Pixelation

Critique => Pixel Art => Topic started by: Arachne on July 01, 2007, 03:03:10 am

Title: [WIP] 16-color mockups!
Post by: Arachne on July 01, 2007, 03:03:10 am
Taking a short break from the big stuff to make some more of these. They're fairly simple, just two tiles for ground per mockup, plus one destructible ground tile and one that crumbles under pressure. Also two tiles for water and three for ladders (bones, cactuses, vines, etc), plus two tiles that just serve to add a bit more variation.

(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/newjmup4.gif) (http://www.retinaleclipse.com/rmup5.gif)

Those white bird-like things in the swamp seem a bit out of place, I guess. I meant for them to be more ghost-like.

(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/rmup6.gif) (http://www.retinaleclipse.com/rmup8.gif)

I haven't yet figured out how much I should brighten those darkest colors.

The last one is missing monsters. Any ideas? I only have some pointy icicles, and I don't think my polar bear is very interesting, so I haven't finished it.
(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/pbear.gif)

The last two still need a bit of work. The rocky tiles are giving me a bit of trouble in the first one, since I don't want it to look too busy. Just haven't gotten around to the desert mockup yet.

(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/newjmupb.gif) (http://www.retinaleclipse.com/jmup7b.gif)

I'm also making some minibosses, which are 32 x 32 pixels in size.
(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/miniboss.gif)

What do you think? ;D

Edit: The levels so far...

(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/rmupe.gif) (http://www.retinaleclipse.com/rmup4b.gif) (http://www.retinaleclipse.com/rmup5d.gif) (http://www.retinaleclipse.com/rmup6b.gif) (http://www.retinaleclipse.com/rmup8b.gif) (http://www.retinaleclipse.com/rmup7b.gif)
Title: Re: [WIP] 16-color mockups!
Post by: Zero on July 01, 2007, 03:42:24 am
Wow, so simple and yet so beautiful. Really nice work here! Great color choice.  :y:

My only crits are that the black background doesn't suit some of them, like the last two. Also, some of the enemies don't read too well.

You should make a game with these tiles, looks fun to play.
Title: Re: [WIP] 16-color mockups!
Post by: Ryumaru on July 01, 2007, 03:45:54 am
they are pretty much beautiful. why are all the bg's black though? ive always had an appreciation for this look, the restricted tiling but the individual tiles being well done technically. keeps a retro feel without looking ugly.

its good to see art from the arachne who has become so famous from the beautiful lines that people have been coloring for ages. :]
Title: Re: [WIP] 16-color mockups!
Post by: AdamAtomic on July 01, 2007, 07:27:26 am
aweosme!  i'd fade out the tips of your icicles with a pixel or two, they look a bit roundish at least on my monitor.  great stuff!
Title: Re: [WIP] 16-color mockups!
Post by: rabidbaboy on July 01, 2007, 10:10:22 am
My, these are awesome.

Those spiders look like some 16x16 spiders I've made recently, save for the legs (which gives me a good idea, composition-wise).

My favorite parts are those bones, just so much style with the orange ambient lighting.
The icicles look sharp enough to me.

Just great stuff.
Title: Re: [WIP] 16-color mockups!
Post by: Arachne on July 02, 2007, 02:00:00 am
Thanks for all the kind words :D

Well, the rocky desert was the first I made. It started out as a doodle against a black background (I think my lamp was out). When I tried to give it a blue sky, it came out looking more like an underwater scene, so I kept the black. I thought a more gloomy atmosphere would be interesting, but a sunset/sunrise could be interesting, too. I'll play around with it and see what I can come up with.

Quote from: AdamAtomic
i'd fade out the tips of your icicles with a pixel or two, they look a bit roundish at least on my monitor.
Will do. :)

Quote from: Zero
Also, some of the enemies don't read too well.
Which ones? I'm open to suggestions if you can think of enemies that would suit the levels better. :)
Title: Re: [WIP] 16-color mockups!
Post by: Zero on July 02, 2007, 02:55:24 am
Quote from: Zero
Also, some of the enemies don't read too well.
Which ones? I'm open to suggestions if you can think of enemies that would suit the levels better. :)

Mainly the white bird things and the circle thing in the middle of the first one. Although they're probably easier to read with in-game animation...
The miniboss having the same color head and shield might also be a slight problem.
Title: Re: [WIP] 16-color mockups!
Post by: Arachne on July 05, 2007, 05:45:27 pm
(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/rmup5b.gif)

Would something like this work? I think it looks odd with a strong light source like that in the background. A more gray, cloudy sky might work better. I hope I'm on the right track, at least.

(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/clouds.gif)

Quote from: Zero
Mainly the white bird things and the circle thing in the middle of the first one. Although they're probably easier to read with in-game animation...

Yeah, I got rid of the birds and made some swamp ghosts instead. Trying to avoid the ghost cliché, but I'm not sure how well that works.

