AuthorTopic: GR#096 - 32x32 RPG Tiles  (Read 37427 times)

Offline Sharm

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GR#096 - 32x32 RPG Tiles

on: November 06, 2011, 09:48:29 pm
I've been working on some RPG tiles for a while in an attempt to level up my pixel skills, and I think I've got it to the point where I could use some critique.



I've done the tiles up like RPG maker's auto tiles, since that seemed like the clearest way to figure out what had to connect where, but I'm not sure I've grasped the concept.  Things still aren't lining up, and they all look too square.



The bases are the most unfinished.



I can already see some errors that I need to fix, but I'd love to hear what everyone else has to say.

EDIT: Here's the latest stuff





« Last Edit: February 17, 2014, 04:51:21 am by Sharm »

Offline JJ Naas

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Re: [WIP] 32x32 RPG tiles C+C

Reply #1 on: November 07, 2011, 07:22:15 am
I really like the shapes. The sand, the ground and the foliage look great. I thought the colours could use some tweaking.. more saturation, more contrast:



Some interesting hue shifts would be nice as well. If you were able to include shadows then they'd make a huge difference. I edited the bottom half of the foliage and the trunk a little..

Offline Sharm

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Re: [WIP] 32x32 RPG tiles C+C

Reply #2 on: November 07, 2011, 06:55:53 pm
What a great edit, thank you!  I hope you don't mind that I took the colors almost exactly.  I have a tendancy to make things either too grey or too saturated when I pick colors.  Everything looks more inviting now.

Here's what I did with the edit, plus fixing some tiling errors:



I also updated the bases:

« Last Edit: February 17, 2014, 04:51:37 am by Sharm »

Offline milleja46

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Re: [WIP] 32x32 RPG tiles C+C

Reply #3 on: November 07, 2011, 07:21:06 pm
Wow that's some great work...i gotta hand it to you  ;) (if only i could learn to do stuff that good :P my stuff needs serious help XD)

Offline Sharm

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Re: [WIP] 32x32 RPG tiles C+C

Reply #4 on: November 08, 2011, 12:21:36 am
Thank you!  I've been lurking and studying stuff for a while to try and pick up how others do it, I'm glad to know I've succeeded somewhat.

EDIT:  I'm attempting animation.
« Last Edit: February 17, 2014, 04:51:48 am by Sharm »

Offline PypeBros

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Re: [WIP] 32x32 RPG tiles C+C

Reply #5 on: November 08, 2011, 09:34:01 am
I think there's something wrong with the back-view of your character... Seeing so much of the neck suggest that the character's head is strongly bended downwards. that just kills the 3/4 perspective effect, imho.

I really love the environment, especially with the newer colours. Pay attention to the tree-to-ground transition and don't hesitate to make it a floor tile of its own so that cracks in the ground match the location of roots. It works better on the later mock-up, but Imho, there's still room for improvement. Something similar happens to sand-to-ground transition: you need to seriously lower the "dunes" effect at the edges so that we can reasonably believe that it's some sand that has moved up to the forest. Maybe these dune floor tiles should simply never be seen on the same screen as the other ground, and you'd better just have "sand dust over woods floor" instead.

Offline Sharm

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Re: [WIP] 32x32 RPG tiles C+C

Reply #6 on: November 09, 2011, 05:53:38 pm
The back view was bugging me too, and I couldn't figure out how to fix it at first.  I think I've got it now.



I don't like the idea of a tile specifically for the bottom of the tree, I'd rather fix the tree to blend better with more tiles if there's still something wrong.  Still, I did do a couple of tiles just to test it out, see if you like it better.  I don't like it at all, I think I'd rather just make sure it's always on top of a loose dirt tile.

The edges on the loose dirt were way too sloppy, that's probably what's causing weirdness with the sand tile.  I went back and did it again, made it more on purpose.  I don't know if it fixed the volume problems, but I do like it a lot more.

« Last Edit: February 17, 2014, 04:52:05 am by Sharm »

Offline JJ Naas

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Re: [WIP] 32x32 RPG tiles C+C

Reply #7 on: November 10, 2011, 02:57:34 pm
Regarding the edges of the dirt, this is how I'd do it:



(And then clean up the jaggies.)

