GR#173 - Battlebackground - Gameart Scenery

[Manupix]

The light source information is conflicting.
The rocks are front lit (source behind and slightly left of the viewer), the guy is lit from the right, the monster from the top (not strongly defined), and the sprite shadows should imply strongly contrasted top-down light.
It's quite possible that this is not critical in a game context, but on the other hand it would not hurt to get things right
The rocks in Hobbler's edit were more consistent in this respect.

I'd go further in bringing the rock and moss colors closer, mostly by tweaking the palette for better integration (hue shifting and bridging!).
The bones are competing with the sprites for visual attention. I'd try to use the same colors as the rocks for them, as if they were ancient and covered in the same dust as the rocks.

[Johasu]

The game will take place in a variety of settings including buildings, caves, forests, ravines, and more.  It's probably not going to be possible to keep all of the shadows and lighting in every scene perfectly aligned with the sprites, but I'm definitely going to try to keep all of that in mind as I move forward and setup the backgrounds more to match up with the lighting from my sprites.

I really didn't think about the lighting conflict between my enemy sprites and character sprites.  Thank you for pointing that out to me. I sort of just mimicked the style from Shining Force for my player sprite and created the enemy sprite directly from my brain.  So... There you have that. 

I pictured the stones being front lit as if the light from outside were coming in and reflecting off of the floor up onto them.
I picture the light source coming from straight out and above.  But I did try to divert attention in a diagonal line from player sprite to enemy sprite with the lighting and floor elements.
The bones aren't that old as they are remnants from recent meals, but I will play with the coloring to see if I can reduce their presence a bit.

Can you give me an explanation of what bridging is specifically and how to accomplish it?
What direction would be best for my light source on the sprites since I will have a variety of lighting effects on my landscapes: including torches, windows, and outdoor sunshine?

[Manupix]

I pictured the stones being front lit as if the light from outside were coming in and reflecting off of the floor up onto them.

In that case the floor should be waaaay brighter!

Can you give me an explanation of what bridging is specifically and how to accomplish it?

This: (from here). Integrated palette vs separate ramps.

What direction would be best for my light source on the sprites since I will have a variety of lighting effects on my landscapes: including torches, windows, and outdoor sunshine?

The only real constraint I see is the cast shadow, if you keep it as it is: it means top down. But again, there has to be a degree of compromise in games, and I have no experience with that. I'd aim for background internal consistency, and some flexibility in sprites, whatever that may mean.