Pixelation

Critique => Pixel Art => Topic started by: jmaslaki on November 07, 2016, 09:17:45 am

Title: Retro small town
Post by: jmaslaki on November 07, 2016, 09:17:45 am
Hi, I was just looking for feedback and/or how I can improve on these pieces, or in general.

(http://i.imgur.com/6h1NhRM.png)

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

Thanks for your time.
Title: Re: Retro small town
Post by: heyguy on November 07, 2016, 12:24:31 pm
A few  things you can do if you wanted to improve these would be to add shadows from things like the building, tree and sign cast by the sun. You could make it realistically (casting the shadows at an angle) or create a simple blob underneath the objects. You can add more shading to the tree trunk, sign poles, roof, etc too. One other thing you can do is create a 3D effect by showing some of the side of your building. Just all my thoughts and opinions. You might want to look at games like Mother or Earthbound for some inspiration and reference. It has a similar art style to your artwork.
Title: Re: Retro small town
Post by: MysteryMeat on November 07, 2016, 05:40:25 pm
Aye, study earthbound and mother in general! The feel is very similar! That said, the tree is VERY bottom heavy, it needs more foliage!
Title: Re: Retro small town
Post by: jmaslaki on November 08, 2016, 05:13:43 am
A few  things you can do if you wanted to improve these would be to add shadows from things like the building, tree and sign cast by the sun. You could make it realistically (casting the shadows at an angle) or create a simple blob underneath the objects. You can add more shading to the tree trunk, sign poles, roof, etc too. One other thing you can do is create a 3D effect by showing some of the side of your building. Just all my thoughts and opinions. You might want to look at games like Mother or Earthbound for some inspiration and reference. It has a similar art style to your artwork.

The thing is I can do a cabinet perspective like this

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

The problem is I can't program collision for it, since it's a game. So I try to avoid that as much as possible

As for shading, I avoided that too because I thought it ruined the style of the game, but I'll actually give that a try.

Aye, study earthbound and mother in general! The feel is very similar! That said, the tree is VERY bottom heavy, it needs more foliage!

What do you mean bottom heavy? Sorry to ask. And foilage, I'll try to fix that!

Thank you both!

Also Mother/Earthbound is my reference/inspiration already haha
Title: Re: Retro small town
Post by: MysteryMeat on November 08, 2016, 05:53:45 am
Bottomheavy means it's weighted too much towards the bottom, literally "bottom heavy." As I used it here, it means there's too much tree-trunk for that tiny bit of green on top, making it look like a stocky cotton swab! Trees tend to be "top heavy" unless they're a specific kind that isn't, so if the trunk takes up more space in the picture than the leaves it probably isn't right!
Title: Re: Retro small town
Post by: Seiseki on November 08, 2016, 09:57:11 am
I made an edit to convey some ideas.
Mostly about perspective and details.

(http://share.cherrytree.at/showfile-26313/pixel_town.png)

Title: Re: Retro small town
Post by: Runensucher on November 08, 2016, 01:38:45 pm
It was a good idea to give the house more substance with adding this grass. And I see some shades too. All together, the few changes added a lot of life.
Maybe you can think about your light source a little more. It seems to be centered. But this kind of light source will make it hard to add shades for additional objects. As far as I know it is better to place it in the upper left or right for all images you use for your game. This will add your szenes way more realistic shading. Earthbound isn't a good source for good shading. See this image for a better example of easy shades:
https://idigitaldarwin.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/final-fantasy-vi-advance-20070215044811900_640w.jpg (https://idigitaldarwin.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/final-fantasy-vi-advance-20070215044811900_640w.jpg)
The characters don't have shades at all. It's because just adding a round circle under every sprite looks, well, dumb. It's better to add a realistic shading to the static objects and the brain does the rest of the work.
Here is another picture you can think about: https://cdn03.nintendo-europe.com/media/images/06_screenshots/games_5/virtual_console_wii_u_3/wiiuvc_goldensunthelostage/WiiUVC_GoldenSunTheLostAge_02_mediaplayer_large.png (https://cdn03.nintendo-europe.com/media/images/06_screenshots/games_5/virtual_console_wii_u_3/wiiuvc_goldensunthelostage/WiiUVC_GoldenSunTheLostAge_02_mediaplayer_large.png)
In my opinion, it just looks weird.

EDIT: Haha, call me stupid. I have to learn how to use forums again.