*TLOTLL* new B.G - Work in progress.

[DanClarke]

Ok, as i said in my character sketch thread, i've started working on a new BG. This particular BG is the back garden of the house belonging to one of the first characters that you'll meet in the game. I posted a concept of the BG a loong time ago, shown below:



I wanted a shot that contained both the fish pond and the back of the house. However i felt this shot seemed a little too vast for a cottage back yard, so i've redrawn the yard in order to have it appear a little more snug. This is the 1st draft (shown below) which i created basically to get an idea of how i want the scene to be lit. The detaillings not there yet and there are a number of things i havent implemented, and its by no means finalized, but it gives you a basic idea of how the scene will look:



Ill be adding some lantern lights to the tree above the pond, some garden tools, and other details to bring the scene 'up to standard' as it were. Any suggestions or criticisms are welcome as per usual.

The BG should be completeed within the next day or so, and once it's finished ill post a tutorial on how i went about doing it.

[aussie]

I can't wait for that tute. I love the way you draw with that tablet.

[Reptile]

Indeed, it looks very good. I always  pick up a tip or two reading tutorials.

[SpacePirateCaine]

This background looks great. I only have two or three nitpicks, one of which you probably already are on your way to fixing.

Firstly, there's the pond - at the moment, it doesn't really jump out at you or say "I am a pond". If you hadn't mentioned it, I may have assumed that it was some sort of rock garden without flowers. The tree seems at the moment to be coming up from the ground, which I imagine could be remedied by having the ground/roots ever-so-slightly visible below the surface of the water. The water itself could also use some reflectiveness (Edit: After another look, I noticed that the roots are visible below the surface of the water, so I suppose some reflectiveness is all it'll need).

I love the dirt pile next to the pond as well, but at the moment it draws attention away from the pond. It kind of has assumed the role of 'second point of visual interest'. Now, if it's one of the more important parts of the background, I'd suggest leaving it exactly where it is, but otherwise it could stand to be nudged a little further back, towards the fence.

The other thing I might suggest for this background is that in the original, you had a bush as a foreground element, whereas there is none in this version: It's by no means even a rule of thumb, but I am of the school of thought that unless you're able to walk off the bottom edge, it should be obscured in some way, telling the player 'This is not an exit'. Maybe a bush, or something that obstructs view, or even walking would really tie the background together. Now, if it takes up too much space on the bottom of the screen, however, it isn't necessary.

Honestly, if this background wasn't so great, I'd have just suggested using the original. Bringing the cottage further into the foreground to make the back yard seem more intimate could fix the percieved vastness - the composition is great, but it's awesome on both, and the new background does offer a few things that the original didn't (Namely, more detail on the house and a simpler layout for less complicated navigation and fewer scaling issues later on).

As always, Dan, you deliver awesome work. I'm really eager to see The Legend of the Lost Lagoon come to fruition.

[DanClarke]

A quick update:



Ive cleaned up some of the lighting and the house, and added some detail, as you can see the door was totally redone to make it more 'homely'. The pond is still to be done (the one shown in this version was just something i was messing around with, it's certainly not final) and of course the roof on the house needs to be completed. Ill be adding plants to the flower bed where the thatching is, adding some more detail to the clouds and having a sillouhette of another scene from the area in the distance beyond the fernce. I've also removed the puddle from underneath the hose reel since doing this version. I should have the final version ready by the end of today.

SpacePirateCaine,

Thanks for your comments, i always appreciate constructive criticism Let me try and clear some of your poiints up:

The pond isnt finished yet, and youre right in that its a little dull at the moment, but ive decided to leave it until last because I'm planning on putting some sort of coloured lanterns in or around the tree, which will make for some interesting lighting on the water surface.

The dirt pile is a mole hill, and is part of a quite important puzzle, so that's why i decided to have that where it is. I did consider moving it, but i dont think it obstructs anything so i decided its fine where it is.

For a foreground element, i have actually included a fence, but it's probably not as obvious as i thought it might be, so i'll redo that to make it more pparent.

Thanks for the feedback

EDIT: forgot to mention im also changing the lantern above the door, as i think there's too much 'clustering' of light sources.

[Sam.]

All i would say is that molehills are generally smaller, it looks a bit like somebody has dug a hole and thats the mound of earth.

[aussie]

There's something not quite as good looking as the rest about the stars.

Farlander made a tute awhile ago that would suit your style to a tee. I'll see if I can dig it up.

[DanClarke]

There's something not quite as good looking as the rest about the stars.

Farlander made a tute awhile ago that would suit your style to a tee. I'll see if I can dig it up.

Yeah, i know what you mean, as you can see they havent changed since the rough post i put up before this edit, so ill go over them again before it's finished. Ill have a look at this tutorial if you can find it though.

As for the mole hill, this is probably going to sound like me covering up but it is actually oversized for a reason

[Sam.]

aaah, i see *nudge nudge*

[aussie]

No, I can't. I've been browsing through all his posts.

I'm afraid the tute is too old, or somehow I missed it.

[DanClarke]

update, house is now pretty much finished, just some little details on the thatching to be added, and a plant watering mechanism to be added to the drain pipe.

[Nightfable]

Wow, looks good! :o One question though, did you make the crosshatching on the roof with a Photoshop filter? IMO I liked the roof tiles better in your previous sketch, it blends in more with the rest of your drawing and looks cleaner as well (since there's already a lot of texture from the rock on the wall). Eitherway, you did a wonderful job -- I can't wait to play your game!!Ã, 

[DanClarke]

Wow, looks good! :o One question though, did you make the crosshatching on the roof with a Photoshop filter? IMO I liked the roof tiles better in your previous sketch, it blends in more with the rest of your drawing and looks cleaner as well (since there's already a lot of texture from the rock on the wall). Eitherway, you did a wonderful job -- I can't wait to play your game!!Ã, 

Cheers, i cant wait to get it over and do...finished :p

The thathing is not a filter, its a size 1 brush on PS using a tablet and cross hatching by hand, adding shading and highlights where needed.

[Scummbuddy]

Regaurding the Sky tutorial, I believe you may be referring to Mage and the others as they collaborated on his art to attain a great style. He did some fantastic Monkey Island styled-bgs, and I have added his images to a collection, which you can view by going here:

http://home.comcast.net/%7Elucasstyle/media/MI-Style_Tutorials.pdf

also, I have other themed collections, such as Day of the Tentacle, Fate of Atlantis, and a misc-style, which you can view by going here:

http://www.lucasstyle.com/tutorials.htm

and scrolling to the bottom.

[aussie]

THAT'S IT SCUMMBUDDY, YOU LEGEND!!!

I didn't know you had all those great tutes in your site (I think I'll be checking it often now. Besides, you added my own DOTT-style tute: thanks for that).

That's the tute I was on about. Link below:


http://home.comcast.net/%7Elucasstyle/media/MI-Style_Tutorials.pdf

[Scummbuddy]

I'm glad I can help. I have updated versions of about all of them, but I just need to upload them, plus move their addresses over to my real webspace.

Yeah, I try not to let art tutorials dissapear forever, as best I can. I know that there are ones out there now I am missing.

[Krazy]

The backgrounds looking really great, real classic LEC feel to it