(WIP) Tree for a game

[Livsgladje]

I am working on drawing all the pixel art for some friends game but the problem is i have never done pixel art before so this is all a first try for me.

what i am having problems with is that the tree looks like its to much strait forward what i want is the same view you have in like the first zelda games, top down view or what ever it is. I have a real problem getting that feeling of the not only the tree but most stuff i make. So any tips on how this would be done would be great.



here is a picture with trees in the game

[Phlakes]

Obligatory posting of the tutorial with the Secret of Mana 3 tree.

I'll try be concise here.

Broken down to the most basic shapes, trees are basically a cylinder with a sphere on top. So when you shade the leaves, you need to treat the entire form as a sphere, with heavy shadows along the bottom and highlights concentrated in one frontal area rather than along the top, following the outline.

But of course shading one giant sphere won't look like a tree, so, like the tutorial says, break it up and several smaller spheres. Here's one I did a long time ago, which I never actually finished but that makes it a lot better for getting my point across-



You can see that the entire form follows the shading of a sphere-



With each smaller sphere being modified to fit the section of the bigger sphere it's on.

As for the leaf texture, avoid outlining the leaves like the plague. With something that small, you need to imply detail rather than draw it. Starting with the base spheres, you can sort of mold the leaves out like clay, having shadows back where the leaf is closer to the center and a highlight at its tip. I actually just worked using the SoM 3 tree from that tutorial as a reference. Look closely at how it shapes each leaf and try to replicate it, then try using those techniques to create your own.

[Dusty]

Honestly, I'd take a step back and not render individual leaves at all. You have a very messy, cartoony look going on with the rest of the tiles; they're not beautiful pixel art but it's a style that has worked well before in games like Scribblenauts and such. I know it's gonna seem weird but I think you might be able to manage working with that style.

[Phlakes]

That's also a great option. I can't remember who it is, but someone here would definitely be willing to rave about Zelda: LttP's simplified style.

[jams0988]

That's also a great option. I can't remember who it is, but someone here would definitely be willing to rave about Zelda: LttP's simplified style.

Because it's great. =D
And I agree with Dusty's opinion that a very simplified leaf structure would work for these trees. The grass and the dirt are quit simple, after all!

[Livsgladje]

Thanks for all the tips and tricks will see how i will do it, the grass and dirt was kinda rushed becasue they wanted somthing to work with.

[jinza]

1.) i think the leaves are too defined, maybe you shouldn't outline every single leaf as it could make the pixeling process a tad longer
2.) there are too many light sources on the trees it should come from one direction instead of multiple directions
e.g: if the sun is at the top it should be on the top of the trees, if it's at the right the light should hit the trees on the right side while the other side is in the shade , like when the earth is not facing the sun it's covered by complete darkness
3.) maybe the bark could be changed a little bit it sort of looks pillowed.

[Livsgladje]

Well thanks to the tutorials and help i have changed almost everything in the game but the new tree i made looks kinda meh. I think the coloring is allot better on it but the leafs are kinda strange so i will probably remake it again.

But now that i have made more are there any comments on the other stuff?

[Zizka]

I think the trees were much better before. The foliage looks like a lot of noise at the moment, imho.

There's an issue with the flower as well, it looks really bland I think compared to the tree which is super detailed.

The house looks great however! 

[Cupcake]

I like your dirt/stone tiles, but the trees look odd because they have very blue-purple shading when the rest of the scene does not. It's a definite improvement but consider the Secret of Mana reference images in the tutorial link, particularly the one where they first zoom in on the grass tile. The exaggerated shadows on the trees work there because the same shadows are used elsewhere in the tileset.

Your grass tile is bringing the rest of the scene down, I think: it's got very strong grid lines and appears to have been made with a noise tool, so it has extraneous colors in it. The same tutorial has a couple sections focusing on grass tiles and removing obvious grid lines, so that should help a bit.

The whole scene already looks much better than your first one! And I agree with Zizka, I like what you're doing with the house.

e: Quick 'n dirty example of purple shadows throughout the set