AuthorTopic: [WIP][C+C] Mockup of 2D platformer  (Read 9588 times)

Offline drunkenoodle

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 27
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

[WIP][C+C] Mockup of 2D platformer

on: September 27, 2015, 10:16:01 pm
Hey all,
Happy to finally pluck up the courage to ask for some C&C on this little project I'm working on, this is my first time here, so I'm brickin' it a little bit... :|



The idea generally is a 2D platformer, but I'm quite new to the way of the pixel, and as you may notice can't seem to make the characters 'pop' out of the scene. Which as you'd expect is ideally what you'd want when playing a game.

Just a final mention to go out to http://quale-art.blogspot.co.uk/ for offering much inspiration when coming to constructing them there dwarves. Their proportions I found work pretty well with the surroundings.

Any help/comments would be massively appreciated anyway.

Many thanks! :)
-D
« Last Edit: September 29, 2015, 11:30:10 am by drunkenoodle »

Offline Joe

  • 0010
  • *
  • Posts: 298
  • Karma: +2/-0
    • View Profile

Re: [WIP][C+C] Mockup of 2D platformer

Reply #1 on: September 27, 2015, 11:26:40 pm
Hey there, welcome to Pixelation.
What's to be scared of? People help people here. You might get strong crits but it's a good place.  :)

Sprite/background separation is usually done with outlines, contrast and saturation.
Your style will probably not include outlines, so instead you can shift the background to a higher key/lower contrast and desaturate it, while doing the opposite for your sprites.
That's pretty much all it comes down to, trading realism for readability.

Offline Gil

  • 0100
  • ***
  • Posts: 1543
  • Karma: +1/-0
  • Too square to be hip
    • http://pixeljoint.com/p/475.htm
    • View Profile
    • My Portfolio

Re: [WIP][C+C] Mockup of 2D platformer

Reply #2 on: September 28, 2015, 07:48:48 am
What also works for separation is animation. Animate the characters and they'll instantly pop out.

Offline drunkenoodle

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 27
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: [WIP][C+C] Mockup of 2D platformer

Reply #3 on: September 28, 2015, 09:06:28 am
Hey there!
Yeah you're right, I think it was just some pre-signup jitters that I had. :P Anyway! Thanks very much for the replies, you've been a great help. I'll go back to it and have another tinker with those points in mind, see if it'll do the trick.

I've also noticed that the img url seems to have broken for some reason (on my pc at least), must fix that too... >.>

Thanks again chaps!
-D

Offline Glak

  • 0010
  • *
  • Posts: 114
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: [WIP][C+C] Mockup of 2D platformer

Reply #4 on: September 28, 2015, 07:06:29 pm
This looks really good, but since you are using a jpg no one will be able to help you much.  We are seeing your image through scum.  Use a loss-less format such as png.

Offline RedSuinit

  • 0010
  • *
  • Posts: 115
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: [WIP][C+C] Mockup of 2D platformer

Reply #5 on: September 28, 2015, 07:18:54 pm
This looks really good, but since you are using a jpg no one will be able to help you much.  We are seeing your image through scum.  Use a loss-less format such as png.

Agreed. Yesterday when you first posted it seemed to be a png, because I remember seeing a crystal clear image. Now it's muddy and hard to make anything out.

Offline heyguy

  • 0010
  • *
  • Posts: 234
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: [WIP][C+C] Mockup of 2D platformer

Reply #6 on: September 28, 2015, 08:53:32 pm
Yes, please post a png of the image. It looks like a really cool mockup but the jpg compression makes it impossible to see clearly.

Offline Decroded

  • 0100
  • ***
  • Posts: 1285
  • Karma: +3/-0
  • Oh hai
    • View Profile

Re: [WIP][C+C] Mockup of 2D platformer

Reply #7 on: September 29, 2015, 04:51:59 am
Looks like ur using adobe cloud which thinks its real smart.
I think when I first viewed this it was normal but now I look its all compressed.

--> www.imgur.com

Offline drunkenoodle

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 27
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: [WIP][C+C] Mockup of 2D platformer

Reply #8 on: September 29, 2015, 09:46:57 am
Yeah you're totally right on the Adobe cloud part. It's a massive douche! I'm just in the middle of sorting a little sneaky web site to host these images so I'll pop up an updated version shortly.

Offline drunkenoodle

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 27
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: [WIP][C+C] Mockup of 2D platformer

Reply #9 on: September 29, 2015, 11:25:36 am
Howdo chaps, I did it a little more work on it last night. Namely the goal was to make more of the surrounding area, yet attempt at bringing the characters out a little more. Unfortunately I don't think it really made a difference, if anything, I've probably just moved things around rather than make it better. :P



I believe part of the problem is both to do with the characters colours being a bit washed out, and it's also quite a cold colour at the very front, so you eye is less interested in it...

Offline Nirel

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 38
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: [WIP][C+C] Mockup of 2D platformer

Reply #10 on: September 30, 2015, 07:47:42 am
Hi, I played with adjustment layer clipping mask in photoshop, maybe one of these could help you in some way.

Offline drunkenoodle

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 27
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: [WIP][C+C] Mockup of 2D platformer

Reply #11 on: September 30, 2015, 12:31:38 pm
Hi Nirel, thanks so much for doing some examples, great variation. :) Really hits home the importance of readability (as mentioned further up)!

Based on your examples, the advice above and a couple of other cases of trial and error, I ended up with something like this (still hovering around a sunny day / early evening approach), will probably fade the tiles out a little more on the next pass:


I basically ended up making the characters more of a vibrant colour, also changed the temperature and texture of the foreground tiles a bit.

