AuthorTopic: Dark platformer mockup [WIP] [C+C]  (Read 3696 times)

Offline JoeCreates

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Dark platformer mockup [WIP] [C+C]

on: September 08, 2015, 09:55:21 pm
Hey guys. Every now and again I'm doing a little work on this dark platformer project. Lately I've been trying to figure out the style and colors.

At present this mockup is very rough, but I'm primarily interested in thoughts on the colors at this point. I'm aiming for something somewhat realistic, and just slightly washed. Firstly I'd like thoughts on the sky and sea colors, which I've spent a fair bit of time tweaking already. The clouds initially had much higher contrast, but I've gradually brought them down and down. Perhaps too much?

I'm also interested in thoughts on the character colors. The main problem seems t be making them readable against spots of high contrast background. I'm trying to find a balance between making them clearly visible, but not so much that they don't feel like they fit into the scene. This isn't nearly so much of an issue with the female character, but the male is pretty tricky thanks to the fact that he is also meant to be dark and shadow-like.

Thanks!

Here is the latest, though I have cheated and blended in part f a screenshot from destiny just to expriment with the colors a bit, and translucent layers are cuasing strange artifacts and blurriness around the place. I think I am much happier with the colors and contrast, now, though. I'll be using the colors in this mess as a reference for the cleaned up piece.



Original:

« Last Edit: September 17, 2015, 11:13:16 pm by JoeCreates »

Offline Conzeit

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Re: Dark platformer mockup [WIP] [C+C]

Reply #1 on: September 11, 2015, 08:46:35 pm
I think the general idea of giving the characters a wholly different amount of contrast works, just commit to it. The translucent layer you used is barely noticeable even if I alternate between the two, you have to do something much more significant than that.

mockup is looking pretty good to me.

Offline Seiseki

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Re: Dark platformer mockup [WIP] [C+C]

Reply #2 on: September 11, 2015, 09:13:07 pm
Yeah I tried comparing the two, can't see a difference.
This looks really cool though! :y:

Offline JoeCreates

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Re: Dark platformer mockup [WIP] [C+C]

Reply #3 on: September 16, 2015, 07:42:47 pm
Just posting a quick update. Progress on this is pretty slow as it's not my main project right now, but I've started to clean some spots up and add a little more detail. I'm still not happy with the colors, but considering how messy my layers are right now, I'm going to spend a little time tidying them up.

Offline Cheetah

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Re: Dark platformer mockup [WIP] [C+C]

Reply #4 on: September 17, 2015, 04:15:39 am
I'm loving the style and design. I feel like there is a huge missed opportunity with your palette and lighting though. You have this great purple and dark sky, but all your lightening and colors look very typical, as if it is the middle of the day. See if you can get some cool color highlights incorporated.

Here is an excellent piece to kind of explain what I mean:
http://pixeljoint.com/pixelart/66255.htm

Offline JoeCreates

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Re: Dark platformer mockup [WIP] [C+C]

Reply #5 on: September 17, 2015, 11:29:46 pm
@Cheetah:

Some of my lighting was off quite a lot before. The tree trunk, for example had been really bothering me, seeing as I had yet to change the lighting to fit. I had planned, and may still, be adding a lantern to the front of the house. With the cooler leaves and trunk, hopefully small warm light sources around the map could look pretty nice..

Here is the latest, though I have cheated and blended in part of a screenshot from destiny just to expriment with the colors a bit, and translucent layers are causing strange artifacts and blurriness around the place. I think I am much happier with the colors and contrast, now, though. The background is much brighter, making it much easier to separate it from the foreground and add effect from the atmosphere. I also noticed I had a very sharp split between the water and the sky, whereas I need more of gradient from the atmospheric perspective.I'll be using the colors in this mess as a reference for the cleaned up piece.

I think I may still go a bit greener in the background, but it'll probably be easiest to clean it up first and put it into software other than PyxelEdit for changing the color. Photoshop would be best, but my license for that expired. :P

« Last Edit: September 17, 2015, 11:32:18 pm by JoeCreates »