Pixelation
Critique => Pixel Art => Topic started by: brod on May 16, 2008, 10:36:27 pm
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Hello all, I thought it'd be good to get some critique on a tileset I've been working on.
-Tileset
(http://img60.imageshack.us/img60/8287/tilesetih2.png)
The tree is giving me a lot of trouble.. I don't know how I should finish it. It seems like it's missing something. And I'd also like some help or some ideas at least on what to add to it. (It's supposed to be a forest tileset)
Here's a few other stuff I've worked on..
-Character
(http://img367.imageshack.us/img367/75/momarumf9.gif)
By the way, it's being used in a solo project I'm working on. If you'd like to see the progress of it, you can click here to view it. (Made in Game Maker 7)
Thanks..!
Tileset v2 (WIP):
(http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/9505/tilesetos8.png)
Character v2:
(http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/5495/newcharatw3.gif)
Tileset v1:
(http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/3759/tilesetyf4.png)
Character v1:
(http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/3081/oldcharazw6.png)
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Though I like the entire HUD design and concept, the game just feels empty and dull... You should add detail in background elements, like plants growing against the rocks. Also the rocks do need some sense of stone texture on the fill parts. Further.. yeah, I don't really know what else to say and state. Guess there just isn't enough content for me.
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Hmm, I'm having a lot of trouble with background designs, details aren't my strong point, I hardly have any strong points, really. I'm still trying though.
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Hey, that's great work. You did impressively with so few colors, especially on the tree trunk. I have some suggestions:
• Add another color on the lighter ground. It's really hard to tell one layer of that ground from the other, so add a slight outline.
• The dirt looks really flat in the middle areas. Add some rocks or something to break up the monotony.
• Change the green. It's a weird neon color that doesn't fit well with the desaturated ground. Make it darker, etc.
• The area under the door/hole doesn't read well. I think it's supposed to be something you can walk on, but it looks like something you're supposed to jump through.
• I agree about adding extra stuff. Just make little bushes and vines and stuff. They don't have to be exciting on their own, in fact they should be subtle. But it is very boring without some variety when you're playing a whole game.
Like I said, good work. I wouldn't bother writing this if I didn't like it :).
Edit: cool, I didn't see you had a game. I'll try to play it this weekend and let you know what I think about it.
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Thanks, ig :)
As for your suggestions,
- K, I did that. You're right, it looks better and is much clearer than before
- Middle area..? You mean the plain color or the rocks on top?
- Alright, changed that too. I made it less saturated and a little lower in lum
- Not sure what you mean...
- Alright, I'll start working on some
Here's what I've done so far..
(http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/9505/tilesetos8.png)
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By "Middle Areas" he meant everything that isn't an edge. What you have now are nice busy edges to your tiles, with blank stretches of monotone color killing any aesthetics you have without them.
If you fill up those spaces your background will look a lot better.
I really like your rocks and sign, can't say I like the tree, character, or grass. The grass is way too saturated compared to everything else
The tree is just boring, as it's really just a rectangle with fringe.
The character does not fit with the tiles, as he has really almost no shading and he doesn't look... mentally stable in that pose and in that setting. He looks unnecessarily like the first NES Mario, which is a bad thing.
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Hmm, ok. At first I had a Middle Area, but it caused nothing but trouble, so I scrapped it.. I'll work on filling it back up though.
Hmm, did you see the tileset above your post? I lowered the saturation of the grass a bit.
Alright, I'll try to play around with the tree and add a few things to it.
Oh I know the character is bad. The thing is, I made the character long before I made the tiles, I just threw him in there to have something to look at. I'm working on a new character, here's what I have so far..
(http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/5495/newcharatw3.gif)
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That character looks loads better :y: Not sure, but he might actually need to be brighter in order for him to stand out.
No, I didn't see the grass, sorry. :) Much better.
Suggestions for the tree: Branches, maybe some knots in the wood.
I see such a huge leap of difference in quality, I'm very impressed. ;D
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You said before that you weren't sure what to add for details. This happens to me a lot and I find the best way is to use reference pictures. Real pictures or screen shots from video games. Then you can see whats really in a forest, cave, etc. I think most would agree that you should always work with references and I think it helps most in those little details that you don't really remember that are there. Oh and its coming along really really well, the new character looks great. In fact, I kind of like him with no arms at all, maybe you should keep him like that unless he needs arms in your game.
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Thank you both. After about 15 mins, I think I made a tilable middle piece. Here it is.
New-Tileset
(http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/9314/tilesetxa9.png)
New-Mock up
(http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/256/mockupkk6.png)
What I noticed is, before the grass didn't fit with the tiles because it looked so de-saturated.. but now with so many more rocks, it looks like the rocks are too saturated.
I think I'm going to keep the area behind the background with that style.
Opinions?
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Thank you both. After about 15 mins, I think I made a tilable middle piece. Here it is.
New-Tileset
(http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/9314/tilesetxa9.png)
New-Mock up
(http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/256/mockupkk6.png)
What I noticed is, before the grass didn't fit with the tiles because it looked so de-saturated.. but now with so many more rocks, it looks like the rocks are too saturated.
I think I'm going to keep the area behind the background with that style.
Opinions?
No no no! Go back to your first tiles!
These are extremely busy and distracting. The first tiles look lovely.
The tree needs change. Everything looks nicely detailed except the tree.
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That's REALLY busy. For the middle piece, it would be better to every now and then have a few suggested stones the same color as the very edge of the edge peices themselves. It will be subtle and fill up the void with something. (I was really mainly talking about the cave wall, not the ground when I mentioned the middle areas)
The main character's feet are too dull and don't stand out. ;)
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No no no! Go back to your first tiles!
