C & C for BG and sprite

[Neil Dnuma]

Hello again, we don't want frustration!

Are you using photoshop? I think loominous described a very good method in this thread.

What I did with this one was splitting the image up, with the other room at a second layer. I placed an adjustment layer abouve this, with curves (i think it was), pushing it into a warmer area. Then I did the opposite with the front room. Then a 75% black over everyting, for shadows. Punching holes, and adding black accordingly, with a soft black brush or eraser. Then a unifying curve-adjustment layer at the top, mainly because I don't like pure black/greyscale shadows, and wanted so soften that effect. This method was to be quickly done, and is a bit messy.

[S]

Thanks. I'll try to follow that guide. Currently recolouring the image from scratch. When it's been recoloured I'll post a mockup featuring the new sprite. Then I'll post another one when (if) I can get the shading right.

[S]

This one got sort of dark, but I like it. I think I'll have to make it lighter if it is to be usable. Or maybe not.

What do you guys think?

[Andail]

Oooh, now we're talking!
Much better uniform colour scheme, much more consistent, realistic shading, much more attention to mood and atmosphere.
You can still work on the chandelier though, and instead of the black border to the left I think you should paint the doorframe properly, albeit with very dark and subtle colours. When using black foreground frames like that, it's usually best to apply them fairly symmetrically around the image, and not only to one side.

All in all, you're on your way to creating a beautiful background.

[Tuomas]

Though the original seemed like a happy cartoony game, and the new one is completely different in the way it looks dark and sad or so. If that's what you're after, then ok, but I wouldn't mind playing the first one with the children's book kind of colours.

[S]

What I'm aiming for is the "fairy tale for adults" type of atmosphere. I think this is on its way there.
Andail: point taken about the doorway, although it is going to take some work becasue I'll have to rely on my Photoshop skills (bad) rather than my paper and pencil skills (slightly better).

[fred]

The new one is way too dark, imo. I can hardly make out anything, and if I hadn't seen the previous screens I wouldn't be able to make any sense of it. Something in between Neil Dnumas edit and your latest version would be better. Keep it up though, it's a nice style.

[S]

How now, brown cow?



A little bit lighter, removed black area, fixed some tiny mistakes here and there, included new sprite. She looks a bit too displeased with everything now, but fits much better into the background.

I won't touch the chandelier, though. If I were to do anything with it, I'd actually make it even more blurry and indistinct. Or remove it altogether (it IS a bit big for this hut).

[Andail]

Hm, yeah, I looked at it on a different monitor now, and realised my own monitor is set very bright, so cranking up the brightness a bit might be a good idea.
Start out in the light sources; increase the intensity there and work your way around the surfaces hit by the light, make them reflect the light and add nice hues depending on what kind of light they're hit by.

[S]

Yes - this is way too dark on my office laptop. Looks brilliant on my computer at home, but sucks on a laptop. However, Andail, I've already done what you suggested: there's blueish light illuminating stuff close to the windows and a yellowish-orange light close to the fire. I'll just cranck up the overall brightness and see how it fares. I already did it a little bit on the newest version, but I think I can make it even brighter.

When I get back from work.

[Ryan Timothy B]

Wow nice work.



You said you're going for the Monkey Island 3 look, and I think you're getting much closer.  Other than it being HORRIBLY dark, your style of coloring has improved greatly.

Like how you have a two color highlight on the bricks of the furnace behind the cauldron.  And I love the chest and glass pot on the shelf now.  Looks like you've also gone over some of your lines with the photoshop brush.  I like this style a LOT more than your previous version.  I'd play the game just for the graphics alone.

They both have their own styles, but the newest is much easier on the eyes.  All those items on the shelf just stick out now, it's great.  Before they just looked like they were glued to the background.  Now I just want to roll my mouse over each item to do all the interactions possible.

[Questionable]

Going off the last screen that you posted:

I like how you kept it "cartoon-esque" even though you're going with a darker tone. That style and tone aren't used together very often, as far as I'm aware. Most people go for a more realistic look, which works because the real world is a much darker place than your cartoon. Darker not referring to brightness, there.

