like the land is floating on top of the lava instead of the lave floating on top of the land. You should also make the black bits become smaller as you mover further back, to give a sense of depth.

[Kinoko]

Babar's suggestions are spot on. I'll add to that that I think you should give the liquid (?) itself some texture. Put a bit of red and orange in there as well to give it more of a thick look.

[hedgefield]

You're getting somewhere. It's a bit too pure yellow I would say. Looks a bit more like normal daylight too as opposed to the first one. I personally liked that one more.

So I imagine there should be a little more darkness and contrast and glow in there. Kinda like...

You'll have to excuse me, I went a little over the top. It's not really your style but it might give you some ideas.

This made me think of a mod for Oblivion I installed recently:
http://www.tessource.net/files/images/Improved%20Lava%20PATCH-1.jpg
Might be of some help aswell.

[Krysis]

You can allways try Star Wars Episode 3. It has loads of lava and stuff in the end that would be usefull.

[aussie]

Here's my paintover. I'm not a super artist like other people in the CL, but this may help.

I've tried to comply with your style to the best of my ability.



Some things that come to mind:

1. A clay peninsula does not strike me as the sort of thing you would find in a volcanic setting. I think black fractured volcanic material (lots of cracks and sharp edges) may be more fitting.

2. I've made the peninsula a bit narrower because I think that improves perspective a little bit. I've also tried to reduce the amount of chunks of rock to draw by adding mountains. The volcano is there so that people get the idea the red stuff is actually lava.

3. I felt the lava ocean should fade into the distance, so the chunks of rock need to get smaller (which is less of a pain to draw too).

4. To me, your initial choice of colors is better. Lava is red. Some yellow may help, but I think this bg already conveys the message.

[big brother]

Here's a possible solution to drawing low-res lava.



The screenshot is from World Heroes Perfect, btw.

(Edit by ProgZ):

Doesn't look like mame takes kindly to image linking so I hosted this on my server for you.  Such memories...GO CAPTAIN KIDD!

[Tomb Raider]

I think Aussie's paintover is the best, but as mentioned before you really need to make it animated if you want it to look more realistic. Good work & good luck.

[Menorrah]

Thanks Aussie.  That paintover is pretty much the look I was aiming for, and is a style I can replicate for other rooms fairly easily.  Plus it goes well with the character sprites I drew too.  I'll try futzing with it a bit, but for now I'm happy. 

-M