Offline Sharm

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Re: [WIP] 32x32 RPG tiles C+C

Reply #8 on: November 10, 2011, 05:49:55 pm
Okay, dirt tiles on top of sand isn't working.  That's fine, I was just experimenting anyway.  The sand transition didn't look as good over the loose dirt because sand flows differently over something like that, so I was trying to see if using the dirt transition on top instead would make it look more realistic. The sand seems to be working on the dry dirt though, so I'm going to call it good.  I'm going to start a desert mock up soon, so that this one can be pure forest.



I've added water tiles.  I was hoping to do the center plain so the sparkle could be a separate layer and placed wherever, but it's not looking so good.
« Last Edit: February 17, 2014, 04:52:14 am by Sharm »

Offline milleja46

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Re: [WIP] 32x32 RPG tiles C+C

Reply #9 on: November 10, 2011, 06:35:33 pm
I still say your tiles you're making are amazing there's not a thing i would change XD though it does remind me very much so of mana world(which i can't go back to playing now XD) But you've got some good work there  ::)

Offline Wes

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Re: [WIP] 32x32 RPG tiles C+C

Reply #10 on: November 10, 2011, 07:55:43 pm
I love that dirt tile, man (i'm gonna use that for ideas with some ground tiles of my own that i've been stuck with if that's cool with you). And that water looks great—where the dirt and the water connect really works—it looks like a muddy little stream. Sweet job there. Are you gonna post an animation of the water? I'd like to see it in action.

There's something about your greenery that bugs me, though. The grass and the trees—both of them have a kind of sharpness that could work on its own, but doesn't fit in with the solid ground tiles. Maybe it's in the colors. The grass in particular: it tiles nicely but it doesn't seem to blend tonally with the other ground tiles. I have the same problem with the tree trunks—they seem really sharp. normally i'm all over high contrast, and i think what you have is good, but if you can blend them just a little bit more it would match the floor more.

i guess that's the thesis of my criticism: your grass and trees don't blend into the ground as nicely as the ground and water blend into each other. the result is a kind of jarring mishmash.  can you try re-using come of the colors on the trees?

Offline PypeBros

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Re: [WIP] 32x32 RPG tiles C+C

Reply #11 on: November 10, 2011, 09:04:38 pm
The back view was bugging me too, and I couldn't figure out how to fix it at first.  I think I've got it now.
I'd even go further, based on your edit:


I also made a try to edit the tree/ground transition


You made a wise choice with the water, by keeping the natural "structure" of your ground tile. That inspired me and I basically started by "removing" any "ground plate" under the tree so that it becomes a large, flat darker area that ends at the edge of other "plates". Then I adjusted a little bit the roots so that they point towards the corners between plates. Some more greens around the trunk would for sure make it more realistic: roots of a tree provide a protected area that's the eden for a lot of smaller plants.
« Last Edit: November 10, 2011, 09:18:37 pm by PypeBros »

Offline Sharm

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Re: [WIP] 32x32 RPG tiles C+C

Reply #12 on: November 10, 2011, 09:58:23 pm
I've attempted a more unified pallet like Wes suggested.  I'm liking the change, but I worry that now there isn't enough yellow in the image.



I also went further with the neck shading on the back view.



I need to think a little more on the transition tile for the tree.  If I'm going to do something like that, I want it to be a part of the tree root image, not an extra tile, and I'd like the tree to work on other tiles.  For example, if I put some green around the tree, it'll look really weird on top of the snow tile I'll be doing later.

Edit:



He no longer stomps.  If this looks good, I'll start detailing him.
« Last Edit: February 17, 2014, 04:52:34 am by Sharm »

Offline jams0988

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Re: [WIP] 32x32 RPG tiles C+C

Reply #13 on: November 10, 2011, 11:22:27 pm
Quote
I need to think a little more on the transition tile for the tree.  If I'm going to do something like that, I want it to be a part of the tree root image, not an extra tile, and I'd like the tree to work on other tiles.  For example, if I put some green around the tree, it'll look really weird on top of the snow tile I'll be doing later.
Why don't you want to make a separate ground tile image? If there's no special reason why, besides trying to save some time, I think you might be better off just making a ground tile for it...there can't be too many different types of ground you'll be having that tree grow out of, anyway, and you might end up having a hard time making something that looks good no matter where you put it. It might just be easier to make the different ground tiles, I think.

