updated: learning FOA style

[Codex]

Still having trouble getting the traditional gradient splatter-effect without having to emulate DP4.
I finally got Pro Motion though, so it's a bit easier going.

Second Attempt:

[bog]

Hi!

It looks like you're using different photos in these backgrounds and the main problems with doing that is that you're going to get different perspectives and inconsistent lighting


1st background:

What bugs me mostly on this is the lighting. That ruin platform is too lit for a night scene. Unless there's some powerful streetlamp to the right of the scene, there's no sense to what's going on. Also the water and land in the background are too close in color, you need to make more contrast there. I suggest you google some night water photos.

The perspective is off, but it's not as obvious as in the second background. The problem is that the platform seems titled towards the sea. The horizon line should be lower in this scene i think.

Are you going to animate those waves? It might seem really werid if they're static, you might be better off if you make them smaller, esp that big one behind the statue.


2nd background:

There's a lot of perspetcive issues here. All the paralel lines are supposed to meet on the horizon line, but they don't:



Also that filing thing(i don't know the word) above the desk is flat and it shouldn't be.

That lit lamp in the office doesn't make that much sense to me, as it seems kind of a day scene.

The desk might be too small compared to the sprites and seems lit from a different angle




Anyway i do look forward to playing your game and it would be cool even if you keep the backgrounds like this

[Geratuza]

You have to change your whole background creation method to get even near FoA-style. There's so much going wrong that I can foretell that you won't reach a consistent style that's close to FoA during the next two years (if ever).
Go for an own style instead, that's consistent throughout your whole game. To make it look better than your current bg's, work on your understanding of perspective and lighting. Paint your backgrounds as a whole instead of creating collages.
I'm sorry for being so harsh, but that's the only way of actually doing something productive with some graphical quality in the next time.

[Codex]

Thanks for the great criticisms and advice!  :o  You've really opened my eyes as far as lighting goes, Bog.  The second image was much more of a mock-up for me to test the GUI, and I'm going to study perspective, which I obviously hadn't considered before.  I was just so hung up on choosing colors! 

Another problem I have is that the diaphragm on my Wacom pen has dried up and I had to order a replacement, and that was before I discovered AGS last Monday.  Let that be a lesson to all of you with Wacom tablets, take out and reinsert your nibs every once in awhile! 

[Babar]

2nd background:

There's a lot of perspetcive issues here. All the paralel lines are supposed to meet on the horizon line, but they don't:

Actually, I don't think perspective is the major problem here. The only parallel objects in that room seem to be the carpet and the (almost hidden) couch in the back. And the buildings in the background.

What I see as problematic would be the inconsistent lighting- outside it seems like the sunset over New York, while inside it is pretty bright. But then again, you said it is just a mock-up.

[Andail]

Actually, I don't think perspective is the major problem here. The only parallel objects in that room seem to be the carpet and the (almost hidden) couch in the back. And the buildings in the background.

Hm, unless the surface of that desk is rhombical, I'd say its sides are indeed parallel.

I'd say there's a large number of issues with these backgrounds, and I'm inclined to agree Geratuza; start off with learning basic drawing instead of putting together big, disparate photo collages.

[Babar]

Well...errr....I meant it is not parallel to anything else in the room. On its own, from the point of view of perspective (heheh), the desk is fine, no? It even seems to be (almost) having the same horizon as the carpet, at least according to bog's picture.

[Andail]

Well...errr....I meant it is not parallel to anything else in the room. On its own, from the point of view of perspective (heheh), the desk is fine, no?

It doesn't matter if it's parallel in comparison to something else; as long as an object or shape is made up of parallel lines, when extended those lines should converge along the horizon line.

I'm not saying the desk in particular is a major issue, except for its rather small size, but let's just get the terminology straight

[Codex]

Okay, take two, go!

Anyone have any tips on how to get a Deluxe Paint style gradient in Photoshop?
I can emulate it, but my pen tablet seems really unresponsive in winUAE.

[cat]

This is a good and easy tutorial: http://kafkaskoffee.com/tutorials/gradients.shtml