[WIP] "Big Boy" Space Destroyer, color issues

[Lazy Brain Games]

Hi all! I'm just about done with this next game, but I seem to have a bit of a color issue with this guy, "Big Boy". For some crazy reason, I shaded it with black, when absolutely nothing else has black in it (brown is the darkest color in the entire game save the background). So, aside from any regular lighting CC stuff, any recommendations on how to ease the black out and get just the brown in?

With black:

Black simply filled in with brown, trying to think of some better way of handling it:

Here's the palette I'm using, I'm in too deep to change it at this point, which makes trying to salvage Big Boy all the more challenging




Any help is greatly appreciated!

-Johnny B.

[r1k]

I think you can keep the detail from the black as long as youre willing to change the color scheme.  For fun I came up with 6 different colors schemes that I think are decent


some things I would do to change the palette are make the value difference between the gray and purple greater.  Add a lighter gray (or maybe just make the current gray slightly lighter, as that would also satisfy the greater value difference between the gray and purple).  Make the dark blue, dark teal and brown more different in value.  Just some things to consider for your next palette.

[9_6]

Well how about a screenshot with this thing in-game?
That might be helpful for finding a solution for this that works in the context of the actual game.

[pistachio]

If I had to choose from r1k's options, I'd have to go with either the middle two, or the one on the bottom left, which look the most "menacing", partly because of their value work, I suppose. I do appreciate the metallic effect on the upper right one, but yellow is probably too bright of a color, especially on a dark background (I'm assuming this is for that space shooter you were working on?).

Perhaps you could make dark spots a bit larger as well.

[Lazy Brain Games]

Wow thanks guys! Here's some screenshots for a bit of context...





Just for good measure, here's a few in-game pixels...

 



The middle bottom one of r1k's edits is the most attractive so far I'll try it out in-game and post a screenshot to see if it works [EDIT]

Here's a screenshot of him in-game with the new color scheme, its serviceable, I might downplay the blue a bit, but I think this may be the best I can do at this point



Thanks again!

-JB