I like the set you have going though. It's improved so much over the last few days! Starting to look pretty cool. =)

For your guy, I still think the animation is a little weird...not sure if I'd start detailing yet. It still looks like he's...not stomping, but power-walking? Our walk has evolved to use the least amount of effort possible...our feet barely leave the ground when we're walking, but your guy's feet are coming up almost to his knees still. He keeps his elbows crooked, too, which also adds to the effect that he's kind of walking heavily.
« Last Edit: November 10, 2011, 11:26:01 pm by jams0988 »

Offline Wes

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Re: [WIP] 32x32 RPG tiles C+C

Reply #14 on: November 10, 2011, 11:41:34 pm
Yeah, it's the arms that make it look like he's marching or powerwalking. In a regular walk, they should be straighter, more of a hang-and-swing from gravity.

Offline milleja46

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Re: [WIP] 32x32 RPG tiles C+C

Reply #15 on: November 11, 2011, 12:07:46 am
I've also noticed something else the legs....i don't know why but they seem to be more twig/drumstick like than legs... i don't know why but i noticed it XD

Offline Sharm

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Re: [WIP] 32x32 RPG tiles C+C

Reply #16 on: November 29, 2011, 09:30:50 pm
Had to go MIA for a while, this will be common.  I still read all the comments and very much appreciate them. 

@jams0988 I could be getting stubborn for no good reason, I'll admit.  It just seems inefficient to me and like it'd be annoying to code.  So far I have 2 dirt tiles and a grass tile that it needs to interact with.  I've partially done another grass tile, a dead leaves tile and I'd like to add a few snow tiles and possibly a sandy dirt tile.  It's not that I'm afraid of the work, it just seems contrary to the point of pixel art.  I did do a transition tile for the dry dirt plus I looked carefully at the edit, neither one really made a worthwhile difference.  Maybe your monitor is a lot brighter than mine.

Thanks for the pointers on the walking.  I find animation very intimidating, if it looks like it's moving and not just jittering about it feels like a huge accomplishment.  I've spent a lot of time trying to focus on the arms and just get the swing right but it just keeps looking wrong.  I bet if keep going at it I'll figure it out, but I need a break.  Here's what I have so far.  Since it's a guy's walk I tried to make the shoulders move, but it might be too much at that size.


I've starting working on buildings.  Here's a quick mockup.  I haven't finished with the tall grass tile yet, it has no edge tiles so I just mimicked them until I'm done with them.


Thanks for all the comments and help.  I feel like a beginner still, so it's good to know you enjoy what I've got so far.
« Last Edit: February 17, 2014, 04:52:54 am by Sharm »

Offline PypeBros

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Re: [WIP] 32x32 RPG tiles C+C

Reply #17 on: November 30, 2011, 09:26:07 am
aren't those arms a little short ? the animation is otherwise fluid and nice, I think. Maybe just take care of that "sudden jump" of he right feet when it's leaving the ground.

The house looks nice so far. Maybe a little bit too perfectly square-ish for a house in a forest (you could try to have larger stones just at the base, or a slightly larger tile at the edge of the roof). Of course, it will look better integrated as soon as you'll have grass/small flowers that grow nexto the base of the house ;)

Keep going. It's lovely.

Offline Sharm

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Re: [WIP] 32x32 RPG tiles C+C

Reply #18 on: November 30, 2011, 04:39:14 pm
You're right, it is all too neat.  I'm going to replace the roof with thatch and use that roof for a city tileset or something.  Maybe a few diagonal beams on walls will help the walls.  Hmm, the doors and windows could use a bit more charm.

Maybe the arm length is what's bugging me about the animation.  I'll have to try it when I tone down the shoulder movement.

Looks like I've got my work cut out for me today, if I can manage it. :lol:

Offline jams0988

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Re: [WIP] 32x32 RPG tiles C+C

Reply #19 on: November 30, 2011, 04:53:53 pm
Walk cycle's looking better, but still needs a little work, mostly in the arms. When people walk, they exert strength through their forearms...when moving the arm forward, the hand is kind of leading. The shoulders don't really move back and forth like you've animated them, either. The upper arm just pivots from the shoulders when moving backwards...when moving forward, the  upper arm stops pivoting from the shoulder when the upper arm is pointing basically straight down...the rest of the forward movement of the arm is taken over by the forearm...

