Stairs Sketch Perspective

[Danman]

OK I will get Google sketchbook to see. This my honest thing about 2d games. What makes them great to me is they are Imperfect. But maybe you guys are right just to give me an idea what the perspective should look like.
I just like to do 2d games the old fashion way.

Anyway for now I made a quick perspective adjustment and least explained which floor is which.



Hope this one makes more sense

[monkey0506]

[offtopic]

That FreeImageHosting.net is taking forever to load on my computer..is there a reason you can't use ImageShack or PhotoBucket instead??

[/offtopic]

Okay, that's kind of the impression I got as to what you meant. The POV is at the top level, not the bottom level, and both staircases are heading down toward the lowest level.

This goes back to what I was saying. If you don't like using 3D as a reference then don't. Use Google Images. Go and look at a real stair case. Using a reference is something that I can definitely assure you they would have done in the '90s if they were unsure about something.

Here's the image I already linked you to in my previous post:



As you can see, the only portion of each step you can see is the very top. Therefore the coloration of each step is nearly identical. The step at the top (nearest to the third floor) is the widest, and as you go towards the second floor each step gets progressively smaller.

This is how you create perspective. If all your steps are the exact same size then there's absolutely no perspective in your image.

Your perspective doesn't have to be "perfect" but if you want someone to look at the image and understand what they are seeing then there should be some concept of perspective at least.

Also the angles between your image and the image I am showing you are completely different, so your perspective will be different too. But it should give you some idea of what you're doing wrong.

[Danman]

OK I attempted to copy the perspective of that pic and this is what I got. But for my background I think it would work. 

Alright I will try do this for my background. Thanks a lot everyone least got an idea now.

[Khris]

Danman, from the perspective you want to use the stairs going down aren't visible at all. (Unless the steps are very far apart.)



I have used ramps instead of stairs but that doesn't matter; if the top of the ramp isn't visible, so aren't any steps apart from the top one.
So to make them visible I had to look down a good deal, changing this almost into a top-down view.
This won't look good with straight characters.


If you want to show the main floor and the landing, maybe switch to a different POV?
   

Click to see big version

[Danman]

Yea I did realize that In the latest pic I didn't show the 2nd stairs or the whole landing.


But I have to say I did have a stupid first drawing. But your 3d model is Exactly how it meant to look.

Thanks though Khris given me a better idea in the perspective.

[Tuomas]

You might want to consider the point of view of the bg. In terms of functionality, it's not really a good background. There's a lot of space you can't even see but are still walkable. Most of the time the guy would just go down invisible stairs. It's your own benefit to have the stairs going down towards the camera or sideways. Think about it.

[Danman]

I think I got it.



Just to say this is still in the sketch stage got a lot more details to add.

[Chicky]

OK I attempted to copy the perspective of that pic and this is what I got. But for my background I think it would work.  

Alright I will try do this for my background. Thanks a lot everyone least got an idea now.

I can't see any of your recent images but this is a massive improvement.


*edit- apparently i can see them now, good job with the latest one. Remember to choose your colours wisely and stick with a very simple shading style.

[Dualnames]

Dan, the image on my second post (I'm not quoting it here, in purpose) show's how to draw stairs. It's quite easy if you manage to get into its technique. My first stair attempt took me 2 hours straight, in order to get it right. I'll make a tutorial on how to, if you feel like it.

[Danman]

Actually after reading This tutorial I kinda had a better idea.


Dualnames: I did at first try your style but could not really from the perspective of these stairs going down. Maybe you should write a tutorial could help me and everyone else in a few parts.   in doing stairs.

Also that picture I did was in paint and I don't usually use paint so it looks are a bit bad.

Chicky: One thing I spend more time on then anything is choosing the best colors and my shading is pretty pathetic too.

[Danman]

Here done another improvement. This is just to ask if the perspective is good or better.
OK like the pictures. Are they at bad angles. I don't really want it to look perfect but don't want it to look
wrong.

[markbilly]

You haven't really changed the perspective, just bent it to fit a little more. And, of all the nice perspective suggestions Kris gave you, you've chosen the one that won't work for traditional adventure game characters.

[monkey0506]

If you want to keep that angle I'd suggest changing that front-facing wall next to the stairway into a railing instead so you can see a larger portion of the landing as well as the second stairway.

[Danman]

markbilly:I think this is how the background will look.  Cause I am sure I can make it work with my character and scaling.

And Monkey: What I am going to do that will be even better is that. i am going to make another background from the perspective from the 2nd floor.

[Scarab]

Cause I am sure I can make it work with my character and scaling.

Really? You honestly believe that?

Consider someone walking on the stairs;
Steps are roughly the size of a foot,
A man 6 ft tall would then be somewhere around the height of the railing.

But this is a railing, so when he's next to that, he will need to be twice that height.
If it isn't a railing, but a wall then why is the ceiling so ridiculously high? And why doesn't the wall reach the ceiling?

Then when he walks over to the table on the right (unless, perhaps, it's a coffee table/ footstool of some kind?) he will be so small that he will be useless as an interact-able character.
Furthermore, at that rate he will have vanished by the time he reaches the window, just how big is this house?

So good luck with your scaling.

Now, Room Design:
I realise this isn't finished, but there currently seems to be one thing to do in this room... walk down the stairs. The hallway-thing might work if you could use the landing, but you completely covered it with a railing, which makes me wonder why it needs to be there.
It is therefore redundant to have such a long walk to get to a solitary hotspot. Also, the stairs move away from you. That doesn't work. Why use this perspective? The paintings? Can't they be on the other wall?

Not lazy. 3d is lazy. 2d is harder to me at least   . I got 3d programs like Maya 9. But just think 2d has character   . They didn't use 3d 20 years ago. Unless they were in engineering so I wont either.

Perhaps professional games in the 80's and early 90's weren't all done in 3D, what they did use though was a little thing called professional artists.
Using 3D as an amateur game developer is not lazy, not cheating, or anything else along those lines. It may make it easier for you, but this is a good thing. It means you will have backgrounds which are instantly correct perspective-wise, and you can choose whatever angle you want before painting over.

Correct perspective makes things a lot easier for the player, leading to a more enjoyable playing experience, and isn't that the point of making the game in the first place?

Now I may be coming across somewhat stern in this post, but the solutions to all the problems I mentioned are already posted in this thread.

[Danman]

OK I think you guys are right then scaling is not going to work. I will just skip the walking down the stairs and just change it to the other room I have done now.
The honest thing about the 3D thing is I have used 3d graphics a lot in the past couple years and bored of doing 3d. Want to just do 2d.( Which I am not good at either.) 

This room is copy of a real room so cant really change the design  : . This is from the other perspective I have done now.



Also I did change the Table bigger. I have done a few improvements. But I am not going to bother uploading it. 

Thanks everyone for your advice. Helped me improve it a lot. This is brilliant for me I am happy with it. The player can at least make sense backgrounds 
.

[Khris]

So..., the right stairway starts at the base of the small wall but is in front of it...?
I can't make heads or tails of that background. It looks like a really badly done optical illusion. Sorry

[Calin Leafshade]

Very M.C Escher.

[Danman]

I guess you kinda right. Using like 7-8 colors is a bit hard makes it look like a optical illusion. I will work on it make it at least look like a good optical illusion.  Art is not my strong point at all that is why I like.. live in the critic lounge .  Trust me in real life I cant even draw a stick man

[ddq]

Go out and meet some girls. On the whole, they are pretty good artists, Calin notwithstanding.