The round thing there is an egg sac :D
(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/eggsac.gif)

Quote from: Zero
The miniboss having the same color head and shield might also be a slight problem.

How so?
Title: Re: [WIP] 16-color mockups!
Post by: AdamAtomic on July 05, 2007, 05:59:42 pm
That moon and clouds bit is gorgeous!!  It should really be in the upper left though, not the upper right :)  that way it will match the shading on all of your sprites and tiles...
Title: Re: [WIP] 16-color mockups!
Post by: PypeBros on July 05, 2007, 07:10:55 pm
i found them stunning from the start ... and the moon add another gorgeous (that's the word) dimension ... Make sure your character still read well on it, if you plan to have a fullscreen game ...

Maybe one little comment would be that the swamp and ice levels might benefit from an additional tile for "wall edges" to avoid such sharp transition ...
Title: Re: [WIP] 16-color mockups!
Post by: Zero on July 05, 2007, 07:31:30 pm

Quote from: Zero
The miniboss having the same color head and shield might also be a slight problem.

How so?

Just that the head and shield are the same shape and color...could cause some readability issues. I guess it wouldn't be a problem once it's animated though. I can get a bit OCD 'bout these things sometimes... :D

That moon background is amazing by the way.
Title: Re: [WIP] 16-color mockups!
Post by: Arachne on July 09, 2007, 08:17:15 pm
Quote from: AdamAtomic
It should really be in the upper left though, not the upper right Smiley  that way it will match the shading on all of your sprites and tiles...
Haha, I don't know why that didn't occur to me :-[

(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/rmupd.gif)

I decided to tone it down a bit, so that the background wouldn't be so bright compared to the tiles. Not sure if the style fits, though. I think a background like the moon and clouds would suit the snow level better.

Quote from: PypeBros
Maybe one little comment would be that the swamp and ice levels might benefit from an additional tile for "wall edges" to avoid such sharp transition ...
I'll think about it once I've finished the main tiles for all the levels. :)

Quote from: Zero
Just that the head and shield are the same shape and color...could cause some readability issues.
Do you like any of these better?

(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/miniboss2.gif)
Title: Re: [WIP] 16-color mockups!
Post by: Zero on July 09, 2007, 10:38:59 pm
Second one looks the best. Love that new background by the way.  ;D Although to be honest I think a lighter background would work better in this particular screen.

You making these into a game by any chance?
Title: Re: [WIP] 16-color mockups!
Post by: EyeCraft on July 10, 2007, 08:28:20 am
That background is lovely! However the tiles in the foreground look like they are lit by midday sun, rather than late evening. I would say the 2nd (top right) skeleton read the best.
Title: Re: [WIP] 16-color mockups!
Post by: Lee N on July 10, 2007, 10:10:23 am
So wait, are these still Arne's generic 16 colour palette? Maybe you should give him credit..

Anyway, the mockups look hot albeit a bit on the blocky side, but I take it you're going for the tiled graphics look? It works for the indoor environments, but not so much for the outdoors.. I think I would've preferred a more organic look with less completely flat surfaces and angular edges.
Title: Re: [WIP] 16-color mockups!
Post by: Faceless on July 10, 2007, 10:33:29 am
(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/miniboss2.gif)(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/miniboss.gif)

I like 5.
Title: Re: [WIP] 16-color mockups!
Post by: Xion on July 10, 2007, 10:47:04 am
(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/miniboss2.gif)(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/miniboss.gif)

I like 5.
I agree.
Title: Re: [WIP] 16-color mockups!
Post by: Arachne on July 10, 2007, 11:24:33 pm
Quote from: EyeCraft
However the tiles in the foreground look like they are lit by midday sun, rather than late evening.
I liked the contrast I got from using a dark background and bright tiles, but I see why that would look odd. I can't decide if I'd rather darken the tiles or brighten the sky, but I'll give both a shot and see what happens. :)

Quote from: Lee N
So wait, are these still Arne's generic 16 colour palette? Maybe you should give him credit..
Oh, sorry. It is indeed Arne's palette (though slightly modified). Thanks for pointing that out. :-[

Quote from: Lee N
Anyway, the mockups look hot albeit a bit on the blocky side, but I take it you're going for the tiled graphics look? It works for the indoor environments, but not so much for the outdoors.. I think I would've preferred a more organic look with less completely flat surfaces and angular edges.
Well, it's a consequence of my limiting myself to only a few tiles per level. It doesn't allow for much variation, as far as I can see. However, I'll consider adding more tiles once I've gotten more of it finished. :)
Title: Re: [WIP] 16-color mockups!
Post by: Arachne on February 21, 2008, 11:08:26 pm
I've made a bit more progress with this, so I thought I'd resurrect this thread. :)

(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/rmup5d.gif)

(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/swampbg.gif)

I added a background to the swamp level. The blocky look doesn't quite fit with the detailed background, but I think adding more tiles (corners, etc) might solve that problem. Also added a miniboss.

