AuthorTopic: Tileset woes, my first tileset  (Read 4909 times)

Offline GDawgTheFab

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Tileset woes, my first tileset

on: January 31, 2018, 03:35:55 pm
Hi just looking for some feedback on the tileset I am currently working on, for some reason something just doesn't feel right and I can't put my finger on it.





currently going with 16x16 3x zoom but not sure whether to change it to 32x32 2x zoom

obviously it is looking a bit plain at the moment without any of the more vibrant elements like flowers and pebbles and things to break up the monotony and probably needs a few more variations and a top transition for the cliffs but something about the fundamentals seems off, wondering what critiques you can give? Thanks.
« Last Edit: January 31, 2018, 03:38:44 pm by GDawgTheFab »

Offline questseeker

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Re: Tileset woes, my first tileset

Reply #1 on: January 31, 2018, 04:24:01 pm
Grass looks good, but there are fairly obvious high-level problems:
  • The rock wall is approximately periodic, and with a peculiar hexagonal layout. It should be more irregular, and variations are probably needed to make it look really good.
  • The transition between rock and dirt should have rocks invading the dirt, not vice versa. Dirt invading a rock wall would be featured in a cave entrance or the like.
  • The upper edge of the cliff is too straight to be natural. Some vegetation (grass, maybe flowers) could be irregularly distributed on the cliff face, and rocks could rise above the grass level.
  • Grass doesn't grow in square patterns: the corners in the top left of the tileset should be rounded, like the complementary ones in the top middle.
In general, transitions between tile types (grass, dirt, rock cliff) should be placed in the middle of the tiles, not at the edges.

Offline yrizoud

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Re: Tileset woes, my first tileset

Reply #2 on: January 31, 2018, 04:41:17 pm
About the rocks, you have chosen a rather tall pattern (every rock is more high than wide). It would work no problem for a side-view platformer. However in "RPG perspective" (not quite top down), vertical planes are supposed to be squished "a lot" : for example a cartwheel object (round) standing up would be drawn as a very flat ellipse. Your rock pattern contradicts this expected behavior, so the visual result is not clear. As a viewer, I have trouble imagining very-very-tall rocks which would still look this tall when squished.
As an experiment, try rotating your wall texture 90°, see if it gives a better impression.

Offline Zanorin

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Re: Tileset woes, my first tileset

Reply #3 on: January 31, 2018, 07:56:53 pm
I would also try to work on the color settings ; the whole scene put togther is rather dark/dull. Try lighter and warmer colors. :)
Half a noob figuring out stuff.

Offline GDawgTheFab

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Re: Tileset woes, my first tileset

Reply #4 on: February 01, 2018, 04:33:21 pm
    • The rock wall is approximately periodic, and with a peculiar hexagonal layout. It should be more irregular, and variations are probably needed to make it look really good.
    • The transition between rock and dirt should have rocks invading the dirt, not vice versa. Dirt invading a rock wall would be featured in a cave entrance or the like.

    Ah yeah I see what you are saying, something like this more suitable?



    Or is it more a case of re-think the approach entirely?

    • The upper edge of the cliff is too straight to be natural. Some vegetation (grass, maybe flowers) could be irregularly distributed on the cliff face, and rocks could rise above the grass level.

    yeah I haven't done the top transition yet, I mean to do a third tile for transition from ground to cliff at the top but truth be told I am not sure how I am going to do it yet, grass to cliff should be easier as I can hide the edge a little with overhanging grass but not sure how to do the plain dirt transition.

    Also I do plan to do variations on the cliff face with vegetation growing out of the cliffs and whatnot but kind of want to get the fundamentals of the cliff down first.

    • Grass doesn't grow in square patterns: the corners in the top left of the tileset should be rounded, like the complementary ones in the top middle.
    In general, transitions between tile types (grass, dirt, rock cliff) should be placed in the middle of the tiles, not at the edges.

    Personally I put the transitions closer to the edge because I want there to be a clearer sense of where the interactive areas are and where the boundaries are, but I do see what you mean as placing the transition closer to the edge doesn't leave a lot of room and does have the transition coming off as a little square especially with the grass tiles.

    This is more of a sloppy quick edit but is this closer to the mark?

    Offline GDawgTheFab

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    Re: Tileset woes, my first tileset

    Reply #5 on: February 01, 2018, 04:35:34 pm
    I would also try to work on the color settings ; the whole scene put togther is rather dark/dull. Try lighter and warmer colors. :)

    Yeah was wondering that myself but was wondering if that was more due to the lack of other elements in the scene like flowers and other things?

    Offline Zanorin

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    Re: Tileset woes, my first tileset

    Reply #6 on: February 02, 2018, 01:00:10 am
    Don't think so, look:

    My edit is rushed and the grass is way too saturated, but see how I lightened the ground tiles? The original colors make it look like it's by night :lol:
    Half a noob figuring out stuff.

    Offline GDawgTheFab

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    Re: Tileset woes, my first tileset

    Reply #7 on: February 05, 2018, 11:01:49 pm
    Alright I tried to fix most of the problems





    What i have done
    • reworked the cliff face with a more irregular pattern and slightly less tall rocks, also added top transitions
    • reworked the grass to dirt transitions trying to make the corners less square
    • slightly increased the contrast and brightness of the grass and slightly increased the saturation of the dirt and cliff tiles

    Any other improvements anyone can suggest?

    Also anyone got any ideas or advice on how to do the corner transitions for the cliffs?
    « Last Edit: February 06, 2018, 02:24:37 am by GDawgTheFab »

    Offline Hoogo

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    Re: Tileset woes, my first tileset

    Reply #8 on: February 06, 2018, 06:41:05 am
    Here I allowed myself to edit your piece:


    I did a couple of things concerning the colours
    • Your green colour ramp had nearly the same hue for each colour so I added a little yellow to the lighter shades. Also upped brightness on the grass highlight so it pops a little more
    • I added contrast between colours in your browns, for both the walls and the floor. I think it adds more texture

    Tell me what you think. I hope this can help in any way.  :)

    Offline GDawgTheFab

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    Re: Tileset woes, my first tileset

    Reply #9 on: February 06, 2018, 03:46:46 pm
    I like the cliffs, certainly a lot more vibrant and they pop out far more, however not sure it fits what I am going for, the theory I am currently working on when creating this tileset was to have the background tiles have a more subtle change in hues as to not draw too much attention away from the other objects and characters in the scene (when they are eventually added).

    Still the colours and shades are something I will be constantly tweaking as I add elements and I will keep your edits in mind.