Sphinx Backdrops *Update 02/12*

[Ali]

I keep hearing people describe the Sphinx project as 'dead', but I think it's too good an idea not to contribute to.

Here's a backdrop for the first location in the game, a road near a train station. It's been drawn within the style guide set out by Big Brother:
http://www.americangirlscouts.org/snarkywiki/index.php/Style_Guide. But I find it particularly difficult to draw bushes that fit the style. The character needs to hide behind a bush so I can't cheat and get rid of them. There are many unfinished areas, particularly the rocks on the horizon.



I'd appreciate any feedback.

Update 02/11

Heliopolis Skyline:


Updated Road:


Railway Platform (WIP):


Updated Railway Platform:

*Feedback wanted on this one particularly - see last post*

[2ma2]

I think the color scheme is simply great, and the composition works wonders to attract focus on the middle field for PC and possible NPC.If I was to be nitpicky, I'd say the bottom right corner could benefit from another stump or some sort of objectto halt the eyes - they slide off the piece there.

[Snarky]

Ali, your commitment and energy shames me.Ã,  Maybe it's time to get moving on the writing front again...

This one is difficult to critique for me (so I apologize for the length). I think it's very good--visually speaking.

It's supposed to be the very first screen of the game, so it's important to get it right. This is a great WIP which I think can turn into an ideal introductory screen with some more work.

I'm not sure I like the sun. How big is it supposed to be, now? I wonder if the lighting on the clouds is consistent with the position of the sun, and although the color scheme is good, it doesn't give me a sense of daybreak. A better way to convey the time of day might be with a glow in the sky near the horizon (maybe achieved by layers of clouds in different tones in order to keep to the flat shading).

The bushes and trees are good. They certainly give an impression of untidy wilderness. Although the technique is very different, this background and the subject reminds me a bit of JLM's game. One thing, though, the two trees by the end of the tracks look almost like telegraph poles. Is that deliberate?

The train station (or El station, rather) is very good. Overall, I think the composition could be a little more dynamic, but I know you're following BigBrother's template on that.

So, yes, I like the image, but... it's nothing at all like what I had in mind! (I wrote the location description that the background illustrates, in case other readers are confused.)

This screen shows an outback, a wild and desolate place with only a dirt road running through it, and a somewhat incongruous train station as the only sign of civilization. What I had pictured was something much more rural, with tilled fields, a road with at least a ditch, and maybe even paved, and generally a sense of there being a few people around. When I wrote " dull, empty landscape stretching into the distance", I meant the emptiness of the countryside, not of the prairie.

Does it matter? Not necessarily. I had a whole thing going in my head about equating rural suburbs with Saharan desolation, but that's more an expression of personal trauma than a major game design element. My only concern is that it should make sense that this is a place that runs commuter trains into the city every day. So we might want to make it look slightly more settled.

For instance, the bushes on the left could turn into an (ill-trimmed) hedge. And there could be a ditch on the near side of the road. That would make this seem more like the edge of an inhabited area. Then the next screen could show more of the landscape to the left and have a more "village within distance of a major city" feel.

Oh! How about adding a road marker? You know: "50 Miles" (or whatever... need to work this out), showing the distance to the city. I would make it a small obelisk or something similar, giving the first small hint of the Egyptian theme in the design. It also works great from a gameplay/storytelling POV. By looking at it, Ravi can decide that it's too far to walk the rest of the way, and that he needs to take the train. (Maybe he will need to clean it before he can read what it says?)

Also, I would recommend showing less of the station, I think. That will hopefully make it look less out of place, and might also make the composition lean more to the left (which is the direction the player should be drawn towards).

I would be careful about making it too "noisy", with too much texture and pixelly details. Of course this is a nature scene, so it's not going to be as clean as some of the other backgrounds. However, in the first bit of the game, there should be a certain sense of "flow" as Ravi moves towards Heliopolis, culminating in his first encounter with the excavated Sphinx. First we're in a calm, simple landscape, then in a relatively sleepy commuter train station, then we see the great city of Heliopolis, and then we're awed by this incredible behemoth. I hope this buildup will give a sense of being the start of a real adventure. So I don't think you should let fiddly lines and dots detract from the peacefulness of the location.

