Pixelation

Critique => Pixel Art => Topic started by: RujiK on November 24, 2015, 06:45:03 pm

Title: [CC] Lots of ARPG Landscape Stuff
Post by: RujiK on November 24, 2015, 06:45:03 pm
Programmer/Pixel artist soloist here. Here is some art from my current game:

(http://i1038.photobucket.com/albums/a466/TheRujiK/TempleRujiK_zpstc379x3h.png)

(http://i1038.photobucket.com/albums/a466/TheRujiK/HouseTalk%20RujiK_zpsketgoo6g.png)

(http://i1038.photobucket.com/albums/a466/TheRujiK/Water_Test3_zpsjinmfdd0.gif)

I'm not really super-pleased with the colors anymore and I'm hoping for pointers or one of those awesome miracle edits. A completely new palette or a few tweaks are welcome ideas. I kinda want more color variation (As in grass is yellow, green, and blue instead of just green) but I also kinda want less colors (as in total colors). Maybe I've just looked at it too long but I need some trained eyes.

Also any other feedback is appreciated. Thanks
Title: Re: [CC] Lots of ARPG Landscape Stuff
Post by: Pusty on November 24, 2015, 08:20:34 pm
Well I like these colors , they look very foggy and swampy

But anyways, looks very good! I really like the water and plants!
Title: Re: [CC] Lots of ARPG Landscape Stuff
Post by: RujiK on November 25, 2015, 05:35:57 pm
Thanks Pusty! ..But I'm still not sure I am content so I tried an extreme makeover using Dawnbringers color palette.

(http://i1038.photobucket.com/albums/a466/TheRujiK/ColorComparison_zps7amabx4m.png)

(Top is still pretty WIP. Done in a few hours.)

They're SUPER different, but is one better than the other, or should I maybe combine them? If you prefer one to the other, how strongly do you prefer it?
Title: Re: [CC] Lots of ARPG Landscape Stuff
Post by: coldmage on November 25, 2015, 06:17:57 pm
Personally, I like the milder colors more,BUT I think it would be better if you made it a tad less mild, especially on the character.
Title: Re: [CC] Lots of ARPG Landscape Stuff
Post by: eishiya on November 25, 2015, 06:30:41 pm
I'm with coldmage. I think more subtle colours suit your style of detail more, you just need to tweak them a little.
Since you want more hue variation but fewer colours, maybe the "solution" is to be smart with your hue-shifting, which might lead to more reusable colours.
Title: Re: [CC] Lots of ARPG Landscape Stuff
Post by: Decroded on November 25, 2015, 11:01:36 pm
original style of colours give a nice atmosphere and also more unique which is important.
then change the (golem?) sprite to use stronger colours so it pops out a bit.
Title: Re: [CC] Lots of ARPG Landscape Stuff
Post by: Glak on November 26, 2015, 02:43:18 am
The original colors are definitely better.  I especially like how your grass is very mild.

Dawnbringer's palette isn't really designed for this kind of art.  It is designed for much darker art (using lots of black) and thus is better suited to games that don't have a lot of grass (such as side-scrollers).
Title: Re: [CC] Lots of ARPG Landscape Stuff
Post by: wzl on November 26, 2015, 06:33:45 am
Here are my thoughts:
Your palette seems much more connected, everything seems to rest in the same world. I think the contrast could be a little higher but that's a personal thing.
With the DB palette everything looks more pronounced individually, but it does look like each prop was made individually as well without regard to the rest of it.

Also i didnt realise the golem at all until decroded mentioned it
Title: Re: [CC] Lots of ARPG Landscape Stuff
Post by: Decroded on November 26, 2015, 08:08:31 am
Also i didnt realise the golem at all until decroded mentioned it
haha yeah hence in projects like this its generally good for sprites to pretty much use a different palette from the background (not that I personally worry about "palettes" much I just keep the count down).

I think tiles can use some slightly increased contrast but I think this should be done selectively and for reasons such as helping define planes and solids against each other.
I didn't mention earlier because the tiles are actually quite noisy as we see in DB palette, but subdued contrast hides this well (as well as nice atmosphere).
Title: Re: [CC] Lots of ARPG Landscape Stuff
Post by: RujiK on November 30, 2015, 02:20:42 pm
Thanks for the advice guys. As suggested, I'll Stick with the original colors BUT with a slight contrast increase.