These are extremely busy and distracting. The first tiles look lovely.
The tree needs change. Everything looks nicely detailed except the tree.
Alright, I don't like the new ones that much anyway, and I liked the style I was going for. As for the tree, I'm working on it :(
That's REALLY busy. For the middle piece, it would be better to every now and then have a few suggested stones the same color as the very edge of the edge peices themselves. It will be subtle and fill up the void with something. (I was really mainly talking about the cave wall, not the ground when I mentioned the middle areas)
The main character's feet are too dull and don't stand out. ;)
Ooh! I think I understand what you mean now. Alright, I'll start on a few little rocks and throw them in here and there.
Changed the character's feet, and finally finished his animation. Here he is walking.
(http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/3831/newcharawalkfq1.gif)
Critique?
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walking looks good, just needs those arms and a face.
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the walking animation should involve more of the legs, imho -- and maybe the lowest part of the torso as well.
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actually, for the walking. i thought it was his idle pose, but he is walking on an angle, once hes moving straight across it will look strange. and one more thing, in moving the head up and down your extending his waist, not his legs. but apart from that it looks good
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the walking animation should involve more of the legs, imho -- and maybe the lowest part of the torso as well.
Not quite sure what you mean, think you can explain it again more clearly?
actually, for the walking. i thought it was his idle pose, but he is walking on an angle, once hes moving straight across it will look strange. and one more thing, in moving the head up and down your extending his waist, not his legs. but apart from that it looks good
Yeah, it's just that I'd rather work with slight angles than totally left or totally right sprites, they allow more detail and a better prespective of the sprites. I don't know what you mean by extending his waist. The waist doesn't change, it's just that when someone walks, their torso doesn't stay in an exact position, it goes down-stationary-up-stationary and so on, which is what I tried to apply.
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well if your gonna work with angular sprites you really need to do it to the tile as well or its just gonna look awkward, as for the waist movement, what i mean is to get the effect you add a pixel into the waist/thigh instead of it happening with the straitening of the leg. sorry if im not making any sense, if you still don't get it i'll do an edit
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the walking animation should involve more of the legs, imho -- and maybe the lowest part of the torso as well.
Not quite sure what you mean, think you can explain it again more clearly?
(http://139.165.223.2/~martin/scene/newcharatw3.gif)
(a) is the amount of animated legs in your current anim
(b) is what imho should be animated instead. since his sweat is obviously loose and covers his butt -- which will move too when he'll walk
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Hmm, I'll see what I can do. Until then, I've made a few updates.
First of all, here's a new screen of the game.
(http://brod.890m.com/screen1.PNG)
I scrapped the circular green things with a Kingdom Heart's styled HP Bar system. (Fully functional)
Second..
(http://img60.imageshack.us/img60/8287/tilesetih2.png)
I've updated the tileset. Mainly the tree texture, but it still seems wrong to me. Help greatly appreciated with that tree.
Lastly..
(http://img367.imageshack.us/img367/75/momarumf9.gif)
I've updated the character. This is now the main character of the game. His left hand (our right) is where he holds his weapon.
C&C greatly appreciated.
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I've updated the tileset. Mainly the tree texture, but it still seems wrong to me. Help greatly appreciated with that tree.
problem #1 with your tree is that your texture has a strong "vertical" look. E.g. things are highly vertically-aligned in the texture pattern, which is fair for the trunk, but do not fit roots and branches.
#2, your transition between non-shaded and shaded part of the tree is very straight, and (again) follows a vertical line, reinforcing the feeling that the tree must have a sharp, vertical edge there.
#3, roots and branches are usually shapes of their own (cylinder-likes) and thus have their own highlight and shadows.
So far, my best suggestion for you would be to re-start a new tree shape without texture (add it later), with 3 or 4 colours and focussing only on shaded and highlighted areas. I once collected trees of various video-games on my blog (http://sylvainhb.blogspot.com/2007/02/un-arbre-cachant-la-fort.html), maybe it could be helpful for you ...
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yes, and your character's hair is really bright compared to everything else in this game. and he looks awful cliche.
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I've updated the tileset. Mainly the tree texture, but it still seems wrong to me. Help greatly appreciated with that tree.
problem #1 with your tree is that your texture has a strong "vertical" look. E.g. things are highly vertically-aligned in the texture pattern, which is fair for the trunk, but do not fit roots and branches.
#2, your transition between non-shaded and shaded part of the tree is very straight, and (again) follows a vertical line, reinforcing the feeling that the tree must have a sharp, vertical edge there.
#3, roots and branches are usually shapes of their own (cylinder-likes) and thus have their own highlight and shadows.
So far, my best suggestion for you would be to re-start a new tree shape without texture (add it later), with 3 or 4 colours and focussing only on shaded and highlighted areas. I once collected trees of various video-games on my blog (http://sylvainhb.blogspot.com/2007/02/un-arbre-cachant-la-fort.html), maybe it could be helpful for you ...
Alright, thanks! That blog is actually pretty damn helpful, I think I have some new inspiration for a tree.
yes, and your character's hair is really bright compared to everything else in this game. and he looks awful cliche.
Alright, I'll lower the sat. And I'm not too worried about that, you're talking about his hair, right? I think he looks fine, I wouldn't have him any other way.
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I would consider adding some tiles that break the grid look. Try adding indentations in the grass or some hills or something. Perhaps multiple cliff sides? Some rocks and other objects would add some well deserved variation.
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Yep, have been working that. I'll post an image of some of my newest ideas when I get back >_<