It's pretty hard to explain in text, hahah. Basically, right now it looks like you're guy is just wiggling his shoulders back and forth, while he lets his arms limply bounce around. The hands lead going forward, and the elbow leads going back. Try walking in slow motion to see it yourself, and then try copying your animation with your body, to see how different it feels. I'm not much of an animator, but when I draw or animate things, I find it very helpful to slowly act out what I'm doing until I understand the motion I'm trying to copy.

Good luck! Walk cycles aren't easy, so you're doing a great job. With a little more work, I think you'll have it looking great. =D
« Last Edit: November 30, 2011, 05:00:35 pm by jams0988 »

Offline Helm

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Re: [WIP] 32x32 RPG tiles C+C

Reply #20 on: November 30, 2011, 05:44:24 pm
I'm no animation expert, but just centering the figure with the head as a node made some difference, I think
centered - original
-

Offline Facet

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Re: [WIP] 32x32 RPG tiles C+C

Reply #21 on: December 01, 2011, 07:22:50 pm
Hi Sharm, you've obviously put a lot of effort into these tiles and it shows  :), lovely polish on the trees and dirt tiles. Everything here is quite conventional but no less pretty for it.

Some stuff you could improve on -

The water is a very odd colour at the moment and the sparkling animation pretty rudimentary. Think about what a stream might look like in this situation in a photograph. Given the brightness of the scene and also the perspective, a slow-moving stream would be reflective and therefore take on the blue of the sky.

The grass looks more like wallpaper presently; there's no real attempt at shading. Treat it more like you have the foliage and It'd look miles better.

More minor stuff; no foreshortening or overlap on the bare tree making it look flat, try to limit the amount of distracting detail in your shadows and a greater variety of foliage (small trees, flowers etc.) would be nice. :D

I've loosely painted on most of my suggestions here.



Also thatch would looks lovely here :P



Offline Sharm

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Re: [WIP] 32x32 RPG tiles C+C

Reply #22 on: December 01, 2011, 10:07:02 pm
Wow, I've got lots and lots of work to do, I guess I'll just have to work on it one critique at a time.  This is why I love coming here, nobody lets me rest on my laurels!  ;D  Yesterday and today I did the thatch and added some details on the house.  If anyone has suggestions on how to make the stucco look more like stucco without making it look over processed, I'd like to hear it.



jams0988: I'll be working on that arm movement soon, but before I did, I wanted to mention that as a girl I can't really use myself as a reference for a guy's walk.  However, I did specifically watch a lot of guys walking yesterday and paid careful attention to the way their arms and shoulders moved (the shoulders do move, BTW) and I've got a great photo reference I'll be using too.  Hopefully I'll be able to address all your concerns.

Helm: I don't know how I missed that.  Thank you.

Facet: That's beautiful, thanks for the edit.  I'll try to take what I can from it, though I do admit I don't have a clue how I would make the grass, shadows or water tile efficiently.  I've been looking at your edit from the chip16 thread for ideas on how to do the grass.  Do you know of any examples of what you'd be going for as an alternative to wallpaper grass?
« Last Edit: February 17, 2014, 04:53:16 am by Sharm »

Offline Sharm

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Re: [WIP] 32x32 RPG tiles C+C

Reply #23 on: December 01, 2011, 11:28:42 pm
Updated animation

I was more sick than I realized when I did the arm animation the first time, this is way better and wasn't as hard to do.  There's some oddness with the shading that makes it look all noodley at the forearms, but I want to do flowers now.
« Last Edit: February 17, 2014, 04:53:29 am by Sharm »

Offline Facet

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Re: [WIP] 32x32 RPG tiles C+C

Reply #24 on: December 02, 2011, 12:24:06 am
The animation's nice & smooth, I'll let someone better informed critique but I will say that we all walk pretty much the same, with certain nuances.

Mocking-up nice looking stuff is a lot easier than trying to figure out nice tiling :D, It's bound to be hard work without templates and will doubtless necessitate a certain amount of trial & error but give it a go and you'll definitely 'level up' somewhat, whatever the result. :P

My quick attempt at grass was in the bottom left of the edit, although it did end up quite voluminous. I'd try and find a different solution than what Chris is doing in the other thread.

