Pixelation
Critique => Pixel Art => Topic started by: Bhalzak on April 16, 2009, 02:45:23 pm
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I need c & c on my "work"
I work for my game and i must made field and grass (without trees,houses,ect)
this is the template
(http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/2810/tilea5.png)
and this is a preview
(http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/4315/immaginel.png)
how i can give a best effect?
(the size for any tile is 32x32)
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Not that I'm the wisest one here, but given you're working on a simpler look it actually all looks absolutely fine to me. Very cutesie. I see no obvious hurtful-on-the-eyes tiling.
Perhaps once you've added more objects to the tileset it'll be easier to tell what does and doesn't work.
If you're using a program like RPG Maker XP with 'autotiles', you may want to incorporate your darker green path tiles into it. It'll give you more room on your tileset, and will push you a little in order to make the autotile work right in all possible combinations. Plus you can then have autotiles that gradiate (if that's the right word) or merge into each other.
The other thing you could possibly do is have a small round shadow built into your sprite sheet, under the jelly.
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Thx for all,but i don't like made auto-tiles,they are too limitate.
Update! ( i've added the House and the Lake,but this don't give me water effect >-<)
(http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/7590/immagineeox.png)
And the template.
(http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/2810/tilea5.png)
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nice start, but your flowers are too obviously "square tile of flowers". Also, if you want to give the illusion of perspective, make sure you have that perspective effect everywhere, not just on large objects. A little shadow under the flower, or a few leaves that make it "pop out" will help making the whole thing fit, Otherwise, it will just give the feeling that your put a flowery wallpaper on the ground and voilą.
Since your characters are translucent blobs, you may want dark objects (like the red flower, the tree, etc.) to show through as well.
Also note that the red flower near the purple blob should remain "in front of" that blob, imho.
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I've made the shadow under the flowers o.o
Update!
(http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/8441/immagineodz.png)
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Much better, good progress on the water tiles. You might want to detail the ground under the water, at least where you would be able to see it, so maybe just around the banks. Your choice.
The house looks kind of awkward to me, can't really put my finger on it yet, though. And in one of the frames for the slime bounce, as you can see in the purple one, there is some nasty jagged lines / isolated pixels.
Still might want to break the grid a little with your various flower tiles.
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Hey now, this is lookin' stylish. It's very reminiscent of Zelda: A Link to the Past (http://zs.ffshrine.org/link-to-the-past/maps/light_world-1.png) on SNES. Trust me you want to hit my link.
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Thx a lot ^^
I've try to give more perspective effect to house
(http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/9885/besthouse.png)
(PS: any mod/admin can change the title in "Slimeworld" pls? ^^)
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Don't bother with the ground under the water I don't think, just take an axe to the outline.
I don't see much in common with Z:LttP.
The one big thing I need to point out is that good tile design demands good map design. the boring layout you've got working is going to make you tiles like two steps worse than if you were working on a more interesting map. Look to say, squaresoft games for an idea of how to not get stuck with such rigid layouts.
http://www.vgmaps.com/Atlas/SuperNES/SeikenDensetsu3(J)-HolyCityWendel.png this is a very simple village plan, but see how slight jogs and deviations give it a lot more life than just the straight lines you're playing with?
house is an improvement but needs something more to it. it feels very bland and undrawn compared to the rest...
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Thx for crits Christie.
i try to follow your advices. ^^
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I don't see much in common with Z:LttP.
Hehe, hence usage of "reminiscent" not similar. Don't worry, to call this tileset similar in merit to A Link to the Past's is an insult to me, too. No offense, Bhalzak!
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I don't see much in common with Z:LttP.
Hehe, hence usage of "reminiscent" not similar. Don't worry, to call this tileset similar in merit to A Link to the Past's is an insult to me, too. No offense, Bhalzak!
There's no need for the quality comparison even if there was more visual similarity. It's really not even really 'reminiscent' though, there are a dozen games ten times more similar to each. If anything, it's far more 'reminiscent' of Pokemon.
How does RPGMaker handle transparency nowadays? I feel like the blobs could be a *bit* more solid...
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Update!
(http://img394.imageshack.us/img394/9620/testscreen2.png)
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shoreline's nice but not really an improvement...old style had charm
house looks flatter and less integrated than ever :/
new white flowers an improvement
bush is odd...needs more integration with base while also needing to stand out better in the leaves.
can someone maybe demonstrate a bit about attractive map layouts? I'm at my university computers and lack the programs.
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Well, I wasn't sure to comment on the mapping or not, as it may have been only a test for the tiles.
But, yeah. It doesn't look natural, everything is quite stiff and square, for instance, you can make that body of water look more natural by adding some twists and turns to the silhouette. You can make the scene more organic by scattering the trees properly, rather than aligning them to the edges of the map.
