John Sinclair- Voodoo in London Title-Screen

[Chicky]

[Digital Mosaic Games]

Hey! WOW! I´ll take this as my official title-screen!!! :o
Okay, that´s funny but this doesn´t really helps me.

[Dualnames]

Why go for cheesy, when you can go for spooky. Okay, yes not the best execution, but just focus on the idea. And unlike Chicky, I'm actually serious.

[Andail]

Loominous' version is without doubt the "best" so far, although I can't help but feel a bit guilty that we've now completely changed the image and its style.
Then again, this is a title screen, and it doesn't really need to be consistent with the style of anything within the game, it's just supposed to be as good as possible.

Oh, and

But when I would change the whole image(like you did(and I know it was only a demonstration)), my drawing and painting work on paper was useless, which took a long time.

Listen, if you're only going to bring one piece of advice with you from this thread, it's this: Don't ever reason like that! That something took long time to make is an awful reason not to change it. Improving in any art is all about killing your darlings.

[Ali]

I'd go further than Andail. Loominous's version is not just the "best", it's the best! Though I'd prefer it with a cheesy 80s green rimlight...

I also strongly agree with Andail's advice. You shouldn't scrap your original and use Loominous's version, instead use his suggestions to help you create a new piece of work which it still yours but has even more impact.

Also I don't think you're last version looked that 'blurry'. I suspect the sharpness that Loominous created is mostly to do with choosing higher contrast tones, and perhaps using a smaller brush for the details.

[Darth Mandarb]

I agree with Andail as well.  If improvement is what you want, you must be willing to sacrifice hours (if not days, if not years) of your life in pursuit of that improvement!

However, having said all that, and as lovely as the edits have been; I actually prefer the old-school (first) version you made.  It reminded me of the old Wing Commander/Privateer/Strike Commander days of Origin.  I didn't love the colors, but the style!

Granted, as was also said, this is a title screen and doesn't need to reflect the style of the game.  Maybe use the face you made for the first version as the in-game portraits?  That'd really be Wing Commander-ish!!

[GarageGothic]

Heh, now that you say it I can totally see the resemblance to the Wing/Strike Commander style, Darth! Man, I loved those games. For some reason (most likely because it's a blond guy waving a cross around  ) the portrait kept reminding me of the SSI adventure/RPG Veil of Darkness, though when I checked the screenshots on mobygames there's not much similarity.

Also had a strong feeling of deja vu, when I saw this screenshot in the GiP thread:



For the life of me I couldn't remember where I had seen anything similar. Thought at first it must be some early 1990's horror game like BloodNet, but came to the conclusion that I was probably thinking of Evil Ed in Fright Night:



Anyway, it can only be a good sign that so many things in this game bring back happy memories from my youth (don't get me started on the Hellblazer vibes that I'm getting from loominous' edit  ). Keep up the good work!

[Digital Mosaic Games]

I have used loominous style because it fits very well to the background.
And it reminds me of the the Sherlock Holmes games.
And right it looks quiet similar to the wing commander style .
Right if I wanna make a game I have to sacrifice some work and time. And I sacrificed a lot for this game believe me. In adventuregame developing or every game developing you ever make everything better and better because it can ever be better but it´ll never look perfect.
Okay, here´s my "Wing Commander-Sherlock Holmes"-Edit:





@GarageGothic: Maybe this is what it was letting you remind of:
It´s from resident evil.

[Khris]

That's a big improvement!

Two small things:

1. The cross is almost touching the head; move it away a bit.

2. There are extra grooves next to the actual lines from the nose down to the mouth; it looks like he's wearing an invisible oxygen mask. Check the zombie pic for the actual anatomy

[nihilyst]

I quite like the new version. But something about the t-shirt strikes me as odd. It looks like his upper chest is protruding.

[Questionable]

Can't wait to play as Gordon Ramsay in a new Voodoo adventure!

[Matti]

One thing that still botheres me is his arm. He has a rather massive body, but his elbow is located right below his chest and the arm looks too small. As Khris pointed out, the cross looks like it's almost touching his head. I guess he's supposed to hold it in front of him, but then his hand should be larger and the arm more bend. That's why I like Andails/Loominous edit of the overall stance.

Otherwise great improvement!

[Questionable]

So first I reverted to Andails stance (He did a better job of painting him in that position than I could.) I think this stance makes the most sense, as opposed to him trying to touch the cross to his forehead without bending his wrist...  The next thing I did was focus on the lines in his face; I took out some of the facial creases that aren't anatomically correct (or at least common) and I tried to lighten some of the other creases in face as it appeared as if he had an excess of skin. Then I attached the head that I edited onto the body that Andail had painted. I recolored his hand to match the scene better. I then gave the entire image a cool aquamarine tint; most people have been using warmer colors and sepia tones. Well, when I think of London I do not think "warm." When I think night scene I do not think "sepia." When I think of spooky/spacious atmosphere/moody, bleak starkness I do not think of yellows and oranges.  I had to repaint his neck and parts of the shirt to better match the scene but this is what I came up with.


If I was painting this from scratch or I had each individual element isolated I would completely change the layout of this screen, however:


Here's a five-second mock.

Taking cues from the inspiration pictures that you posted I would divide the screen into what looks like fifths to me, it need not be exact, however. 1/5 on Top, 3/5 in Center, 1/5 on Bottom would work, but I would probably have the top section be a bit larger and the bottom section be a bit smaller. Anywhom, this creates a more cinematic atmosphere as we are used to viewing grand cinematic scenes in a 16:9 ratio. I would fill the entire center with the bridge (the London Bridge?) Then, using the rule of thirds, I would place captain leather jacket on the right third of the center. In the top half you can have the foretitle and then I think overlapping the bottom half and the center you could have the subtitle...

I think the layout that you currently have feels generic, uninspired and a bit cramped.

[Digital Mosaic Games]

@Summary
I tried to use a bit of the novel/cover design of John Sinclair, like you have drawn it.
The cross is now more away from the head and I removed this lines on his face like you did. I just think the sepia tones fity well with the background.
@ALL
What do you think of it?

[Dualnames]

Thank god, you heard me! You went gory!!!!

I truly like it, except for the voodoo in london, I'd place it below the second yellow line. It'd look better IMHO.

[Digital Mosaic Games]

Thank god, you heard me! You went gory!!!!

I truly like it, except for the voodoo in london, I'd place it below the second yellow line. It'd look better IMHO.

Yes I tried out my new Photoshop brush.
I can´t move the "Voodoo in London" below the second yellow line because there will be the buttons.

[Dualnames]

Thank god, you heard me! You went gory!!!!

I truly like it, except for the voodoo in london, I'd place it below the second yellow line. It'd look better IMHO.

Yes I tried out my new Photoshop brush.
I can´t move the "Voodoo in London" below the second yellow line because there will be the buttons.

Oh, good. Well, I'm liking it. Really really love that red face.

[Questionable]

I'm digging it.

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

I think it looks good.  Obviously you could continue tweaking and perfecting it over a lengthy period of time, but as you said yourself you want to actually finish the game.  One final adjustment you could make would be to color shift those parts of John that are in shadow towards blue rather than black to avoid the chimney sweep look he has now.  A bit of bounce light around the edges where appropriate wouldn't hurt, either.  Still, I think you've done a fine job and it makes for a nice title screen.