What I would really love would be the ability to do some pallette manipulation, so that dawn happens during the introduction and the first minute of gameplay. Of course, working in 256 colors is a pain, but it would be a nice effect.

[Mad]

I'm absolutely with 2ma2 in saying your composition is spot on!
And I think your bushes are quite fitting to the style guide, so I wouldn't worry about that.

The thing that bothers me is the sun:
It implys sun rise/set and thus the shadows should be much longer.
And your bushes etc. should be much deeper.

But I understand that this would give you a lot of trouble with the style guide, so I think an easy work around would be to just ditch the sun altogether:
The colour of the sky implys noon to me anyways and the setting sun thing is much to cliche aswell!

So, ditch the sun, I say, and I guess you'll have perfectly working BG there.

[Ali]

Thanks for the crits guys!

2ma2: I can't take credit for the colour scheme (see style guide), but you're right, it's pretty! I'll put Snarky's obelisk road sign in the bottom right. That should tighten that up a bit.

Snarky: It certainly is a Work in Progress. I'll try to take on board everything you've said. I see I misunderstood you with regard to "dull, empty", a few signs of agriculture and settlement should sort that out. As for the telegraph poles, you should have said 'those three telegraph poles in the foreground look like trees'! I meant them as telegraph poles, but trees might suit your vision of the scene better. I'll add a wee obelisk and hide some of the station. I was also worried about it looking noisy, but without many focal points, it was hard to stop the station looking like a lego builing a few meters behind the hedge. I'll try to be a little more subtle!

Mad: I knew I was cheating a bit with the sun's position and I couldn't find a way of drawing it that fit the style. The thing I most liked was a deep crimson, but that looked like sunset. I'll get rid of it unless I can think of anything better.

Update:


I made a few changes based on your feedback. I had a last ditch attempt at keeping the sun, but I don't know if it looks like morning. I tried to clean up a bit of the noise, and make the location a little less desolate. I also added BigBrother's Sprite to check the consistency of the style.

[2ma2]

Great improvement of the sky. Very postapocalyptic. The alterations in the background however has worked up the composition, perhaps to the worse. The eyes are either way wandering towards the metal pole in center-right. If this is an important object, then you're dead on. If not, you're not as dead on. There is still a problem in the bottom-right part of the screen. The eyes slide off. You could place something that would stop up, instead of a hole that more or less aids the sliding. Perhaps some bushes in the foreground, or a pole or tree.

[Kweepa]

I feel that the foreground is bit dead, colourwise. The colours are all a very even brightness.
I don't know if this fits the style guide, but some highlights from the visible sun might help.
It also looks like the station is floating above the ground, moreso than the previous version.
The horizon is now very bare.



Added highlights.
Added a path leading along the fence to the station to enhance the perspective and try to ground the station.
Added a couple of marks parallel to the station to try to ground the station.
Shrunk the sun. I thought it looked out of place, so big so far off the horizon.
Added another rocky bluff on the horizon to break it up.
Brightened the post in the foreground to lessen its focus.

[buloght]

Ali, the background is looking awesome, I like the other one too over the city.

sorry for the wow post.

[alimpo83]

I think this artwork is absolutely great! Different styles make the same result when they're good = a joy for the eyes and for the mind!

EDIT:

I couldn't resist and made some changes on the main character to create another that could be used as a security guard, in a trooper meets mad max type of guyÃ, 

[monkey0506]

The helmet looks flat...and perhaps the uniform should be a different color (IMO). But aside from that it looks decent I think.

As for the background, it looks nice, especially fits the style, though I think some of Steve's edits point this in the right direction (except the path leading to the station...something about that just drives my eyes buggy... :o).

Nice work guys.

[Ali]

monkey: The hat is flat, it's that kind of hat! The sprite isn't my work, so don't be offended that I'm not addressing your crits.

alimpo: I can't see your edit, but thanks for the positive feedback.