Salient points for the grass -

  • Less contrast in order to keep it in the background.
  • Indicate different heights with patches of light and shade including areas of overlap between mounds/clumps
  • More variety (alternate tiles) in general

I can't think of any specific examples for the grass but have a look at Nathan Christie's PJ Gallery for smart foliage.
http://www.pixeljoint.com/p/3171.htm

Looking forward to the flowers. :)




 

« Last Edit: December 02, 2011, 12:28:33 am by Facet »

Offline jams0988

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Re: [WIP] 32x32 RPG tiles C+C

Reply #25 on: December 02, 2011, 06:01:22 am
"(the shoulders do move, BTW)" ---> takes out the shoulder movement I was talking about.
Well, whatever. Either way, it's looking much better now, hahah. Good work. =)

Also, I like your original water more than Facet's....even though Facet's looks nice, I think it clashes a bit with the rest of your set. It might be mostly the color...it looks a bit too bright and saturated to me. I pushed the colors in Facet's edit more towards something like you had in your original water:

*Shrug* I dunno, to me, it feels like it fits better with the tile set's atmosphere. I imagined it as kind of a dark bog/forested area, though, so Facet's edit might be closer to what you want, depending on what you're trying to do with the set. I *still* like your original water the best, though, even with the color changes. Your water just looks so muddy and murky! Plus, your stream is being viewed from a pretty high angle, so I don't think it'd be all that reflective. From what I know, the closer you get to viewing water from a 90 degree angle, the more you can see through it. The lower the angle you view it at, the more reflective it looks. I'm no water/math/physics expert, but I always imagined this is because light hitting water head on at a 90 degree angle has a higher chance of piercing the water (thus, hitting the dirt at the bottom of your stream before bouncing back into your eyes) whereas light hitting the water at steeper angles will ricochet off of it more, making the water look more reflective.

I have no idea if my "science" is correct, but that's how it's always seemed to me, heheh!
« Last Edit: December 02, 2011, 06:16:10 am by jams0988 »

Offline Sharm

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Re: [WIP] 32x32 RPG tiles C+C

Reply #26 on: December 02, 2011, 07:30:59 am
Yeah, I'm a hypocrite.   :-[  I took out the front back motion because I realized it happened more with heavier guys, my guy here isn't big enough.  The up down is there though.

I was going for muddy water with my stream, though Facet's probably right that I need more reflection than that.  I've got an idea for something that might work as a compromise, I'll try to work on it tomorrow and put it up with additional greenery.

Facet, I checked out the link and found what I think you were talking about.  It's no wonder you like that tile set, there are at least 8 different tiles all for things that could be considered grass!  That's not really what I was going for here, I'd like something that uses at most 3 center tiles that can all use the same edge, otherwise I'll never be done with it.  I'll have to do some thinking for a while, see if I can figure out a way to make it look more organic without sacrificing functionality.
« Last Edit: December 02, 2011, 07:40:41 am by Sharm »

Offline Helm

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Re: [WIP] 32x32 RPG tiles C+C

Reply #27 on: December 02, 2011, 08:57:27 am
again, not an animation expert but please consider a 'pendulum motion' for the arm. Right now you've got it moving from idle-pose arm-at-sides to an extension that seems almost as if he wants to pick something up at crotch-height. Look at people walking again and you'll note that the arms have a pretty even pendulum motion without a *lot* of lift at the extremes.

Offline ErekT

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Re: [WIP] 32x32 RPG tiles C+C

Reply #28 on: December 02, 2011, 12:13:13 pm
Quote
I wanted to mention that as a girl I can't really use myself as a reference for a guy's walk.

Sure you can. I use Jams0988's approach all the time; for fat people, skinny people, men, women, children, even animals. Think of animation as a kind of acting. Imagine you are whatever it is you want to animate. Try to feel their personality and act out the way you feel it would be natural for them to move, either in front of a mirror or in your head.