Following with that style, things are shaded simply and not too much detail is put into objects. That is a good thing, for this look at least. The only real issues I have are:

The small chest in the top right. When I examine the scene, my eye keeps getting drawn to it because it's brighter than everything else around it. In most games, not a big deal, people are more interested in their character and their actions. In detail games like this, people are going to want to notice.

What time is it supposed to be? Everything in this house is very dark, but if you look out the windows it looks like high noon. Even if the moon is bright, it's not going to be THAT bright. If it actually IS day time. you can brighten up the room, while keeping it dark by only lighting in proximity to environmental lights and where they fall, ie. the fire, candles, moon light, maybe a skylight above?

Can't really tell what the cauldron is, had to reference the original picture.

There's no light emanating from the furnace.

There is the "Alchemy Room" there's the "Fireplace Room" there's the "Chest Ledge" and then there's this ladder that goes upstairs to an unseen room of magic blue gray. I understand that you want it to be visible to the player, if you don't expect them to go up there, you wouldn't have put it there. You don't have to just let it stay one color like that! In the original, there was some shading. In the dark version sans sprite, there is still some lines there that break up the space, but it looks like a face a little bit. The player knows that there's a second ladder, it's got to go somewhere. Probably the easiest thing to do would be to add a small light source close by, maybe a tall candelabra? I dunno, but it's just like that small chest. It draws my eye, then I frown and think that it looks a bit out of place. Maybe have a light source upstairs, I mean, when you go up there it isn't going to be dark is it?

The rainbow rug leading from the Fireplace Room to the Alchemy Room looks too realistic for this setting in my opinion.

Last one, on the sprite. Are her arms folded across her tummy? Are they at her side? She's wearing a cloak/blanket so her arms are covered up, and it looks like she's clutching it shut, but I can't tell that she has arms, there's no flow to the cloth.

Other than those small things, I really dig the look of this! It's got a real good feel to it. I'm looking forward to the finished product. Keep us updated.

[JuuJuu]

I actually really like the dark one..
alot!

Yes it would be hard to point out items ect...but It looks like a middle-of-the-night look.

[S]

First off: I need to make the room brighter, give it more ambient light, because this is supposed to be in the middle of the day.

Q: thank you for your kind words, but I do think this kind of thing is quite common, like in the MI series, for instance. About your issues:
- maybe there is "something" about that chest...
-it is, as I said, supposed to be day-time, so I'll brighten everything up.
-the cauldron will be more obviously a cauldron when brighter. I hope.
-There is some light emanating from the furnace. Could be more, perhaps. Also, the stove in the oter room.
-The room at the end of ladders will definitely be visitable (a sketch of it exists and is being coloured), it will be fairly bright (a tower room with big windows) and needs some work to look ok seen from this room. I was aware of that, though, but I posted a bit too hastily.
-The rug stays!
-I'm not actually sure where her arms are. The point is that everything btw her neck and her feet is supposed to be a little nondescript, fitting her unassuming (albeit acerbic) personality. I'm not sure I've pulled it off though. I think I'll start from scratch on her again. Now she's called Clara, btw.

Ryan Timothy: Thanks a lot! I think object and hotspot interaction is important for the feel and immersion of the game, so almost everything you see in this room is interactable in some way. Most of it is look-at-able at the very least.

[PixelPerfect]

I just thought to post this as I was just trying some stuff. Main differences are the brightness (so that you can see something ) and color separation between the two rooms. Added some glow from the windows. Hope this sparks ideas or helps in some way. Nice work S!

[Questionable]

First off: I need to make the room brighter, give it more ambient light, because this is supposed to be in the middle of the day.
-it is, as I said, supposed to be day-time, so I'll brighten everything up.
-the cauldron will be more obviously a cauldron when brighter. I hope.

Now I'm not sure if PPs edit is quite what you're looking for, but the brightness is really great. It's a healthy medium between the almost "Night Scape" of the most recent screen and the "Living on Mercury" lightness of the original. Things look a LITTLE dull, not very much at all, but you can tell how they're washed out. This is probably because he/she lightened the screen shot up instead of lightening the actual work itself, therefore, your eults will probably be a little warmer. I think Pixel is really close to nailing it. There's gorgeous light rays coming from the windows. Closer to the screen chandelier is blurry, as is the wall on the left; this gives it a real sense of depth and focus. And of course, the original brilliant background is in tact and gorgeous.

