Rocky Background Help

[mitDebo]

Hey guys:

I've been plugging away at a background for my game, and after working at it for a while, I've stepped back and find myself just completely unsatisfied with the way it looks. I can't put my finger on what about it I don't like, I just feel like it's sloppy and not very convincing.

Here's what I have so far:


And here's how it currently looks in game:


Before I got started, I was already pretty frustrated with several other attempts. I dug around the internet, and one look that I particularly liked was Kenneth Fejer's backgrounds in this shot:


Unfortunately, I really can't put my finger on what I'm getting wrong here. Can anyone help me out and point me in the right direction?

Thanks so much, you guys!

[AlexHW]

check your edges to the surfaces of the rock. The rocks in Kenneth's background use mostly straight edges to the surfaces. In yours, you have edges that appear to bend.. Notice how in Kenneth's if the edge of a surface changes direction it usually signifies a change in the angle of the surface thus how much a surface captures or reflects light/shadow.

[AlexHW]

Had some more thoughts about rocks.. and wanted to convey it with a video: http://youtu.be/SAGokCLaAHk

[PypeBros]

Kenneth did it very "purified", with rocks that are almost pure geometric volumes, with little scratches or erosion. It works fine in his style, though, and he surely mastered it.

[AlexHW]

Hey mitDebo, I created a video for another pixelation member showing how to draw rocks and i remembered you are trying to do something similar i think.. maybe it'll help? http://youtu.be/IwmlaXdP1mA