Help with shading

[CodeJunkie]

I'm a bit confused about the back of the couch.Ã,  It looks like the curving side panel is too short, and also I would have thought that the seating part of it would continue in front of it a bit to allow somebody to sit there.Ã,  Also, the back line of the couch merges into the wall.Ã,  While this doesn't look wrong, it's slightly confusing.Ã,  Similarly, I think the bottom front line of the couch should go horizontally into the wall, or if you want to keep the comfortable lines maybe make it curve into the wall?Ã,  Will try to paintover.



Just a suggestion, very good background though.

[Khris]

@Snarky: Thanks, exactly what I was thinking.

Are you suggesting that because the shadows and the tiles don't align, the floor's perspective is incorrect? That the lines in the floor should point towards the lightsource?

Hell no , but the vp of the tiles (if they had just one) is way above the horizon, so the floor looks more like a quite steep ramp. Another reason why my shadows do look strange.

[Andail]

ok, I get you there, sorry for assuming

Still I have problems with yours and Snarky's theory about the sunset....theoretically, since the earth is round, the sun is already "below" us when it touches the horizon. Shortly after, the sun has sunken beneath the horizon, and it will undoubtedly become "below" us. I have problems seeing how the sun will always shine from above, regardless of which height we're positioned, and then suddenly disappear?
There must be a gradual shift from above->on a level with->below.

I don't know, I'm just splitting hairs here anyway, and probably not helping Coffee Lady very much

[Snarky]

Yes, since we're (usually) above sea level, the horizon is slightly below us. However, that distance is minute. Take the point of the horizon (the tangent of your line of sight with the circumference of the Earth), and imagine a point as high above that point as you are above sea level (or the level of the surrounding terrain). When the sun is below that point, it's below you and shining up at you.

However, I argue that even if you are quite far up (i.e. any tall building), that distance will appear to be only a tiny bit above the horizon when viewed from the distance of a horizon away. Probably less than the apparent radius of the sun in most cases. Which means it only shines upwards as it is actually setting, and setting quite a bit. It will always be shining up when the center of the sun is below the horizon. However, this only applies when it is setting against the actual horizon, like on the sea or completely flat terrain.

Basically, what I'm saying is that for the purposes of casting shadows, elevation can be completely ignored, and you'd cast pretty much exactly the same shadow on a beach as you do in a 100th floor apartment.

[stuh505]

as the sun comes closer to the horizon the light becomes more reddish as it passes through more atmosphere.  there is still illumination after the sun is not in direct line of sight due to the horizon due to reflection refraction and diffusion of the sun's rays.  as long as there are shadows existing, this implies that the majority of still coming from a downard angle.  light is still coming from a downward angle even after the sun is technically below the tangent line of the Earth at the point of interest.

[Khris]

That's all quite interesting to read, really, but who said the sun was that far down in the first place?
If you look at Coffee Lady's 2nd pic in the initial post, you can see that she's already drawn helplines.
I've just finished what she started, assuming that the sun is still high enough to cast those shadows.

[Nightfable]

Sorry to bother you guys, but I keep finding myself scratching my head in helplessness when I come face-to-face with pixel-art. It's extremely difficult to add the right amount of shading and the right colors when the characters are this low-res... right now they just look...

bleh...Ã, 

x500

[Stefano]

Yes, it is extremely dificult to draw with such "large" units. But you managed to do it (pretty well, I might add). I specially like the pose on the red head. I would only "relax" the arms (specialy the left one) of the guy.

Despite of the fact they're looking good, I think their pixels are way too big for this background. And the style doesn't seem to fit too.

[Bernie]

Those are great characters!

I couldn't keep my grubby hands from tinkering with them, so...



I think he'd fit the backgrounds better that way. Wanna give this kind of shading a try?

[Nightfable]

Stefano, I see what you mean with the arm. I know the characters look a little too "flat" for my background... I was actually looking for something more like Beneath A Steel Sky graphics. I guess I will just play around with different shades of colors until I get it right. Thanks!

OMG Bernie!! That's exactly what I was looking for!!!!!

YOU ARE ASWESOME!!!

Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!!!Ã, 

[Stefano]

Bernie,
Two words: mamma mia.

Coffe Lady,
You're welcome!

[Bernie]

Coffee Lady - I'm glad you like the edit. When you do shadows like those, try to bring some grey into them, it seems to work better. The darker, the grayer. Of course, some things may look weird if you do that, but it should work for skin tones and most clothes. Also, don't be afraid to break up some outlines.

Your original is a little too saturated, it would probably clash with the background. I desaturated it a little. The woman seems to be saturated just fine, though. I really like how you defined their shapes!

[Helm]

I really don't think that kind of 'arcade sprite' colouring suits these. I tried a different, softer approach, on the girl. 8 colours:



(note, the background in these forums is too bright. In proper backgrounds, the jagginess of the selout goes away.)

You were using too many colours. In pixel art, forget opacity brushes. Handpick each shade on your own. You don't need many, really.


Hmmm... issues. At actual pixel size, your sprites are too small for these backgrounds. I did some colour tests, and at about 70% size of my edit, these fit pretty well (need pixel tweaking, but oh well).



I think Bernie's sprite punches out too much? If you plan to use that sort of shading, the backgrounds could stand about 20 less lightness, 15 or so more saturation.

[Nightfable]

Here we go, a lot better!!Ã, I find that the sprites blend in really well, last week I saturated a bit more my bg and adjusted the contrast slightly. As you can see they fit in better. Beside the sprites is Gladia's portrait, I will animate her features when she talks -- will do the same for all characters. I gotta say that It's already taking shape beautifully!

My next step is to create my main character and have him walk around.

Thanks for all the help!!!

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

I made a couple quick versions that use lighter colors like your background





doh..I just noticed you made a new post..oh well ;>

[stuh505]

That's a lovely character portrait, Coffee Lady.

Keep working on this game, I'm started to get interested!

[sedriss]

Indeed. This looks really interesting.