[WIP] Grafics for a platformer-rpg

[philipptr]

So after coming up with the strange idea to make a rpg from a jump'n'run perspective I've started doing a little mockup for it.
The ground is made of 16*16 tiles while the tree is just one big sprite. It's a bit inspired by Helm's mockup from the video-thread.

I would really like to have some c+c on the trunk, especially shading-wise, since I think it looks pretty flat. All other critique is appreciated aswell. I came to learn

(The thing in the background is supposed to be light shining through a tree, which will be most likely removed as soon as I have a better idea for a background.)

Edit: (newest version)

[fil_razorback]

Regarding the flatness of the tree, I think you should shade it more like a cylinder....basically darkening the side oposite to the lightsource.
Atm, except the spirals' volume, you shaded it like a plank.

[pkmays]

I'm really digging the palette and style. Very surreal. I suggest utilizing more geometric shapes in the leaves of the tree. Something distinct but not too repetitive.

[Joseph]

im in love with the one larger rock on the left, otherwise the rest needs work.

[philipptr]

Thanks very much for the answers, I made a rough edit on some things:

Regarding the flatness of the tree, I think you should shade it more like a cylinder....basically darkening the side opposite to the lightsource.
Atm, except the spirals' volume, you shaded it like a plank.

I found it kinda hard to combine both, the spirals' volume-shading and the cylinder-style shading (sounds strange but I think you know what I mean). I tried to make to make a rough sketch of the new shading on the lower part of the tree(unclean and without any dithering), which looks imo less flat but still not perfect. Somehow I think it looks like a line is going around the tree rather than the tree being twisted itself.

I also made another test for the leafs in the middle (which imo looks best). Any critique on that, or do you think I can make all leafs in this style?

[MoD]

The tree looks like one of the cardboard paper towel rolls. Your first version wasn't far from the mark, though, from what I can tell. Just move the highlight to a position farther down on the cylinder and make sure the shadow follows the contours of the tree-spiral and isn't just at a 45-degree angle.

The leaves on the left and middle look like viable options, while those on the right look like their size is too fixed to convey them as being a surface wrapped around the leaf-blob's contours. The left leaves look a bit odd in the lower bit, though, they lose all conveyance of shape there and break down into dot-dithering, whereas in the layer above you have beautiful portrayal of the light hitting leaves and the leaves casting shadows. Once you fix the left one, which of the two (it or the middle) you pick is mostly a stylistic decision, I think, and thus up to you.

[Ryumaru]

heres an edit that might give you some ideas.

[pkmays]

If you're going for something surreal/trippy, I think the toilet paper roll look can work. Also did some crude copy on the new leaves, which are a huge improvement IMO.

[Potatoes]

I'm no pixil expert but a couple things looked odd to me.  I'm not sure if they were supposed to be like this or not, though.

[philipptr]

potatoes: The brown line was still from the lineart (since I only made some very rough colouring at that place it was still visible. The other thing came from not finishing the new shading of the trunk.

thanks for the edits. Although I dont aim for something realistic I dont really like the toilet-paper-roll-look I made a new version of the trunk which I still not perfectly like. Also I continued drawing the leafes and added 2 tiles for the ground:


Do you think the new trunk is better than the previous versions?