- maybe there is "something" about that chest...

Great... now I know how to beat the game... =P

I thought so, but I supposed I would bring it up just in case.

-There is some light emanating from the furnace. Could be more, perhaps. Also, the stove in the oter room.

I'm not sure which is which, but I was refering to the thing behind her. Now that you say "stove" I think, that's more appropraite than the word I used. Now that the room is brighter though, it's not important anymore. Based on her clothing, I was thinking she was either cold because of the nights chill, or scared because she was all bundled up. When I think of someone scared I think of night; combine all of this with the low light and I assumed it was, in fact, nighttime. That's why I made the suggestion to have light coming from the stove AND also for putting in more ambient light. With a lighter tone you will not need that ambient light.

-The room at the end of ladders will definitely be visitable (a sketch of it exists and is being coloured), it will be fairly bright (a tower room with big windows) and needs some work to look ok seen from this room. I was aware of that, though, but I posted a bit too hastily.

I thought as much. You can leave it as it, or maybe once you finish the other room you can look at the floor boards, or wall baseboard, werever the player will emerge and try and recreate a small chunk of it in that little slit, you can make it much brighter/darker/contrasted than the rest of this room (just like with the chest) in order to draw more attention. But seeing as how there's a ladder there, that's attention enough IMO.

-The rug stays!

I don't want it to go! =D
Trust me, it's a good thing the rug is there, it more smoothly connects the two individual spaces. I really like it as well, if it's from scratch than it's excellent. I just thought it looked out of place because of how real it looked. In Pixels edit, there is an orange glow all about the room (fireplace/sun) and that washes out the vibrancy of it a little and it fits in with the scene really nicely like that. Maybe with the room lighter it's intensity won't matter as much, we'll see when you finish your re-touch.

-I'm not actually sure where her arms are. The point is that everything btw her neck and her feet is supposed to be a little nondescript, fitting her unassuming (albeit acerbic) personality. I'm not sure I've pulled it off though. I think I'll start from scratch on her again. Now she's called Clara, btw.

Good name, it fits her. If you tart from scratch, the new character better be rock solid because Clara is. She feels innocent, but corruptable. Those green eyes scream for empathy, and i'm compelled to want to see her win. She feels reluctant for any adventures and being dragged into some conflict it's up to me to make sure she does O.K. I was simply thinking that animating her walking without arms would completely ruin what she's got going for her. But I have faith in you.

I really like what I see so far, and i'm getting a big old smile on my face in anticipation! MUST... HAVE.... MORE!!!

I'm exceited bro, I want to see this succeed. Good luck!

[S]

I think Pixel is really close to nailing it. There's gorgeous light rays coming from the windows. Closer to the screen chandelier is blurry, as is the wall on the left; this gives it a real sense of depth and focus. And of course, the original brilliant background is in tact and gorgeous.

I like the light rays, but I really like the halo round the circular window. Slanted light rays are a very powerful way of pointing something out, adding emphasis or lending biblical connotations, so I think I'll save those for when I really need them.
About the blurry, close-to-the-screen bits: I made those that way, but the image was (apparently) so dark you could not see them. In other words: I'll make it brighter. Again.

Pixel: thanks for the edit. I like.

[S]

EDIT: Missing image. See next post.


Latest version of the room. Light enough?
Also, the new verb coin style GUI. I have some problems with it, though not of an artistic sort. When I hover the mouse over one of the icons, they change accordingly. However, when I move the pointer to another, neutral, position, the icons won't change. They stay the way they are until I move the pointer over another icon. Annoying.
Anywho. This is not the place for that discussion, I guess.

[S]

http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/NuWitchHouse4.png

This image won't show, for some reason.

EDIT: will re-up. Sorry for the mess.

EDIT:

[S]

This is the room upstairs from the other one. It's a WIP, so any tips you might have will be received with gratitude.