[WIP] Boxedtown 3

[Howling]

Hi, i'm new to this forum. Bookmarked it though  Made this about... 3 years ago? Still working on Boxedtown 3 but my monitor sucks too much to really rivet  it! Wonder what your reactions are. It got a DD on DeviantART.



Let me know.

[philipptr]

woa, pretty big piece.
some crits:
- the balloon just like the trees doesnt seem to have the depth it should have. you might want to check out http://www.spriteart.com/tutorials/02_ambient_sphere.html
- the water looks like noise... just like the railroad.
- I'm not a big fan of pure black outline isos, but that's a stylistic question

[Howling]

woa, pretty big piece.
some crits:
- the balloon just like the trees doesnt seem to have the depth it should have. you might want to check out http://www.spriteart.com/tutorials/02_ambient_sphere.html
- the water looks like noise... just like the railroad.
- I'm not a big fan of pure black outline isos, but that's a stylistic question

Thanks for the critique. Though this piece is 3 years old now, doubt i'll change anything. However I do still have BoxedTown 3 on a shelf waiting to be worked upon. Here's a WIP shot:

BT3 Part 1

The first step I took. Already dating back to Aug 17, 2004!

Part 4
This is one where I had the people layer on apparently and it shows a bit more.


Part 5
Zoomed in 2x. What about the noise in the water? That okay? I don't find it too distracting. The black outlines are just a matter of taste I think


Thanks!

[Sharm]

I understand the need to break up the water visually so it's not just some flat blue stuff, but why not make a texture that looks like water?  Noise makes things look rough, which might be okay for asphalt (maybe), but not water.

[Howling]

Alright. I did away with the noise, now i'm trying to fabricate a calm and uninterrupting water texture that goes well with the rest. However as with the grass and tiling in the entire piece - perhaps it should be left untextured except for the edges and floatables perhaps...?

[philipptr]

Your pattern seems pretty much like noise again. Instead I would try to make it look like waves:

(very quick edit, the pattern isn't good as the grid shows clearly but well you get the idea)
also it seems to me like you use way too much colours, you sometimes use one colour for only one pixel while having a very very close colour already in your picture.
either reduce the colours or use them properly. for example in your version the in the lower left you have 3 tones for the grass, but you mainly only use 2 of them and add some strange dithering for the 3 instead of using it as a shade between the brighter and darker one.

[Howling]

Thanks for your reply. Though I fear waves might make the water too active, if you understand my meaning. It's supposed to be quite still water. Perhaps smaller waves would do it - i'll try that.

As for the colors, I don't use any restrictions because the piece is already so large. It's not meant to be in a game or other. I guess I just like to create huge cities with lots of color, detail and scenes. These bits are possibly a mere 1/5th of the entire piece. :-)

[Sharm]

You could always try just putting small waves on the edges for the water, and leaving the rest just blue.  I think it'd work well with the style you've already got.

[Howling]

Righto. No more texture, didn't work. Still I want something more than just an edge. Hence; an attempt to do something with reflection. Perhaps I should do the buildings too...

You can also see (in the bottom right corner) the first sketchings of a bustling little market.



Detail shot:

[Sharm]

The reflection works well.  You'll want some small ripples around the trash and the fishing bobber (whatever it's called) to give the feeling that it's actually in the water.