[WIP] Landscape/cliffside

[Retsyn]

I'm looking for some help!
This is a background image that scrolls by in a shooter-style game I'm working on.  I'm happy with most all the art elements (I guess I'll show you guys sometimes when it's near completion) but when I look at this image, I know I need to do better.
What can you guys suggest?


The style I want is sort of a comic-book high-contrast 'everything gets a deep black shadow on it' look.

The black up top is index 0 and is transparent, as this is meant to scroll in front of clouds in a paralax.

[Aelyrin]

Though the title is "Landscape/cliffside," it looks much more like a forest of stumps. So what is it exactly?
Plus, it's as if you saved it as .JPG, though it's .GIF. Either that or you blurred it for some reason. This isn't really pixel art, it seems.

[STE 86]

hmm. i am not really sure that the graphics u have really fit cliff or landscape. in fact to me they actually look more like an irregular row of sawn off tree trunks.

however if its a columnar effect u need but using rocks then can i offer, the natural basalt column rock formation of The Giant's Causeway in Ireland as a possible useful source of inspiration? google image search Giant's Causeway

an example:



hope this can help, rather than an enormous list of "what to dos"

Steve

[Retsyn]

Yeah, I agree with the tree-trunk comment.  That's because of laziness!  The game engine is working really well, so I want throw half-done art resources in there to get it moving.  I was unhappy with my one 'curve' of canyon, which alone looks like a tree trunk... but I needed 640 pixels of repeatable scrolling because I was hungry to get back at the code.

This is by far the worse piece of art yet to grace this project, so I'll get around to showing you guys cooler stuff soon.

[Aelyrin]

Okay, so we all agree they look like tree trunks.
Now what are you planning on doing with them, though? Was what STE posted what you were trying to capture?
Try making them straighter. Because right now, with how round they are, it's hard not to think they once used to be a forest.

[STE 86]

bloody hell mate if u just want some dummy stuff to test code why dont u just borrow some for testing. there is loads around on here

the mountains on this:



would certainly fit your needs for testing code.

but obviously dont use it for the final and quick pm to the artist would be good form.

Steve