Do the same with the 'details' the flowers and bushes and such, it's almost as if it's a painting itself, scatter them properly, don't, for instance, hug the tree-lines with a certain flower the whole way across, make it look realistic.
Right now you have one big square for the body of water, which is hugged by a 1-tile thick border of flat grass. You have a straight vertical line of trees down the left side, and the left and top sides of the map also lined by white and red flowers. Pretty much everything else is covered just by the little leaf things. Anyways those are just patterns I noticed.
It's a step in the right direction with the smaller tiles of the white flowers, spreading out from the edges of the map. I also think, maybe the road needs a little more attractive transitioning into the grass. And your house design there needs a bit of a thinking over.
Honestly, though it's not bad stuff, there's something about your trees that I love, although I'm not sure that they quite look like trees. And I second everything Adarias said.
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I understand the problem,but this map is a Tile-Test,i need for testing Tileset =P
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I understand the problem,but this map is a Tile-Test,i need for testing Tileset =P
I think the problem that has been said though is when you create a tileset from such a rigid level layout, the tileset suffers because it's not being made with a more creative mindset to fit the levels. If your test level is more natural and lively then the tiles themselves will reflect that when they're done.
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I don't know..
For made maps exsist a template?
I anyone can show me please...
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Quickish edit:
(http://i42.tinypic.com/291hjt3.png)
Mainly tried taking Ad... ndchristie's suggestions of making the level less rigid into consideration. My result probably isn't tile-friendly, but it's just to give you an idea. You could easily make tiles out of them. However this could be done even moreso, for example the flower layouts and such are still designed in squares rather than being more random like a natural setting would be.
Also made slight changes to the bush to make it feel like less of an orb and more of part of the level, as well as fixed the banding on the fish shadows and one side of the house.
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maybe i've understand,i must to render all homogenous and not "squared"
But the software is made in this way:
I'm don't free,i must follow the scheme of the software..
you can see in this pic
(http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/1251/testscreen.png)
The Map is formed from 32x32 Square,i must paint more Square for leave the "rigid and square effect"
I hope you comprise me..
(PS: Sorry another time,for my "very bad" English)
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Nearly every engine renders the game in tiles, which is what we're trying to say. In order to achieve something more natural you have to plan your tiles to be more natural, and a square and boring level is only hindering you in that. Imagine up a more lively level, start building, and make your tiles as you need them rather than just making your tiles and building what you can with what you made. You simply have to make more diverse tiles.
For example, here is a screenshot from Zelda: Link to the Past.
(http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/4427/zeldascreen.png)
They use tiles, but look at the dirt and the grass and swamp... it's not laid out in squares. Instead, they use their tiles to their advantage to make things more natural and round. Now, admittedly, 32x32 is large for a tile which means they won't be as flexible, but you can remedy this by making more combinations. Instead of simply having one tile for the flowers, make two or three with the flower in different positions in the tile, or with different amounts of flowers. Instead of making just one sharp corner tile for the dirt, also make a more round corner tile, and combine the two to make a more natural path. Really, this comes down to a combination of level design AND graphical design, and you can't approach both independently.
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(http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/4427/zeldascreen.png)
That's the stuff right there ain't it, christie!
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Okay,finally i've understand,i must made more combo for differentiate "graphical vision" and give it a natural effect.
Sorry,I've tried to defend me with the excuse of the "squared" tile , but you have reason all If I want to have a more natural vision, I must work more.
Probably it was only laziness ^^'
Thx to All.
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Little Update!
(http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/883/immaginem.png)
C&C
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I can't really say until I see it in an actual scene, but at this point I like your previous version much better. The newer one lacks character and the cutesy-ness that the rest of your tiles have.
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I see you're drawing some inspiration from Zelda. I think that's a fitting direction to go. You were already headed there.
We need to see the tiles at work in a tiled landscape, like you've been showing, in order to crit you.
I like that you've enlarged the detail in the new tile, though - rather than numerous tiny "waves" in the dirt/grass transition, you'll have less now. I think your grass to water transition tiles should be made the same way - less detail. More cell-shaded, just like your nifty plants.
This particular Zelda game will always be my favorite. It's nice to look at the tilesets again, with more knowledge if pixel art and tiling now:
Zelda: A Link to the Past
Light World (http://zs.ffshrine.org/link-to-the-past/maps/light_world-1.png)
Dark World (http://zs.ffshrine.org/link-to-the-past/maps/dark_world.png)
Screenshots Miscellany (http://zs.ffshrine.org/link-to-the-past/screenshots.php)
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I see you're drawing some inspiration from Zelda. I think that's a fitting direction to go. You were already headed there.
We need to see the tiles at work in a tiled landscape, like you've been showing, in order to crit you.
I like that you've enlarged the detail in the new tile, though - rather than numerous tiny "waves" in the dirt/grass transition, you'll have less now. I think your grass to water transition tiles should be made the same way - less detail. More cell-shaded, just like your nifty plants.
