Backdrop pitfalls – and how to avoid them

[theo]

Hey all!

I recently finished a new backdrop art tutorial. This one is specifically tailored toward the indie adventure game crowd and has been written in a way that it directly targets the main issues I see with most backdrops in independent adventure games.

The article points out a couple of core problems, and by addressing these we travel between these two pictures in just a matter of minutes:



Please head an over to HardyDev to read the full article.

If you've got any questions or thoughts please keep them public so other readers can see them as well.

Thanks Hardydev for hosting my article:)

[Chicky]

That's some great advice Theo, your commitment to the community is inspiring.

I love how blunt you are!

[Igor Hardy]

It's worth mentioning right away that the tutorial includes a guest appearance by the one and only Oceanspirit Dennis (and his identical evil twin Kurt)! 

I'm very grateful for the article, Theo!

[Wyz]

Somehow the link does not work for me, I've been trying all day 

[Igor Hardy]

Somehow the link does not work for me, I've been trying all day 

Strange. Could it be that our new server hasn't propagated in your area yet?

What do you see when you click on the link?

[Wyz]

That gave me an idea: I've cleared my DNS cache and now it works!

[Baron]

Nice short article, and very informative.  Unfortunately reading it has compelled me to scrap 10 backgrounds and start again -thanks! 

[Ponch]

It's worth mentioning right away that the tutorial includes a guest appearance by the one and only Oceanspirit Dennis (and his identical evil twin Kurt)! 

Holy poop! Oceanspirit Dennis has a twin?!?  :o

It's like two characters for one sprite. I foresee much use of this guy in future games!

[Matti]

Short and pretty straightforward. Nice read.

[Ilyich]

Nice tutorial, thanks! Basics, but all the most important ones.

And is it my imagination, or the sample background is eerily similar to the one I did a while back?

I didn't do that much mistakes!

[theo]

Ilyich: Let's face it, neither of us chose a very unique motif. I gotta admit though there is an amusing resemblance.   

The only real difference between the two pictures actually is that yours is a lot more focused on the house, and thus less messy, while mine has loads of focus on the backdrop AND the house, giving the viewer a more confusing ride than necessary. If I were to be picky, I'd add another step on my tutorial and tone down my backdrop and make it less dominant and call the step "Too many focal points" because this honestly is a very common problem and my "result" picture does suffer from it, while yours doesn't.

[Ali]

I enjoyed the tutorial, and I think the 'toned down' backdrop you're talking about would be absolutely right if the image was part of a cutscene. However, in-game I think a few more focal points are desirable in a backdrop because players will spend a lot of time examining them.

[Buckethead]

Very nice tutorial indeed. I'm glad I'm not making many of the mistakes you point out but there's still alot to learn.

[theo]

Thanks yall:D

Alli, agreed, it does make a difference whether it's meant as a backdrop or a frame in a cinematic etc. A good point.