Could I get some tips for the player dude? Like how to make him looks LESS like a golem? It's supposed to be a person. Here he is up close.

(http://i1038.photobucket.com/albums/a466/TheRujiK/walkanimation_zpsk0j0ny25.gif)
Title: Re: [CC] Lots of ARPG Landscape Stuff
Post by: eishiya on November 30, 2015, 04:20:37 pm
He looks like a golem because he's very green-tinted, he looks like he's about the same colour as the sand. Make his skin colour warmer. His head spinning in circles in the first gif didn't help him look human, either xP

Is he going to be naked in the final game? If not, then work on the clothing before you worry about the colours. The clothing will likely greatly change the readability, and you will likely need to change the skin colour again afterwards to look good with the clothing anyway.
Title: Re: [CC] Lots of ARPG Landscape Stuff
Post by: Decroded on November 30, 2015, 10:30:33 pm
I would edit if I could (can't get to a computer  :'() but its not a bad looking golem by the way haha.
perhaps one u make it a human looking sprite u can scale this guy taller and tweak colours and u have a golem u can summon hehe.

re the human maybe tell us a bit about his character and his place in the world etc.
usually there is something interesting about a character that drives the design.
I still find generic adventurer/rogue characters interesting even.
Also helps to know if there's much combat in the game because this may affect the kind of poses he might take e.g. feet apart, knees bent ready to strike...
Title: Re: [CC] Lots of ARPG Landscape Stuff
Post by: NaCl on December 08, 2015, 02:17:21 am
Your initial colors look good, but I'd definitely think about what kind of atmosphere you're trying to create for this game. The current colors are very gentle and soft and peaceful. Which is cool. But from your edit it looks like you want something with more contrast. So I tried to make the colors a little more lively, without destroying the atmosphere they create.

(http://i.imgur.com/X5Rpq9k.png)

Theres also an unfortunate amount of stray colors everywhere. I think you would have a lot better control of the palette if you merged colors that are nearly indistinguishable.
Title: Re: [CC] Lots of ARPG Landscape Stuff
Post by: jams0988 on December 08, 2015, 09:12:13 am
Nice edit, Salt. =)
Title: Re: [CC] Lots of ARPG Landscape Stuff
Post by: RujiK on December 11, 2015, 03:01:04 pm
Salt man that is a nice edit! I gave it a whirl and came out with this. The old version looks really muddy when compared side by side.

(http://i1038.photobucket.com/albums/a466/TheRujiK/colorcompare2_zps563d8w8p.png)

I kinda like your edit better though... especially the light green grass. I think mine might be too green. Probably needs more tweaking...

As for the extra colors, many of them are due to alpha blending. Every tile blends with every other tile so some alpha is needed to smooth things out. Also shadows add more colors since they just use a black overlay.


Thoughts on new color scheme?
Title: Re: [CC] Lots of ARPG Landscape Stuff
Post by: eishiya on December 11, 2015, 05:32:31 pm
The tile-blending explains the... odd appearance, then! Why not make transition tiles? Using cross-fading doesn't help you eliminate the blocky, obvious boundaries between different terrain tiles, so it's about as good as just putting tiles right next to each other with no blending, the only benefit is it's not quite as harsh. I think if your goal is to avoid a harsh blocky look, you should put in the time to make transition tiles that help break up the blockiness. If you're smart about it, you can make tiles that can serve as transitions between several different terrain types instead of making transitions for every terrain pair. Another alternative is to use two layers for the background: a base layer, and a transition layer made up of overlap tiles that create transitions by overlapping the tiles beneath them (with no blending effects, just strict transparency). Then you can have your vertical elements on top of that.

Your various vertical elements also appear to cast shadows in two different directions.
Title: Re: [CC] Lots of ARPG Landscape Stuff
Post by: Friend on December 11, 2015, 07:03:56 pm
salt's edit is amazing!!!!

btw, i thought your DB palette edit looked delicious.  I think it's just up to you.  take this in the direction you want