This particular Zelda game will always be my favorite. It's nice to look at the tilesets again, with more knowledge if pixel art and tiling now:
Zelda: A Link to the Past
Light World (http://zs.ffshrine.org/link-to-the-past/maps/light_world-1.png)
Dark World (http://zs.ffshrine.org/link-to-the-past/maps/dark_world.png)
Screenshots Miscellany (http://zs.ffshrine.org/link-to-the-past/screenshots.php)
I don't know why you keep mentioning Zelda, the style looks nothing LTTP related, imo, you should keep the old dirt tiles, the new ones might end looking like mud, IMO, you should try to stay away from patterns while tiling, for example adding a square of 3x3 tiles with only flowers or a line of same flowers, I see nature as something more random without any shape on it. The tree and the bush are in different style, you should also mess more with hue in the trees so it looks more natural, and try to give it a less plastic feeling to it by changing the shading. but still I find it nothing similar to Zelda at all.
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beware of banding! and I too think the new will look too much like mud, but i can't speak until it's in place.
Matthias - can you make any case for why you think this looks like zelda?
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(http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/851/immaginejcn.png)
I know.. if i must made all the elements for receive a critics.. but i want go slow to redesign a new tile..
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great edit, it improves upon both stylistically and just technically. Color is richer too :).
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I would stand to ditch the large shadow being cast by the grass. It's making the dirt look curved like a mound. A thick, dark edge like the screenshot seems to already do a fine job conveying that the grass is taller/thicker than the dirt.
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I've tried to made better bush
(http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/1251/testscreen.png)
But the result dosn't like a much =/
how improve this version?
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Make a case? Hehe well I could, but it wouldn't really help anything. By asserting the similarity with Zelda, I'm highlighting that itseems likes a nice bar for this style of tileset, that's really all.
Kren says make the tree less plastic, meaning that it's not realistic enough and is too cute/bulbous. Well, I say make everything like that! Again, ZELDA power, activate! Zelda's quaint and simple style is constituted by it's "plasticeness", as it's being referred to here. Check out Zelda's trees. They're just massive blobs on trunks, but they're great, the transition edge from grass to dirt is just a solid constant thick line. How "plastic".
The tileset as a whole has such gestalt, I can't get tired of looking at it. Let me define that so the thought isn't skipped by any readers here - "a configuration or pattern of elements so unified as a whole that it cannot be described merely as a sum of its parts" (Google definition).
Sorry gents, I'm not trying to go against the grain here. I honestly think this particular tileset indicates prospect to attain something like Zelda's look, I'm not saying rip it, I'm just saying use it for an example on what works.
Bhalzak, I encourage you to create your tiles/sprites for this thing in the most simple way possible. Design economy to the nth. Feature large bold objects. Avoid constant 1 pixel detail. Dithering is illegal. The world maps of Zelda speak way louder than this text. It's funny, I'm not obessed with Zelda like it must seem, I just think it's a good bar. I probably need to play more games, but that takes too much time, haha.
Your new bush is flat, but I like the direction.
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(http://img160.imageshack.us/img160/7725/screenj.png)
Update!
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Nice work. The thing that immediately pops to my notice is that the house looks very flat. It's not the door or the windows but the walls/roof.
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Wip: new home.
(http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/2598/slimhousep.png)
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Looks much less flat now, bravo :D
I didn't notice it before, but now I'm wondering where the light on the top of the door is coming from. You show it as partly 'in' the house because the base is above the base of the walls, but the top of the door seems to indicate it's stuck out somewhere. Maybe the door frame top should be darker instead of lighter?
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thx..
Edit:
(http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/2598/slimhousep.png) -> (http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/9899/newhome.png)
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You can bury the base of the door into the house a little bit like you did before. Lovely roof design, very slime-friendly.
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How do slimes open doors? ???
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Presumably the same way they locomote. Bouncing! Magic door handles that turn upon being bounced at.
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How do slimes open doors? ???
Heh with a remote :crazy:
thx..
Edit:
(http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/2598/slimhousep.png) -> (http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/9899/newhome.png)
Nice it's getting beter every time lovely color choices by the way :)
why didn't put the bush into that screen ??? hard to see does it look good in the game :-\ (sry. i'm getting lazy)
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(http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/9899/newhome.png) > (http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/8393/slimhouse.png)
a little update!
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doing great! though the bushes and flowers still look like you could play tetris with them.
most games try to break the grid with nature, not reinforce it:
(http://sdb.drshnaps.com/images/BGs/SwordOfMana.gif)
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Yeah!
I must template the flowers in "random scheme"
I must add the bush but i want to re-made to better
this is a new screen made today with the object if in my possession.
(http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/5064/testscreenf.png)
I must to follow these points:
* change the flowers/bush template in a random scheme,and not "geometrical/tetris like" [ ]
* add new objects to fill up the map
something other?