Offline Arachne

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Re: [WIP] 32x32 RPG tiles C+C

Reply #29 on: December 02, 2011, 09:56:47 pm
"(the shoulders do move, BTW)" ---> takes out the shoulder movement I was talking about.
Well, whatever. Either way, it's looking much better now, hahah. Good work. =)

Also, I like your original water more than Facet's....even though Facet's looks nice, I think it clashes a bit with the rest of your set. It might be mostly the color...it looks a bit too bright and saturated to me. I pushed the colors in Facet's edit more towards something like you had in your original water:

*Shrug* I dunno, to me, it feels like it fits better with the tile set's atmosphere. I imagined it as kind of a dark bog/forested area, though, so Facet's edit might be closer to what you want, depending on what you're trying to do with the set. I *still* like your original water the best, though, even with the color changes. Your water just looks so muddy and murky! Plus, your stream is being viewed from a pretty high angle, so I don't think it'd be all that reflective. From what I know, the closer you get to viewing water from a 90 degree angle, the more you can see through it. The lower the angle you view it at, the more reflective it looks. I'm no water/math/physics expert, but I always imagined this is because light hitting water head on at a 90 degree angle has a higher chance of piercing the water (thus, hitting the dirt at the bottom of your stream before bouncing back into your eyes) whereas light hitting the water at steeper angles will ricochet off of it more, making the water look more reflective.

I have no idea if my "science" is correct, but that's how it's always seemed to me, heheh!

Yeah, think the purple colored water looks better.

You're right about the reflection in that it'll vary with the viewing angle. It's called the Fresnel effect, and I found a video example which might be helpful. Find the point where the angle matches the angle of the scene and see what amount of reflection is needed from that, maybe? But I think it will be hard to pull off simply because it's hard to factor in all the things that would be reflected in the water with 2D art, since the sprite/tile viewed from below instead of above can drastically change what it looks like.

A solution could be to add some current to the water which obscures and fragments the reflections enough that you can't look at it in combination with the scenery and think something looks off.

Offline Facet

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Re: [WIP] 32x32 RPG tiles C+C

Reply #30 on: December 02, 2011, 11:04:10 pm
Nice catch Arachne :), the effect is certainly too strong in my edit, but I have seen similar examples before.
Vertical reflection   Stream example

Painted ripples or a Sine effect applied to the water could look really nice.

Now that I look at it again I think what's making it look strange is the blue/purple in the shade. I think actually it should appear relatively warm & saturated in the shallows because of the 'polishing' effect and the blue shift would only become pronounced in deeper water.

Thorough explanation of the many variables to consider by the venerable Mr. Gurney below.
http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2007/12/water-reflections-part-1.html

That's quite a lot to mull over, sorry Sharm :P
  
« Last Edit: January 03, 2012, 06:22:49 pm by Facet »

Offline Sharm

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Re: [WIP] 32x32 RPG tiles C+C

Reply #31 on: January 02, 2012, 07:37:29 pm
Hi everyone, I have returned from vacation and have updated the mockups.  I think I've covered everyone's comments and suggestions in this update, please point out if I've forgotten anything.




I did a shading change on both grass tiles, they should look less like wallpaper now. The tall grass finally has edges.  The dead tree is three dimensional now. I've also added some cattails, bushes, a stump and a log.  I figured out a method of adding some green at the bottom of the tree that worked with the way I wanted to tile things.  I've made some tiles that edge flat things with grass.  I made the arm swing further back in the arm animation. It was looking very red on my brother's monitor, so I did some tweaking of the colors again.  And last but certainly not least, I did a parallax reflection for the water which I hope keeps everyone happy.  My forest mockup picture is now too crowded to be a good in game shot, but it shows everything off well.

At this point I've been staring at it too long, hopefully I haven't made any glaring errors.
« Last Edit: February 17, 2014, 04:54:18 am by Sharm »

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Re: [WIP] 32x32 RPG tiles C+C

Reply #32 on: January 03, 2012, 06:20:08 pm
Please don't feel as though you have to appease anyone, We can can all only suggest what we like and reason why. I'd be happiest if you found a solution that you really liked :)

Great improvements/additions, although the long grass is still quite busy for me, and the short (grass) still very dark considering the fairly light and arid-looking dirt tile; consistency between traversable ground would help imo. I'd make the log bigger and possibly hollow to make absolutely clear what it is.   

