AuthorTopic: City Background (TIPS and CRITIQUE NEEDED)  (Read 7108 times)

Offline gipsonad

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 8
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

City Background (TIPS and CRITIQUE NEEDED)

on: January 04, 2014, 06:01:25 am



This is a background Im not calling it finished Im looking for some honest critique and advice. NOTE that the bridge not part of this background the cityscape will appear behind the bridge. Any advice will be greatly appreciated, I'd like to know how to improve it color wise and space wise
« Last Edit: January 04, 2014, 06:31:58 am by gipsonad »

Offline Nameless Force

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 15
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: City Background (TIPS and CRITIQUE NEEDED)

Reply #1 on: January 04, 2014, 03:12:50 pm
The window spacing looks weird, especially on the buildings in the background.  (Are those points of lights even supposed to be windows?)

General rules for window spacing:
  - Buildings are divided into storeys/floors.  These tend to be of a uniform size past the ground floor.  Windows rarely cross over between storeys, so they tend to be aligned more horizontally than vertically.
  - The bigger the building, the more of its surface is covered with windows.
  - Floors will look smaller on buildings further away, but the decrease is gradual.
  - The tallest building in the world has 163 floors.  Don't go any higher than that if you want a realistic, present-day setting.

Also, I think you could strengthen the overall impression of the picture by darkening all colors except the yellow and adding a bit of blur around the yellow, like this:

(I cheated and used a filter for the blur.)

Offline gipsonad

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 8
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: City Background (TIPS and CRITIQUE NEEDED)

Reply #2 on: January 05, 2014, 12:06:36 am


Thanks you very much for your input I added some changes to the back windows in particular, there is a new building in the far right as well deep in the background, I haven't darken the sky yet, but I particularly like what you did to the windows with the glow, thanks, tell me what you think about the new back buildings

Offline gipsonad

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 8
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: City Background (TIPS and CRITIQUE NEEDED)

Reply #3 on: January 05, 2014, 12:26:12 am


Heres a more updated version

Offline astraldata

  • 0010
  • *
  • Posts: 391
  • Karma: +1/-0
    • View Profile
    • MUGEN ZERO

Re: City Background (TIPS and CRITIQUE NEEDED)

Reply #4 on: January 07, 2014, 02:06:50 am
I've been looking at this for a while now, and really the only two things I'm having a hard time with still is that building to the far right with the uneven window panes (the one that's in perspective) due to the fact that there's nothing resembling floors (as mentioned previously), and the fact that the lightest grey-ish rectangles on the buildings (at the leftmost side of the image) facing the viewer don't look like anything comprehensible (are they windows or laser lights?) since, if they're windows, I'd expect a diagonal shine or two across them or, if they're lights, a halo of glowy-ness around them (which can be added with a filter once the image is finished and darkened).
I'm offering free pixel-art mentorship for promising pixel artists. For details, click here.

     http://mugenzero.userboard.net/

Offline Mathias

  • 0100
  • ***
  • Posts: 1797
  • Karma: +2/-0
  • Goodbye.
    • http://pixeljoint.com/p/9542.htm
    • View Profile

Re: City Background (TIPS and CRITIQUE NEEDED)

Reply #5 on: January 07, 2014, 02:08:07 pm
Arrggg so flat, so grey-ish.

Let's funky it up with vibrant colors and gradients!

Offline astraldata

  • 0010
  • *
  • Posts: 391
  • Karma: +1/-0
    • View Profile
    • MUGEN ZERO

Re: City Background (TIPS and CRITIQUE NEEDED)

Reply #6 on: January 07, 2014, 09:18:33 pm
@Mathias:
I really like the "pop" on your version, especially with the colors you chose, but I'm not so sure the bright white outline around the city and the overpowering blue gradient goes with his foreground bridge thing. I'm no expert at color choice, so maybe you could help him understand how/why you picked those colors?
I'm offering free pixel-art mentorship for promising pixel artists. For details, click here.

     http://mugenzero.userboard.net/

Offline gipsonad

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 8
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: City Background (TIPS and CRITIQUE NEEDED)

Reply #7 on: January 08, 2014, 03:32:31 pm
@Mathias, I appreciate your input, for some reason I can't view your version, Ill keep trying

Offline Mathias

  • 0100
  • ***
  • Posts: 1797
  • Karma: +2/-0
  • Goodbye.
    • http://pixeljoint.com/p/9542.htm
    • View Profile

Re: City Background (TIPS and CRITIQUE NEEDED)

Reply #8 on: January 09, 2014, 11:30:19 am
@Mathias:
I really like the "pop" on your version, especially with the colors you chose, but I'm not so sure the bright white outline around the city and the overpowering blue gradient goes with his foreground bridge thing. I'm no expert at color choice, so maybe you could help him understand how/why you picked those colors?

I'm one that hates to make art into science, or some overly complicated thing. With colors, I just do what feels right.

Twilighty/midnight colors for the sky, with some extra purple injected - why not. Added much more blue/purple to buildings for continuity.
In gipsonad's latest image, he has a warm background/sky,  cold middle ground buildings, and a warm foreground walkway. Just makes no sense to me.
Bright cyan grad at bottom because . . . it looks cool.

My main objective wasn't improving the colors though - is was helping the boring flatness

It's tough to make large areas of flat pixel art graphics look interesting. Gradients is one way to do it. It's just s suggestion. I probably spent 2 minutes on it.

Offline coffee

  • 0010
  • *
  • Posts: 190
  • Karma: +1/-0
    • JohanAronson
    • View Profile

Re: City Background (TIPS and CRITIQUE NEEDED)

Reply #9 on: January 09, 2014, 04:08:51 pm
Just glanced really quick through this

Thought i'd just make a more dynamic edit of Mathias's edit to give you another example of what might work and prevent the flatness! sorry 'bout the sloppy gradient.