Sir B: Wow post? You will be sorry... I mean, thanks!

Steve: Your edit has some very useful elements. I like the larger, more ludicrous sun, but I like your rock on the horizon. I see what you mean about the floating station, you've tightened that up nicely. I'm also not sure about the path, but the bushes look much better. I was very reluctant to add highlights to the bushes because the style-guide allows for no shading beyond drop shadows. Your bushes look much more dynamic though - I think I need to bend the rules!

2ma2: I'm not too worried about the composition based on your observations. The metal object is a sign for the city that is the main character's destination. The ditch is also relevant to an early puzzle, so it could be useful to have the player's attention drawn to it. I'm glad you like the sky.

Thanks again!

[monkey0506]

I'm sorry...I suppose I should have mentioned that the first bit there was directed at alimpo, and the rest was in regards to the background.

alimpo's sprite's helmet is drawn with...well...no shading...which makes it look flat as in a flat image, not flat as in flat-across-the-top.

And here's a mirror (ImageShack):

[alimpo83]

Yeah, sometimes the images don't show! But look at my signature, you'll have a link to them!

I'll improve the helmet later.

[Ali]

I'd appreciate your thoughts on this unfinished backdrop, particularly with regard to composition. I'd like to know if the interior/exterior thing works or if it just looks like an awkward split-screen.

This is the station in the background of the last backdrop I posted. It hasn't been detailed, shaded or textured yet - so don't worry about it looking flatter than the others in the thread.

I think this artwork is absolutely great! Different styles make the same result when they're good = a joy for the eyes and for the mind!

Here's a tutorial that might interest you, alimpo83:
http://www.americangirlscouts.org/snarkywiki/index.php/General_Sprite_Tutorial

[Kweepa]

Unfortunately I'm in the split-screen camp.

Presumably there's a door in the wall in the middle. Perhaps if you made the 'cut' down the middle of the doorframe and drew the far side of the door frame and the door step, you could fix that.
Another way that would probably work is to show slightly one side of the wall or the other but that conflicts with the simple style of the game.

Unless there's a good reason for being able to see inside and outside at once (puzzle related, for example) I don't think I'd use this viewpoint, or at least I'd break it into two rooms along the split. The walkable areas seem very cramped and limited, particularly inside.

[boojiboy]

Perhaps it could work as a scrolling background? Scrolling from outside to inside as he walks through the door (which doesn't seem to be there at the moment). Otherwise looks pretty good. Having the split down the middle of the screen is pretty awkward composition wise.

[Kweepa]

It's clearly intended to be a scrolling background given its dimensions. I presume the idea is that the player enters the room and it scrolls over to focus on the side the player is, so that the split is always 1/3:2/3.

[Mordalles]

those backgrounds look awesome, ali! i love the design of the last one. i can already see a 3d rendered toon-shaded train arriving at the station. 

[Ali]

I've re-worked the composition a little:


It's still unfinished, but I think it's a little easier on the eyes. I also replaced the city on the horizon with a poster of the city - which is the player character's destination. I also made a few changes to make the colours less flat. I'm not happy with the highlight on the ticket booth, though.

Please let me know if this is an improvement.

i can already see a 3d rendered toon-shaded train arriving at the station.

I was thinking along very similar lines!

[ildu]

Looks a lot better, and more dynamic.

The dustbin now looks a bit out of place there though. I understand that you don't wanna get rid of it, since it looks so good, but to me, it just seems to be on the way, and it's not doing any favors to the otherwise great composition. Also, the warm tones of the interior contrast the cold tones of the exterior just a tad too much for my liking. You need to have something to distinguish the two parts, or make the color tones more similar. It's not a big thing and it's only my opinion. Perhaps some kind of glass or fence wall.

Is the awning supposed to stop in the middle of the waiting area? If so, I'd still add some kind of lighting difference to further distinguish the area covered with the awning and the area not covered. Even if it's not realistic, it might help.

Great work so far. Awesome deco on the poster and the fireplace .