The cottage is very well-kempt and angular for something you've come across in the forest, it's also a bit homogeneously blue-grey and white. I'd give it more symbolic yellowish thatch and more interesting footprint; curved edges give you the chance to render a bit and better sell the shape of the house as a whole.

In general I'd really milk every chance you get to demonstrate light & shade; shadow is dimensionality.

I took some liberties with my edit. Please note that it's not really intended as a blueprint for what you should do but more as a guide to help you produce work with more body and a better understanding of structure. after I sketched out the floorplan I found it was a very thin, pointy house so I've put up my process below.

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Re: [WIP] 32x32 RPG tiles C+C

Reply #33 on: January 05, 2012, 04:18:15 pm
No worries about me going overboard with pleasing everyone.  I am way too opinionated.  Trying to please people is my attempt to combat the side of me that wants to tell everyone they're idiots for not adoring my creative vision as it is right now.  I would like to know if the new water addresses your issues with it though.  Listening to opinions like yours is what got me to this new solution which I like better than the old one.

Yeah, the grass did get dark in the short stuff and busy with the tall.  Maybe some less extreme coloring will help.



Actually, with the house I was going for a german gothic cottage in a small village not lone house in the forest.  I love the charm of yours, but I think it breaks the style.  You've got a point about the coloring.  I like the brightness of my new colors, but they make it seem like a grey and white house when it's supposed to be faded thatch and wood with yellowing stucco.  I don't think I'll be going with yellow thatch.  That color in thatch drives me crazy because it means it's new, not cured and doesn't work as well.  I suppose it became the norm because thatch is always yellow in tropical climates, but that's not what I'm making here.  I could do something a little more in-between and make it browner.



Personally though, I don't like it.  The grey had some nice purpley qualities.

I'll be working on a nice chimney and gabled window like you have in that edit soon.  I would have done the chimney like that in the first place but I was having problems sorting out the perspective in my head.
« Last Edit: February 17, 2014, 04:54:36 am by Sharm »

Offline Facet

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Re: [WIP] 32x32 RPG tiles C+C

Reply #34 on: January 05, 2012, 05:38:56 pm
Quote
No worries about me going overboard with pleasing everyone.  I am way too opinionated.  Trying to please people is my attempt to combat the side of me that wants to tell everyone they're idiots for not adoring my creative vision as it is right now.  
Awesome :lol:, I love the new water for it's pictorial qualities, if I do think indicating the shadow of the bank would be even nicer. The symbolic blue/purple worked ok; it's just I've seen an awful lot of it and reflections are really the only chance you get to show the sky from this kind of viewpoint. I Just don't want to argue you out of something you liked; I sometimes play devil's advocate when giving advice in an attempt to get people to more thoroughly examine their own decisions and hopefully help themselves. You have a great attitude to self improvement and some lovely work here.  

I preferred the lighter long grass, just a touch less contrast and I'd bring the darker short stuff up more in line with that. The 'cobbled' dirt is way nicer, cleaner than the dithered one also. I should have made clear that my example for the house wasn't a stylistic suggestion, just concerned with construction. I just like drawing simplified cute stuff to demonstrate concepts, I don't want to be too prescriptive ;D  

'RPG Perspective' is often a bit of a fudge (notice some of my estimated linework had to be changed in the flats) But what I was trying to say is that when you've drawing something intended to occupy 3 dimensions; don't just draw the facade. How does it connect to the ground? Sketch a wireframe before rendering. You don't need to get silly about room division and where the TV will go :P (an element of Tardis syndrome is perhaps neccessary) but a grounding in reality is very important.    

If I've dumped too much on you at once here, sorry. I won't be able to keep up with forums and things for a while so I'm trying to purge myself of any advice now.
« Last Edit: January 05, 2012, 06:02:04 pm by Facet »

Offline Sharm

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Re: [WIP] 32x32 RPG tiles C+C

Reply #35 on: January 05, 2012, 11:47:26 pm
Oh, okay I get it.  Seems the biggest offender is the roof, I can totally fix that.  Thank you so much for the advice you've been giving, it's helped immensely.  Good luck with whatever you're dealing with right now.

