Pixelation
Critique => Pixel Art => Topic started by: Beefmo on March 23, 2010, 12:57:03 pm
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We'll call this technically first time poster :P
I was struck yesterday to work on a 32x32 mountain tileset for a visualiser and could really use some C&C. I should explain that the visualiser uses a construction method where blocks are seperated by floors vertically, so that every block has a floor above it, and in some instances below it aswell.
I started out with some mock tiles I whipped up and moved onto detailing and cleaning them. Thats where I've struck a dead end. I think I've lost alot of the "rock face" feel that I saw in my mockup. The ramps were a late addition last night just trying to get a feel for how they might look, just thought I'd get that one out of the way. So really I'm asking for a few extra sets of eyes to take a look and tell me what you think.
(http://i582.photobucket.com/albums/ss262/beefmo/3232mtileset.png)
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I suggest sewing together the rocks in the centre, rather than having that same, dark gray outline. Might make it more rock-face-like?
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if the lighting on the top facet of your blocks were brighter it would help to distinguish the different planes and make the blocks look more dimensional.
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(http://i582.photobucket.com/albums/ss262/beefmo/3232mtilesetest2.png)
Decided to start from the mock again, tried working on smoother vertical tile transitions (but its kind of hard when its picking random tiles), softening the center floor tile edges and removing alot of the lines on the wall block faces... but it seems I added in more on the way... still trying for the rocky look :(
Also adjusted the contrast which does seem to make it pop more, but I'm not sure if its a good thing. Maybe I took it too far, I dont really want it to stand out "too" much.
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Is this for a Dwarf Fortress visualizer?
If so, I like the current style, don't overcomplicate it or you will lose visibility and clarity.
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I remembered seeing something like this in Super Mario RPG, maybe you can get some inspiration from there.
Watch out, it's kinda big...
(http://www.spriters-resource.com/snes/smariorpg/moleville.gif)
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(http://sj.arc-nova.org/b/3232mtileset_colors.png)
This is just a quick palette edit of the first picture, but I think it can help. I'm not really sure why you went with blue, but just changing the hues, and upping the contrast can go a long way.
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Blue can work ok, just shift the top face towards cyan (which also makes it lighter) and the right faces toward violet. Also from the first version.
(http://www.ixdrive.co.uk/img/6999654c536ce6213a1eef02dd516863.png)
Tourist
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To Gil: It is for a Dwarf Fortress visualiser called Stonesense. I realise a simpler style would probably work better, but then again it just a visualiser, and I suppose that it's me making a tileset for something I would like to see. Even if it doesnt fit well I can still call this practice! Since really this is my first attempt at a tile set :-[
To buddy90: Thanks for the ref, if anything it gives me a good sense for palettes, but the constant repitition in the tiling in that is something that I really want to try to avoid.
To setz & Tourist: Honestly... I dont know why I chose blue, I just started with it mocking up, and kinda lost myself :P I'm really torn between both your palette choices. I like the warmth that setz's gives, but on the other hand I like the cold feeling of the solid rock... so I'm really not sure which way to go. I'll keep messing around with palettes tomorrow.
But for now:
(http://i582.photobucket.com/albums/ss262/beefmo/3232mtileset31.png)
One using Tourists idea for the palette and the other with setz. This was working off the second mockup and also tried to smooth off the floor tiles to try to get to a more natural look, also lost the moss for a more simplistic look. I still think the contrast between faces isnt enough.. so like i said tomorrow is palette messing day! :P
Quick Update:
(http://i582.photobucket.com/albums/ss262/beefmo/3232mtilesetnonditheredblocks.png)
Tried smoothing the colour transition and removing the dithering after some concerns were brought up about conflicting style. Also tried upping the contrast between the faces, but I think It's looking too washed out now ><
Feels like this one isn't doing what I want it to :P So fresh eyes tomorrow and I think its back to the drawing board. I think I'll really try to lose alot of the jutting stones and try for more of a smooth but still rugged look for the faces.
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HAHA, this is crazy! I made an edit but it fudged itself when I saved it, so it got lost - but your latest edit contains everything my edit had in it - more dither structure on top of the rocks/floor pieces, plus more smoothing out on the floor + some anti-banding! : D awesome.
Ah, one thing. The bright shade feels a bit too bright, ESPECIALLY on the white-gray one. ease it up a bit : D
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Didnt really have much time to work on this today, but I just went through and gave the same treatment to the floor tiles that I did to the wall blocks.
(http://i582.photobucket.com/albums/ss262/beefmo/3232mtilesetv3ish.png)
But it seems through all these edits I've completely lost my tile boundaries >< Seems like there is alot of the front face lighting showing through to the side face, and equally too much of the dark floor face is showing through to the overall top facing..... garrrr....
To Jad: That is crazy... almost TOO crazy... Unless ofcourse I'm some sort of master hacker and corrupted your save only to claim credit for myself! And if I'm reading you right, are you refering to the top faces brightness? I tried dulling it a little, but it seems if I take it even a little further it blends into the front face too much.
I think I may take it back to the mock I posted on the 23rd and see how it would look with just some "slight" texturing.
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I think you might want to have an alternate tile for the ground of cave entrances. It's extremely hard to read it right now.
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I think the floor side of these tiles comes across as a bit too busy. Especially considering how much junk ends up on the floor in a playthrough of DF. I think you'd be better off with a simpler, 2-3 colour floor tile
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To PypeBros: Sadly I cannot specify a specific tile for a cave entrance, although the dev's are working on darkening indoor tiles that would help the problem with the hidden entrances.
To crab2selout: This is where I'm finding it really hard to strike a balance, since the floor tiles have to work as edges too, I've been messing around with softening the edges in the floor tiles trying to strike a balance that masks the grid and works in all circumstances, should have another update later tonight/tomorrow morning.
And thanks for the comments all!