[C&C] [WIP] RPG Tiles

[BoodyA]

Hi  haven't been on for quite a time, right now I can use all the help I can get from such talented artists like you guys , I am trying my best to imitate the building shown below into 2D, but I am failing badly , Iv been awake several days continuously with no success here is the ref photo and a mock up of my tiles , you will find some tile errors that is because I haven't taken the time to make connecting parts for it since I wasn't satisfied.

[Seiseki]

You need to create depth by having darker areas and shadows.



This edit is super rough, but you can clearly see how the depth changes.

[BoodyA]

oh my god  thanks for pointing that out I ccan see drastic changes with that , amazing! althought that gives me about 7/10 to fix it I still feel the tiles them selfs are made wrong idk why , but I will def try and give it more depth and post an update

[Seiseki]

Maybe you could try not making everything line up, which makes it look very square.



Shadows also help, I tried but I'm kinda bad at it..

Looking at the reference again, the house barely has a straight plank/beam. You could vary the thickness and make them more rough.
The roof tiles are also very shoddy in variable sizes and not as neatly and evenly aligned as yours.

[BoodyA]

Ah your edit is spectacular!! , I tried my best to add what you've pointed out and here is my result, still not quite finished or 100% satisfied yet! but that means I'am learning and I am thankful for that! thanks alot @Seiseki



still open for critique I want this to look better

[Decroded]

y r some bricks missing from the base?

i think u still have more to learn from Seiseki's edit.
stronger shadows for example.
and ur highlights have achieved an unintended rounded effect where Seiseki's intent was to create stronger contrast between the horizontal and vertical planes.

the reference also has more character because has interestingly exaggerated curves, more depth e.g. roof overhangs the base much more casting more shadows, nice tattered thatching...

in pixel art u can often just scale things up a little bit to add character, like u could have a few less tiles making each one slightly larger to give u more real estate.

[Ryumaru]

Hey bloody, we don't allow double posting here without considerable content update. If you have a smaller update or a new question, you can edit your latest post and it will say " new" next to your topic without bumping it. Don't steal all the attention from everybody else!

Great critique in here, and great improvement from you so far.

There is definitely more you can do to get the same 'character' as in the concept piece. Here are some examples from sword of mana ( sorry for the blurry images) that show the more organic approach to architecture. Just because your assets are composed of tiles, doesn't mean they have to look that way.

[BoodyA]

@Ryumaru , Iam really sorry for the inconvenience I caused won't happen again , also thanks alot for the help provided I get what you ment , although I did start on an edit before reading your post , I hope you can give some critique on that , and any one else interested in giving his/her own critique,

here's what I've got so far

[PixelPiledriver]

Yo dood.
Since you asked for my help thru pm here's some thoughts and an edit.
Some forewarning, I don't know anything about architecture construction.
And I have very little experience doing tile work.



There isn't a lot of visual control or flow.
The level of rendering feels very even across all areas.
You have pixels almost EVERYWHERE  asking for my eyeballs attention.
The widespread high contrast also adds to that.
Unimportant parts of the house are very prominent and don't help me understand where to go or what to do.
My brain is weird, but I feel like I'm looking at something like this:
http://www.bocamuseum.org/clientuploads/EXHIBITION_IMAGES/EscherConvex_and_ConcaveLR.jpg
I cant really make sense of the house as a whole.

I have a really hard time connecting with your house on a human level.
Someone lives there I guess, but it doesn't really feel like it.
The context of a game will drive me to go in every house in search of people to talk to or quest etc.
However, try to use the art to draw the player to the house visually as well as functionally.

The house also needs to be within an environment.
I've drawn some small things around the house to hint at a setting.
Don't get too caught up in creating objects all by themselves.
Build up the structure and mood of the area together.

My edit is pretty sloppy but might give you some ideas.
Try giving some more attention to appeal and composition rather than just building a house.
And also do what you think is best, even if it goes against some or all of what I've said.

[BoodyA]

Aha I see what you mean , well I made this before checking your post I guess ill have to add more tiles for my mock up thanks alot for the effort pixel! <3

[Decroded]

The perspective of those tiles is off and the roof should extend further vertically.

[BoodyA]

Extend as in over the wall vertically or upwards? , because if your talking upwards I was just testing the tiles my bad

[Decroded]

here's a quick edit of some things that were bugging me...


using all those lines in ur gradients isn't doing u any favours imo they'yre ugly and outdated.

only did a small section of roof tiles to show the perspective change u need.
a few other perspective bugs still present if u spot other examples i fixed where some wood beams just looked like cardboard.
the bricks at the bottom for example the whole section makes no geometrical sense if the bricks are supposed to touch the ground.

[LisandraTD]

I think it would look really cool if you could mess the roof as in the refence. Unless it isnt you intantion.
And if you look closely the window above the door is a bit smaller, because there is the wood from the structure and the wood from the window itself.
Right now I dont have how to edit it, so I couldn't show you what I mean.