Not sure if it works fully, but it works better at least.
Cheers guys :D

Offline RedSuinit

  • 0010
  • *
  • Posts: 115
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: [WIP][C+C] Mockup of 2D platformer

Reply #12 on: September 30, 2015, 03:43:41 pm
Hi Nirel, thanks so much for doing some examples, great variation. :) Really hits home the importance of readability (as mentioned further up)!

Based on your examples, the advice above and a couple of other cases of trial and error, I ended up with something like this (still hovering around a sunny day / early evening approach), will probably fade the tiles out a little more on the next pass:


I basically ended up making the characters more of a vibrant colour, also changed the temperature and texture of the foreground tiles a bit.

Not sure if it works fully, but it works better at least.
Cheers guys :D

Honestly I think that nuking the saturation is going to be the best solution for you.




I also increased contrast in the characters a little. You want the focal point of the art to have the brightest colors and the most contrast. When doing this edit I noticed that some of your objects had a lot of contrast, pulling attention away from the characters. I darkened everything to make it seem a bit more like "night" since the moon is out.
« Last Edit: September 30, 2015, 04:09:59 pm by RedSuinit »

Offline drunkenoodle

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 27
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: [WIP][C+C] Mockup of 2D platformer

Reply #13 on: September 30, 2015, 05:59:26 pm
Ah I see what you mean, thanks for the example Red. :) So if you wanted to change the tone to be more of a daylight image, I presume you'd just use a different hue but at the same sort of saturation level to make the characters still stand out? As a general rule anyway.

Offline RedSuinit

  • 0010
  • *
  • Posts: 115
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: [WIP][C+C] Mockup of 2D platformer

Reply #14 on: September 30, 2015, 09:14:04 pm
Ah I see what you mean, thanks for the example Red. :) So if you wanted to change the tone to be more of a daylight image, I presume you'd just use a different hue but at the same sort of saturation level to make the characters still stand out? As a general rule anyway.

Essentially, but the hue would need to be carefully chosen. If you went with a color close to white (too little saturation), the hair on the old man (white) would become very difficult to read.  Let take a quick poke at it.



This is what I would shoot for. A bit more saturation than the night-time image had, but not much. Added a bit more green to the back hills, water and reflection as well, due to the increase in yellow from sunlight. That's it. But look at the image, even though the colors are the same for literally everything except what I just mentioned, the whole image looks like it increased in brightness. the tiles, the trees, everything.
« Last Edit: September 30, 2015, 09:24:50 pm by RedSuinit »

Offline drunkenoodle

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 27
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: [WIP][C+C] Mockup of 2D platformer

Reply #15 on: September 30, 2015, 10:33:14 pm
That's a very cool trick.

This is exactly why I came here, because I would never have figured that out on my own any time soon. :P In any case, thanks a lot for all your help. I think I can go back to it with a fresh pair of eyes and make a number of adjustments. Might even be worth starting on something new instead and using it just as an example for moving ahead.

Thanks again everyone, hopefully will have this nailed soon enough.  :hehe:

Offline Decroded

  • 0100
  • ***
  • Posts: 1285
  • Karma: +3/-0
  • Oh hai
    • View Profile

Re: [WIP][C+C] Mockup of 2D platformer

Reply #16 on: October 01, 2015, 02:39:20 am
is the old man a mage or just an old man?
either way maybe he should have a staff.

Offline drunkenoodle

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 27
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: [WIP][C+C] Mockup of 2D platformer

Reply #17 on: October 01, 2015, 09:38:35 am
Some say he's just an old man. But some also say he's something else...  8)

Offline drunkenoodle

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 27
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: [WIP][C+C] Mockup of 2D platformer

Reply #18 on: October 01, 2015, 10:44:39 am
(but yes he probably should have some sort of implement) >.>

Offline Decroded

  • 0100
  • ***
  • Posts: 1285
  • Karma: +3/-0
  • Oh hai
    • View Profile

Re: [WIP][C+C] Mockup of 2D platformer

Reply #19 on: October 04, 2015, 01:08:32 pm
here's a few ideas

Offline drunkenoodle

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 27
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: [WIP][C+C] Mockup of 2D platformer

Reply #20 on: October 04, 2015, 02:39:05 pm
Dayum! That texturing makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. :o Thank you very much my friend. I was wondering if it was possible to spice things up a bit without overdoing it, but I really like your ideas. I'll see about making some adjustments (have made a few other scenes since this one) and see if I can get them up to scratch too.

Thanks again!

Offline SilverExe

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 27
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: [WIP][C+C] Mockup of 2D platformer

Reply #21 on: October 04, 2015, 10:44:19 pm


I edited some parts of the piece. Not really liking it but I thought it didn't make a lot of sense the other way. It's a really simple edit anyway, tried to keep the style. Hope you like it  :)
silverexe.tumblr.com

^^^^^^^^^^^^
MY TUMBLR! ::) ::) Be sure to check it out if you like what I do ;)

Offline RedSuinit

  • 0010
  • *
  • Posts: 115
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: [WIP][C+C] Mockup of 2D platformer

Reply #22 on: October 04, 2015, 11:11:09 pm


I edited some parts of the piece. Not really liking it but I thought it didn't make a lot of sense the other way. It's a really simple edit anyway, tried to keep the style. Hope you like it  :)

I could be wrong, but I am fairly certain the islands are supposed to be floating in the air.

Offline drunkenoodle

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 27
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: [WIP][C+C] Mockup of 2D platformer

Reply #23 on: October 04, 2015, 11:16:27 pm
Ah yes that particular area was supposed to be further up. But with the sea in the background I think it may be giving it a bit of confusing perspective. It should all be side on really like the foreground...

It's worth noting that I 'may' have just slapped that mountain and sea in as a last minute thing.  :blind: