[C+C] [WIP] 16 bit Band Logo

[NoahCopeland44]

Okay, so I've been revising. Trying to go in a different direction because your posts and much-appreciated input.

Here some drafting I've been doing.

(original design on the left. I slapped a quick stroke for visual reference on the right image.)


Okay, so I've obviously got a long way to go. But I took a lot of what you guys said to best of my ability. I used the text tool instead of trying to shape letters from scratch and tried to give it something more fancy instead of the flaccid side-wings from the original.

-I tried to make the "F" have a beak-like falcon look, but it kinda looks stupid (especially with the stoke).
-Is the background winged circle too distracting or large?
-Does it look too "Affliction"?

What suggestions would you make from where the logo is now? Trying to figure out a direction. I really want a retro SNES title-screen type look. I wouldn't mind using dated things like cheesy gradients and stuff, because (if done tastefully) it can make look like 1991 (which is more-or-less the point).
I would like to explore the possibility of adding a thick outline to the letters like here and here
Even considering doing a slanted 3D effect like Super Metroid (here)

Again, thank you guys for be willing to help me with this!

[Johasu]

The black borders mesh the details too much.  It is entirely more readable on the left version.  Rather than take your detailing to the outside edge of your borders why don't you try taking a step inside the letters and raise them forward with a bit of highlighting or a lighter shade of blue.

In my experience black/dark borders are really not so useful unless you are trying to help the bordered item stand apart from what is behind it.  In your case they already do.  So you don't need that border.

As far as the F goes..  I think if you worked the angle a bit more and made the back of the F look more like a wing (subtle changes)  and perhaps give an eye to the Beaked portion.  These are just thoughts and may not work at all.  Worth a shot though.

[NoahCopeland44]

The black borders mesh the details too much.  It is entirely more readable on the left version.  Rather than take your detailing to the outside edge of your borders why don't you try taking a step inside the letters and raise them forward with a bit of highlighting or a lighter shade of blue.

Thanks, I tried the lighter blue thing. I like it, but I also put a black border around the lighter blue. It can work, but I need to fix the jaggedness of it all (look how jagged the "A" is).
And I gave a quick stab at shading the circle, and it looks pretty janky right now but I'll keep working.

I also haven't changed the "F" shape yet. I wanna do the wing thing with it that was suggested, so I should probably get the "F" shape in order before I move on. Again, I'm a musician not a pixel artist so anything you guys have will be a monstrous help.



Any tips or ideas?

[NoahCopeland44]

Okay, so I'm trying to improve ball in the background (see the post right above this for reference).

So, I need some critique. The shading looks dumb, but I can't figure out why it looks dumb. I tried to imagine a light source, but it didn't quite turn out. What can I do to fix this?



Thanks!

[Pix3M]

Light works in a certain way so that the shading isn't actually convincing.

But, IMO the main reason why the shading looks dumb is because it doesn't seem necessary. We can shade the ball as well as we want, but it would look out of place when the ball is supposed to have a pair of wings that are mostly just flat color.

[Luke]

One thing that sticks out right away to me is that your shades take the form of:    /    As opposed to:   )
It's not very conducive to conveying roundness.
Also, you have five different colours.  I would recommend playing with three.  Start with the middle/main colour of the sphere, fill the entire object with this colour and then chose a lighter colour and a darker colour and add them in where necessary.  After this, perhaps choose a highlight to give it a little more pop. 

Finally, a quick search on google images can provide you with a ton of really useful reference images.
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=sphere+shaded&es_sm=93&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=WnpRU83DKYPJ0AWS5IDwBQ&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1746&bih=830

[NoahCopeland44]

Light works in a certain way so that the shading isn't actually convincing.

But, IMO the main reason why the shading looks dumb is because it doesn't seem necessary. We can shade the ball as well as we want, but it would look out of place when the ball is supposed to have a pair of wings that are mostly just flat color.

Thanks for your response. The wings are flat color because they are unfinished and I haven't even touched them since I made the initially shape. So ignore the ball-shading to wing-shading relationship for now. That said, do you think the shaded circle work look dumb even in context with shaded wings? (Serious question)

One thing that sticks out right away to me is that your shades take the form of:    /    As opposed to:   )
It's not very conducive to conveying roundness.
Also, you have five different colours.  I would recommend playing with three.  Start with the middle/main colour of the sphere, fill the entire object with this colour and then chose a lighter colour and a darker colour and add them in where necessary.  After this, perhaps choose a highlight to give it a little more pop. 

Finally, a quick search on google images can provide you with a ton of really useful reference images.
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=sphere+shaded&es_sm=93&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=WnpRU83DKYPJ0AWS5IDwBQ&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1746&bih=830

Thanks. You're right, I need to make things more rounded for sure. I'll mess around with the three color approach and post the results soon.

[Luke]

Where'd you get those wings from?

[NoahCopeland44]

Okay, so I tried the three color look and wasn't happy with the results. Couldn't get it too look good, so I might be the problem.

I did, however, make the shading more ")" and less "/"  (as Luke said) and it helped it look more round. Subtle difference, but it's there.



The wings I made with the Path tool in GIMP. I plan to shade/detail those but haven't yet. I also think the bottom few wings need some work. I think I made the last wing too vertical.

[NoahCopeland44]

Update. I altered the shape of the bottom two wings to be less vertical.

If you notice, the stroke is also gone now. I don't whether or not I'll keep it.

I'm thinking of how to shade and detail the wings. How would you guys detail these bad boys?

EDIT: Looking at it now, it may not be a bad idea to do different wing shape.