[WIP] Boss Monsters

[Lazy Brain Games]

lol. My monitor is calibrated lol. I suppose part of the reason for picking such dark colors is that I'm trying to make things a bit scary, which is hard to do if you can see all the detail on something. While I certainly haven't been been basing my choices on this pic in particular, this is the sort of super-dark/highlight effect that I'm going after...

I'm pretty sure I can't post anything other than pixel art, so here's a link to a familiar sight, one of Giger's alien designs from the Aliens movie...

http://lazybraingames.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/aliendroolhansuedigiger.jpg

[EDIT]

Here's a pic of the Nightmare King from Little Nemo, this is sort of a pixelated (and slightly brighter) example of what I'm after...



Of course there's a number of things I've done totally inconsistent with this picture, but as far as the lighting, this is what I'm aiming for. Just enough light to let the player know what they're looking at, which I think might shed some light on my color choices (bad pun intended). Is there a name for this type of lighting? Anyway, the "low exposure" effect is what will keep things a bit edgy (at least that's my thinking). I suppose I never really articulated that, but I didn't really think about it that hard 'till I saw your edit.

Thanks for that edit! That really helped me understand what the heck I've trying to do! I guess I could call this "Retro Noir" if I wanted to be gimmicky about it Not a bad idea actually. Surely there's a better way to develop a palette for something like this, what that method would be... I have no idea Somebody must of thought to do something like this in a game at some point... right?

Thanks again!

[StaticSails]

Surely there's a better way to develop a palette for something like this, what that method would be... I have no idea

Oh, and read up on stuff:
http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?topic=4306.0

Oddly enough I did show you how Arne (and the rest of the forum) developed a palette. PLEASE, read this otherwise you are honestly wasting your time here.

[Mathias]

I think Lazy is taking in some valuable pixel tech lessons here. Not just pixel stuff, but art aesthetics in general really. That's time well spent I think.

Lazy, so you're trying to make your bosses look shiny with sharp specular highlights, draping them in shadow for a little extra fear factor effect. Because I agree, leaving more in darkness can be scarier; let the mind fill in the blanks. But you're not using your highlights quite right to achieve that glistening shiny material effect. Ironically, Arne actually covers this too, in some tutorial page of his . . . somewhere. Love the Alien reference, probably my favorite monster design of all time. To improve - place very bright tiny highlights on rounded areas. Hmm, may be time for an edit. . .


[EDIT] Edit:



Enlarged surrounding black area to make darkest purple shade more visible.
I assume this'll be played fullscreen, so my edit is more like in-game. Maybe.
A few other shape/lighting enhancements made.
(click to make double-pixel like your stuff.)

[Jad]

TAG TEAM ATTACK MATHIAS *high fives and continues combo*



' U '

I seriously have nothing to say about this edit. It's very .. here and there. Some things you should disregard completely, such as the ribs. Well, not the meaty parts, but the shading and rendering of the ribs themselves, cause they're pretty horrible to be honest! One of the birth canals (yeeeeahhh) has got a blue tint to differentiate from the rest of his purple red meatiness, another doesn't, I don't know which works best.

Speculars follow the same idea that mathias presented.

Sorry for the sheer amount of pixel fudgery and AA and shit in places, I'm just overindulging ):

JUST LISTEN TO MATHIAS, basically. But take a good look at my edit too

EDIT-Just wanting to say that I'm not rendering it as efficiently and clearly as I could - I very much enjoy the fact that the color clusters not only describe form but also form unsettling shapes with unnerving colors. - the fact that what the hell you're looking at is hard to make out is a very nice element that helps create an unnerving atmosphere! The brain switches between making out forms and trying to find clues and symbols and patterns in the pixels. It's all good stuff, basically! ' D ' this is actually very inspiring for a project I'd like to undertake one day!

Also, while your pixel level isn't the highest, your creativity and designs are very nice. Be proud!

And I changed one of the colors to see better what the hell I was doing, haha, but basically I REALLY like your pallette and think it's super fun to work with. The fact that it's fundamentally broken makes for a delightfully sick feeling in everything you make with it.

[Lazy Brain Games]

Wow, thanks guys! I think I have a pretty firm grasp on what needs to happen now Now I'm hoping it at least makes sense why I chose the palette I did These are some really great edits! You both have so much more pixel skills than I do! I'm used to making all the assets for a game in 2 days, so I've never had an opportunity to really think about any this stuff. I'm really glad I've slowed down for this one, the game will be far better for it!

Both of these edits make the boss look far more scarier than before, some really great work! I'm still absorbing all the info discussed here, but it's obvious I have to go back and work on a few things One addition I'd love to make, if there's time, is to strobe the highlights when the boss is breathing fire or whatever. That ought to make for some pretty cool visuals!

Thanks again! I really appreciate you taking the time to help me out with this. With any luck I'll have a playable alpha build in a couple of days on the indie db.

[EDIT]

Sorry StaticSails, I didn't see you reply there A while back I did take a look at that thread, and the current palette I came up with is a result of that. This is a testament to my overall dumbness when it comes to color. I never intended to start another discussion about palettes, they just always seem to end up that way. I've been a bit blindsided by this whole thing Players usually tell me "great graphics!" which is nice, but everyone on these forums knows they're... less than great lol. I think what I'm lacking is a straight-ahead "How to make a 16 color palette for your game" tutorial. Can anyone recommend a book for pixel art/computer palettes?

[ChadHachey]

I don't really have any crits to add, but I came across a thread about palettes that may be of some help to you.

[Ichigo Jam]

This thread about Arne's 16 colour palette definitely worth a read if you haven't already:
http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?topic=4306.0