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Re: [WIP] 32x32 RPG tiles C+C

Reply #36 on: January 06, 2012, 11:36:40 am
Oh, okay I get it.  Seems the biggest offender is the roof, I can totally fix that. 
The chemney-to-roof transition imho suffer the same kind of "obvious tiling" effect as the one you previously had with trees and ground. overline it with one of your roof texture and start in the middle of a brick row, rather than aligned on brick transition, and you should have something more naturally-fitting-together.

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Re: [WIP] 32x32 RPG tiles C+C

Reply #37 on: January 06, 2012, 04:18:09 pm
*hits forehead*  Yes, that does look bad.  You think taking the bottom edge off will be enough?

BTW I'm not sure I made this clear, but some of the decision I've been making about this tileset is to make it easily expandable and versatile.  This is why I want the chimney and trees to work on any tile someone might put it on.

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Re: [WIP] 32x32 RPG tiles C+C

Reply #38 on: January 07, 2012, 09:05:53 am
*hits forehead*  Yes, that does look bad.  You think taking the bottom edge off will be enough?
It could use some shadow on one of its side (shadow casted by the chimney on the roof, that is), but imho, yes, the bottom edge is the most important one to fix.

Quote
BTW I'm not sure I made this clear, but some of the decision I've been making about this tileset is to make it easily expandable and versatile.  This is why I want the chimney and trees to work on any tile someone might put it on.
... which you can usually get by having 2 layers of tiles cleverly used. Here, the bottom of the chimney would be on the bottom layer over which you'd have a partially-transparent "hole-in-roofing" tile laying. higher in the chimney, you might swap the two: the roofing goes to the bottom layer, and the chimney over it, allowing you to break its purely-squarish look if you desire to do so.

Offline imnumberfour

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Re: [WIP] 32x32 RPG tiles C+C

Reply #39 on: February 27, 2012, 08:48:25 pm
Is this still being worked on? It's simply too beautiful to give up on!

Offline Sharm

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Re: [WIP] 32x32 RPG tiles C+C

Reply #40 on: February 27, 2012, 08:52:52 pm
Thank you!  Yes I'm still working on it, but it's on the backburner at the moment.  I'm working on a paid job that's taking my pixel time.  Here's the last mockup I did.

 
« Last Edit: February 17, 2014, 04:54:56 am by Sharm »

Offline Corinthian Baby

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Re: [WIP] 32x32 RPG tiles C+C

Reply #41 on: February 27, 2012, 10:46:36 pm
Excellent textures!

My only complaint with the above screen is that the edges of the tree foliage gets lost/bleeds into the grass. I would utilize some darker outlining similar to how you did with the bush, which reads well.

Offline jams0988

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Re: [WIP] 32x32 RPG tiles C+C

Reply #42 on: February 29, 2012, 04:33:06 am
Quote
Thank you!  Yes I'm still working on it, but it's on the backburner at the moment.  I'm working on a paid job that's taking my pixel time.  Here's the last mockup I did.
Looking good...the textures are indeed awesome, especially the brick chimney...and the house overall. The stone walkway looks a little pasted on...maybe some shadows around the outside stones would make it more set into the ground?
« Last Edit: February 29, 2012, 04:39:32 am by jams0988 »

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Re: [WIP] 32x32 RPG tiles C+C

Reply #43 on: March 09, 2012, 08:41:15 am
There's something that's bothering me with this stone alley you added. After some thinking, it sounds related to the "vertical stones" issue in your other thread. The floor is viewed at 3/4th angle, right ? so something perfectly square on the ground should rather look like a fat rectangle. By making your alley made of "tall" rectangles and squares mostly, I think you're breaking the illusion of that 3/4 perspective, and as soon as the illusion is broken, it makes "real" vertical things look flat.

They might work better with more dusty colours, too.

Updates on the roof, walls and doors are very neat, on the other hand.
« Last Edit: March 09, 2012, 08:43:04 am by PypeBros »

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Re: [WIP] 32x32 RPG tiles C+C

Reply #44 on: March 09, 2012, 09:13:55 pm
I don't have very much experience in pixel art, but I have always loved art. In my opinion, the house and the scenery looks great and dosen't have the ugly grid look. The only thing I think looked a little strange is the character. His/her eyes are too far apart and look like they are on the side of his head like a fish lol. The walking cycle looks great, but the arm looks like it could bend just a tadddd bit more, but since we are working with pixels, that might be impossible =/
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