(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/rmup7b.gif)

And these are the sand desert tiles so far. My buzzards are purple. :huh:

The sand desert level is going to have the same problem as the rocky desert and snow level with how bright the tiles are. I'm happy with how the swamp level turned out since it has darker tiles, but I'm not sure brightening the sky more in the other levels would work very well without outlines to separate foreground from background, or a less limited palette. I figured I'd just stick with what I have now since I might have a chance of finishing something for once. It's good practice in any case.

(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/dboss.gif) (http://www.retinaleclipse.com/minis.gif)

Here's a boss and a few minibosses.

What do you think?
Title: Re: [WIP] 16-color mockups!
Post by: Feron on February 22, 2008, 10:07:53 am

What do you think?

I think i want to marry you and have awesome pixel-babies.  these are stunning!!

:lol:

Title: Re: [WIP] 16-color mockups!
Post by: surt on February 22, 2008, 10:18:30 am
Flabbergastingly good.

I really don't think the water works with the new backdrop for the mud'n'bones level. Water worked well with the old one but it seems to break too strongly from the perspective introduced in the new one.
Maybe if you flattened out the perspective some it'd work better.
Title: Re: [WIP] 16-color mockups!
Post by: vedsten on February 22, 2008, 01:18:03 pm
The tiles on that new desert one looks a tad strange, like a top-down texture plastered on a side-view tiles. The moon background pops out a tad too much considering it's.. well a background.
Other than that these are ALL kinds of awesome ~ espc. that new swamp bg.
Title: Re: [WIP] 16-color mockups!
Post by: Hyrule_SwordsMan on February 22, 2008, 02:31:50 pm
awesome work
I would fix the water on this one (http://www.retinaleclipse.com/rmup5d.gif)
Title: Re: [WIP] 16-color mockups!
Post by: TrevoriuS on February 22, 2008, 08:48:34 pm
Would you be going for some animations now.
You may need to do some more work no the desert besides that but as often there isn't really much to say about what you made as it is just wonderful.
Title: Re: [WIP] 16-color mockups!
Post by: Arachne on February 22, 2008, 11:55:36 pm
Wow, thanks a lot, you guys! :D

Water worked well with the old one but it seems to break too strongly from the perspective introduced in the new one.
Maybe if you flattened out the perspective some it'd work better.
Huh, I thought drawing the ground sloping towards the water would work, but I can see how that might be confusing.

(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/rmup5e.gif)

(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/swampbg2.gif)

Does removing the foreground help, or do I need to do something more drastic?

The tiles on that new desert one looks a tad strange, like a top-down texture plastered on a side-view tiles.
Yeah, I'll try coming up with something more horizontal. I think the snow tiles also need work since they have those horizontal bands of blue in them.

The moon background pops out a tad too much considering it's.. well a background.
I think I'll stick with mostly 4 color backgrounds from now on. Do you think I should tone down the use of stars in the first one, too?

I would fix the water on this one (http://www.retinaleclipse.com/rmup5d.gif)
Fix how, exactly?

Would you be going for some animations now.
You may need to do some more work no the desert besides that but as often there isn't really much to say about what you made as it is just wonderful.
I have animated most of the smaller enemies, just need to make them into gifs. They're very simple, with just two frames for walking and another two for dying. Most of the bigger bosses use 3 frames, so it's still not a lot. I'm still working on most of the bigger ones, but I have a few that I think I'm done with.

(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/shop.gif)
Ye shoppe.

(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/walk.gif) (http://www.retinaleclipse.com/minideath.gif) (http://www.retinaleclipse.com/spiderwalkb.gif) (http://www.retinaleclipse.com/mini2death.gif)
Various miniboss animations. I think the spider's legs still need work.

(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/bossdeatheb.gif) (http://www.retinaleclipse.com/boss2deathb.gif)
Boss death animations. :D

(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/spellfx.gif) (http://www.retinaleclipse.com/orb.gif) (http://www.retinaleclipse.com/coin.gif) (http://www.retinaleclipse.com/heart.gif)
Power-ups and such.
Title: Re: [WIP] 16-color mockups!
Post by: sharprm on February 23, 2008, 12:48:49 am
Very nice  :y:

For the skeleton miniboss - can you do more to make it look less like a two frame animation while only using 3 frames. With no restrictions, I'd suggest lifting the foot more as it comes forward and having the feet slightly offset from each other when they are fully forward (because you are viewing him from an angle). My brain mustn't've been working - great 3 frame anim, I was thinking you had 4 frames to play with for some reason.

Title: Re: [WIP] 16-color mockups!
Post by: surt on February 23, 2008, 07:16:32 am
(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/rmup5e.gif)
Fits much better methinks.
Title: Re: [WIP] 16-color mockups!
Post by: yosh64 on February 23, 2008, 10:12:03 am
hey

Sorry I haven't read much of the posts so far.

Anyhows I really like them all, and everything about them, especially the colors :).

I will have to have a closer look later, as I think I could learn lots from this :).

cyas