C&C on two backgrounds please

[PaulyB]

Here are a couple of backgrounds I'm working on for my first game.



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All comments/criticism/paintovers are welcome.

[Gilbert]

Looks good, I won't critic much on the perspective and shadow (except that I think the "leg shadows" for the table in the second pic seem to be too long, probably make them half length and you shall see the shadow of the table plank already) stuff since they don't matter much in my opinion, as long as they're stylish. The use of coloured outlines is good, but I think they can still be a bit darker, which is most noticiable in the second pic, that there're lots of white areas, but the gray outlines are not dark enough to give you the shapes.

By the way, if you want to post a zoomed in image, you need not do it yourself creating separate files, you can just use the same image file and the height, width parameters of the [ img ] tag. Example:



Edit: also, I see that your images are a bit blurred, did you saved them as JPEG first and then resave them as PNGs? This is not a very good thing.

[PaulyB]

Yea my brother said that about the outlines not being dark enough after i showed it him but i wanted a second opinion 

I saved the images in PNG format straight from photoshop but i enlarged the images in photophop before i saved them, maybe this made the bigger images a bit blurred?

[Andail]

I think they look good. They have nice soft colours which are pleasant to look at, the lines and shapes are clean and clear without getting too static.
I'd guess that you have used photo-references, since the perspective is rather "artificial", especially in the kitchen scene.

The table in the kitchen needs some modifications; it's too big (it draws undeserved attention, plus it obscures the walkable path of the character) and the gradient that falls on it doesn't fit the style.

General gradients (those that hit all surfaces in a room regardless of shape or angle) need to be very soft, or they'll stick out and look odd. Strong gradients should only - if ever - apply on round or curved objects.

There is a bit too much ceiling in the kitchen scene. This is an effect of the usage of photo-references, and does not really fit a game environment. As a thumbrule, show more floor than ceiling, as that is where the character will be walking around.

Try to break up surfaces with details and different colours instead of just gradients. To change the overall colour-scheme in a room can add a feeling of depth (for instance, the wall where a window is located tend to be a bit darker than the opposing wall, which will be hit by the light).

The sofa in the living room should be seen more from behind. This could be a good opportunity to create some variation; draw the backside of the sofa in a very dark colour, and it will function as a foreground.

[PaulyB]

I have used photo references, well spotted!, gonna try and draw my bg's from scratch in future but used photos mainly because i'm crap at drawing from memoryÃ, 

The sofa in the living room should be seen more from behind. This could be a good opportunity to create some variation; draw the backside of the sofa in a very dark colour, and it will function as a foreground.

I'm not too sure what you mean by this comment, do you mean rotate the sofa so the back of it is facing the screen or just draw the back of the sofa in a very dark colour?

The table in the kitchen needs some modifications; it's too big (it draws undeserved attention, plus it obscures the walkable path of the character) and the gradient that falls on it doesn't fit the style.

Now i look at it, it does look too big doesnt it, was probably a bad idea to take it straight from the photo, i'll have a go at drawing a smaller table from scratch.

There is a bit too much ceiling in the kitchen scene. This is an effect of the usage of photo-references, and does not really fit a game environment.

I thought the ceiling didnt look right but didnt know why, cheers for that, will try to avoid showing too much ceiling in my bg's in future.

[PaulyB]

Anyway thanks for the comments and advice guys, Ive taken the table out of the second bg alltogether now



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[Phemar]

I prefered it with the table -- Now it just looks bland and uninteresting, also very simple.

[PaulyB]

Well how much more interesting can you make a kitchen.. maybe i should have a naked chef in there peeling some potatoes. Would that make it more interesting?

[DanClarke]

Well how much more interesting can you make a kitchen.. maybe i should have a naked chef in there peeling some potatoes. Would that make it more interesting?

Yes.

[Squinky]

Well how much more interesting can you make a kitchen.. maybe i should have a naked chef in there peeling some potatoes. Would that make it more interesting?

Priceless. Sometimes, and I know I do this, we put to much crap in a picture, fearing it is boring. Sometimes though, it's better to just go with whats realistic...Nice pic too, keep it up.

[Neutron]

I think on the one on top with the blue carpet, the throw rugs should be a different color.  right now they look too much like shadows because of the color matching the carpet too much.