Snowy landscape

[TrevoriuS]

Been a while since I posted some pixels... Now I've been working on this landscape (which is 100% referenced from a resized picture) with Arne's palette, and am up for some critiques. I'm not very satisfied with where I am so far as it is a bit too messy. I've started to clear up some area's and I'd like to add detail to that, but I think I need more work in my sketching-fase of this whole.

Sketching & reference:

Slight refining of shadowy area and top left (of which the latter in my eyes can stay as it is for now, and get expanded with detail later)


Eat the drawing and spit it back out at me, as long as good C&C follows

[TrevoriuS]

Bump with more WIP... Does the green work there? 0o I actually think it does, better than the bright blue. There really misses a colour in that blue ramp for something like this methinks.

I removed the moon as you can see, I'll probably add some sort of logo there and use this for a game of some sorts. But that's all for later concerns.

[Opacus]

I don't like the dithering on the ground at all actually.
I think you're trying to get far too much detail into it without actually giving it a form.

[TrevoriuS]

While messing around with it I find it hard to actually do this more concretely. I agree nonetheless, that it's hard to see what is going on here, but it may take me some time to work out on how to do this more clearly.

edit:

  going nowhere like this
I'll work some more on the rocks at the right, as I do know what to do with them

[Opacus]

While messing around with it I find it hard to actually do this more concretely. I agree nonetheless, that it's hard to see what is going on here, but it may take me some time to work out on how to do this more clearly.

Well, in a piece of this size I'd break out of Arne's pallete. I don't think you'll have enough colours otherwise.
What I currently see is just the dithering. But it doesn't show any volume to me at all.
The problem is that you're already applying textures even though the volumes are underdefined.
Which just makes it look like random noise.

I made an edit for you. I defined the volumes a bit more and I rendered a small part of snow in the lower mid/right.
Just trying to show that dithering isn't the only thing that you can use to apply texture. The forms of shadows can do so much more then just random dithering.

I also added some more colours.
Arne's pallete is very pretty, but too limited for such a big and ambitious piece.


I hope it helps.

[Madre]

depends what he wants

a realistic background or a "DOS game" style.

[TrevoriuS]

Well a bit of information on the choices I made around this piece then:
When I was ill in bed the past few weeks I decided to make a game with Arne's palette, now, a bit later, I decided to make this scene. In the back of my mind however, I kept the game. As if this piece was gonna go somewhere nice, I'd use it in the game as some background for menu, startup, story or whatever. I now decided to just make it go somewhere nice, and work on it to finish it, keeping to the same palette as that of the game, being Arne's. There's no need to stick to the palette, and no further boundaries I am sticking to. I just like the challenge of doing it.

So now here's what I've got from your edit Opacus:

I believe I kept the edited shapes too much, so I'm gonna hope you don't mind too much. If you however do hate me for that I'll do my own paintover-edit and rework from there. Just say so

[Opacus]

No you can use it if you want. It's only a small part anyway.

[TrevoriuS]

Your edit was very helpful and I think I made decent progress here. I focussed alot on drawing from the reference while working on the rocks and I think it's reasonably recognizable towards people that didn't see the photograph as well now Still needs alot of cleaning on the right half, though I want to see if I'm on the right track with the shady area as well as the rock formation.

[Jad]

This is great, but there's a weird thing; I always like the first sketch the most of every version you've made. In my opinion you should've shaded the parts inside of the shadow with only the dark gray and the blue. 1-bit colouring with heavy emphasis on smooth dithering. As of now all of the brighter parts pop and effectively ruins the play between extremely bright light and dark, although saturatedly (this is now a word) self-illuminated shadow.

Though I mean no disrespect, you have made fantastic progress with defining form, it's just that you're defining light and shadow that isn't there O:! If that's okay with you, stay on the path you're taking. I like it anyway!