Chess Set

[Zadaben]

Working on a small chess game with a friend, background is obviously incomplete, only including in case anyone has any comments on the overall layout or the colors. My primary concern right now is determining if I should use selout or just stick to solid outlines, but I am of course open to any other critiques, especially regarding the chess pieces. Thanks!

[SeDiceBisonte]

I personally prefer the outlined versions as I think it unifies both sets of pieces. In the selout version, I see the white knights as having subtly more pronounced brows than the black ones, for example. I also think outlines would probably be more versatile should you change anything about the colouring of the board, although I'm new so do take this with a pinch of salt. Speaking of the knights, I really love them. They're simple, clean, and have personality.

All of the pieces read really well but the rooks seem to have become octagonal rather than round. I've done a quick edit where I've removed a couple of pixels of outline at the base of each section to round them out a bit.

I also noticed that your light source seems to be above the pieces and vaguely in the direction of the viewer (based on the knights) so I've added shading to the stem ( - not familiar with terms for the parts of chess pieces) to give it a more three-dimensional appearance. In the same vein, I've added highlights to the crenelations at the back since they would also be receiving as much light as the ones at the front (as in your selout version).

Finally, the outlined rook seemed to have a very harsh delineation between 'front' and 'back' because of the outline that appears on the crenelations at the sides. I've softened the shading there as well to hopefully also make it appear rounder.



I hope this helps!

[Zadaben]

Hey thanks for the feedback, I think I will go with the darker outlined pieces. As for the rook, I ended up giving the selout-ed one a solid border, you were right the other design was not round looking enough, hopefully this one is. Now that the pieces are somewhat satisfactory, I'm trying to move onto the environment. Feedback regarding elements such as overall composition and critique on the flower, grass and rock shapes are especially appreciated, since that's what I appear to be struggling with most. Additionally, I would love to know which color scheme you all prefer.

[Rydin]

Very subtle suggestion: have the white knights face one direction and the black knights face another direction. It will make implied lines. Human viewers can't help to follow where things are pointing so right now with all the knights facing the same direction there's lots of energy moving to the left side of the screen. This little adjustment will help it feel balanced.

Also if white to play: h3

[SeDiceBisonte]

After thinking about it for a couple of days, I think I prefer the colours in the bottom image although maybe an additional highlight colour in the foliage of the top image would make it pop more. Additionally, I think the green lines that are outlining the trees in that image could be removed as it took me a while to notice them at 1x. It's hard for me to put my finger on why I prefer the bottom one but, while the top one is a little easier on the eye, the pieces feel more at home in the bottom one. Perhaps the brightness and clarity of the pieces makes them feel more at home in a more saturated world.

As for the composition, I'm curious about the body of water to the left. The rectangular shape may be intentional, but it doesn't feel very natural. I have seen reservoirs that look like that, but they've obviously been shaped by people. If the intention is for it to have occurred naturally then I think you can afford to round it out without damaging the composition. It might be worth more dramatically breaking up the straight banks than you already have at the top edge, too. Some land could extend further into the water.