AuthorTopic: [WIP][C&C] PAYDAY: The Heist - Masks.  (Read 3779 times)

Offline cbamf

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[WIP][C&C] PAYDAY: The Heist - Masks.

on: July 06, 2015, 02:17:35 am


- Pallet now at 20 colours.

- Added Chains mask.

- Started on Dallas, got distracted making the logo.

- Added a bit of colour recycling from the characters.

- Dallas progress, minor modifications to other characters.

- Further optimisations.

- AA pass, change of colour and contrast, optimisation.

- Balance and more AA/tweaks

- Lighting changes, balance, darken, lower saturation.

- Added blue rim light (testing).

- Fixes to Dallas

- Hoxton fixes.

Hello everyone,

It has been a while since my last pixel. I figured I would once again share it with you guys since the previous times I've had some excellent feedback.

Apologies for the imgur link I can't get to my webserver at the moment to host an uncompressed version. Pallet optimisations to come mainly looking for some artistic criticisms!

For those of you not initiated Payday is a FPS videogame based around well.. heists. These are two of the playable protagonists. Reference attached.











Sincerely,

Cory.
« Last Edit: July 15, 2015, 01:42:44 pm by cbamf »

Offline Decroded

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Re: [WIP][C&C] PAYDAY: The Heist - Masks.

Reply #1 on: July 08, 2015, 02:17:10 am
i think there's too much pink going on when title and small text is all same colour.

the banding on masks is really obvious and creates a crusty look to ur shading.

notice the light source in all the references is from the side which helps define the form?
yet you've chosen an almost totally front-on light source which flattens everything.
if ur going for symmetry in the lighting then perhaps make it more overhead at least.
even a small change in light source can make a huge difference to accentuating form (try experimenting with some models in a 3d program).

if u wanna be fancy how about the masks are pretty dark except the one you've currently selected has the light shining on it?
or maybe torch-lit from underneath to add drama?

in colours there's also a barely noticeable difference between brightest and 2nd brightest white, then a huge jump between 2nd and 3rd.
try comparing their value/brightness in the colour editor you will see the numbers spike.
not saying u need to balance everything exactly evenly but you should be aware of and in control of value/brightness variance.

while ur at it its worth being aware of HSP where P is perceived brightness (as the eye reacts differently to different colours).
This seems to be the formula:  brightness  =  sqrt( .299 R2 + .587 G2 + .114 B2 )
example:
Colour: Perceived Brightness:
Notice green is seen as much brighter than red despite it being considered a receding colour?
Please someone correct me where I'm wrong or point us to a more detailed (yet comprehendable) source thanks  ;D

Offline cbamf

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Re: [WIP][C&C] PAYDAY: The Heist - Masks.

Reply #2 on: July 08, 2015, 12:02:55 pm
Hey Decroded.

As always I can rely on you for the kind of criticisms that help me expand and learn more, so thanks again for your constant dedication to the forum and valuable feedback!

The intention was to have overhead lighting but it's quite soft at the moment. I've always been timid with strong directional lighting so I'll work to make it more evident.

I tend to convert to greyscale to check shading balance, I'll try messing with the hues as it seems to be reasonably balanced in greyscale on the latest iteration.

That HSP stuff is quite interesting and I think the fact that I have a variety of hues in my pallet, I'll try balancing it giving consideration to the perceived brightness of the hues as well as their actual values.

As for the banding this is something that has had me quite confused, since I am having trouble rendering any chamfered or curved surfaces such as the outside of the mask or eyesockets without it. I've read up on banding and ways to avoid it though they tend to just be tutorials abstracted from an actual piece, so it's hard to apply them to something with form.

If you know of any material that might help me understand it better or feel kind enough to do me some annotations I would be really thankful.

Cheers,

Cory.

Offline Decroded

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Re: [WIP][C&C] PAYDAY: The Heist - Masks.

Reply #3 on: July 08, 2015, 12:28:38 pm
yeah i think that's the issue in terms of colour tho i don't have any other info handy right now.
i think once u see the ratios in that formula tho and start looking in the colour picker u should see the effects?
im interested to find out coz im only recently looking at this topic.


here's a bit about banding:
http://wayofthepixel.net/index.php?topic=8110.msg92434#msg92434
http://www.pixeljoint.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=11299&PID=139322#139322

Offline cbamf

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Re: [WIP][C&C] PAYDAY: The Heist - Masks.

Reply #4 on: July 08, 2015, 01:34:21 pm
Thanks for the links, that Spelunky done does a very good job of showing fixes in use which is what I really needed to understand the benefits.

Below you'll find a quick study based on your suggestions.



I think I have taken care of most of the banding in this instance as well as given a more obvious lighting direction. I'll continue to play around with a rim light or secondary light to see what results I can get. Thanks again for the useful feedback  :crazy: