[WIP] Iso: House

[Triple]

My first house deisgn in isometric, it's a work in progress. But I just wanted some C&C on the actuall design and such.

www.key2heaven.com/k2h2/house1.PNG


I just added a simple texture to the roof for now.

[Gil]

C&C on the actuall design and such.

Well, the problem with the design is that there isn't any. It's a huge square box. If it's just a generic barn that no one's supposed to pay attention too, it's okay, but as a standalone piece it's a bit boring to look at. Details and a more irregular shape could fix that.

As for the shading, the wood is pillowshaded. Don't just line the edges with a color, look where the light source is at and shade accordingly. The top of a wooden board would catch more light and so it would actually be lighter than the side.

[Triple]

I'm going to make several houses for a town, some will be like this, it is actually a common design of a house in the old days. But I get what you mean. I'm pretty sure it will look alright when I start adding windows and all that stuff to it.

I have alwaysed use pillowshading, but it's a good thing you bring it up and I will try it out. Thinking of the light source and shade it accordingly.
Any tips or scetches for the roof? Because I plan on making it all in pixels and not using textures.

[Triple]

I don't know what the rules are for double posting, so feel free to delete it if it's against it.

So I spent a lot of time trying to get the shading done properly but it seems like it didn't do much different. Or what do you guys think?

Before:
www.key2heaven.com/k2h2/house1.PNG


After:
www.key2heaven.com/k2h2/house2.PNG

[Gil]

That looks a lot better. Maybe try putting texture into the wood next. Be careful though, too much contrast and it will look noisy, so the perfect wood texture tends to be subtle but still visible.

[Triple]

Thanks, your comments are very helpfull!

New update:
www.key2heaven.com/k2h2/house3.PNG


If this is alright, what's the next step?

[Gil]

That will work decently. I'd take it a little farther. Are you doing this in photoshop? If so, try working with a layer with layer mode set to burn or similar. I found that it can produce pretty nice effects for something like wood. Play with layer modes to find the right one.

Be careful not to lose control over the pixel level when using automated tools. Your last edit seems fine, but if you go too far, you'll just lose detail. Usually, the problem with automated filters lies in the highlights, so I found that after the filter is done, you can best go back and reestablish those.

[Triple]

Yeah, I'm using photoshop, Okay I gave it a try. You will have to decide wheter it's better or not:

www.key2heaven.com/k2h2/house4.PNG


Is that enough? If so, you have to keep coming with ideas

[Mush]

Windows? And maybe some discoloration if the building is supposed to be old.

[Zoggles]

A roof doesn't usually end flush with the walls. There is usually an overhang - as well as guttering and drainpipes. What is the roof? Tiles? Corrigated iron?

As for the walls, the wood texture is a good start, but what about adding in some 'wear and tear' some less-than-perfect joins, some cracks, stains, and yes.. other features like windows/sills/drainpipes/possibly power supply feeding into it?

I also think (structurally) Just the four corner posts/beams is not really sufficient to hold up a builind of this sort.. let alone take the weight of such a large roof.

-Z-

[Manupix]

... try working with a layer with layer mode set to burn or similar. I found that it can produce pretty nice effects for something like wood. Play with layer modes to find the right one.

But... but... but, that's, well, ah, not pixel art, is it?
109 colors in version #3, >256 in #4...

I'm sure the experienced artist can use layer modes in this way to save time and knows how to retain control, but I wouldn't recommend this as a learning tool.
The point in doing it by hand is, mostly, to learn how things look like, more than how to actually draw them. If you let a tool do the drawing for you, you skip a lesson.


This house is way too big in my opinion, esp if you plan a pixel city.
I generally agree about comments about shading, contrast and detail.

The contrast difference btw the 2 walls is almost non-existent, compared to the roof. Also, the texture should be much more contrasted and apparent on the sunlit side, than on the shadow side.
Think about shifting hues on both wall and roof: shadows will tend to be a different color than highlights, depending on the situation (bluer shadows on a sunlit day outside, for instance).

[Triple]

Windows? And maybe some discoloration if the building is supposed to be old.

I havn't gotten to the part where I shouls add windows and such yet.

A roof doesn't usually end flush with the walls. There is usually an overhang - as well as guttering and drainpipes. What is the roof? Tiles? Corrigated iron?

As for the walls, the wood texture is a good start, but what about adding in some 'wear and tear' some less-than-perfect joins, some cracks, stains, and yes.. other features like windows/sills/drainpipes/possibly power supply feeding into it?

I also think (structurally) Just the four corner posts/beams is not really sufficient to hold up a builind of this sort.. let alone take the weight of such a large roof.

-Z-

Good idea for the roof, I havn't started the pixeling part of the roof yet since there are other things with the wood that needs work. And I will get to the windows/sills/drainpipes and such later on.

But... but... but, that's, well, ah, not pixel art, is it?
109 colors in version #3, >256 in #4...

I'm sure the experienced artist can use layer modes in this way to save time and knows how to retain control, but I wouldn't recommend this as a learning tool.
The point in doing it by hand is, mostly, to learn how things look like, more than how to actually draw them. If you let a tool do the drawing for you, you skip a lesson.

This house is way too big in my opinion, esp if you plan a pixel city.
I generally agree about comments about shading, contrast and detail.

The contrast difference btw the 2 walls is almost non-existent, compared to the roof. Also, the texture should be much more contrasted and apparent on the sunlit side, than on the shadow side.
Think about shifting hues on both wall and roof: shadows will tend to be a different color than highlights, depending on the situation (bluer shadows on a sunlit day outside, for instance).

This house is for a MMORPG, it's not to big, in fact me and my friend discussed and it might be too small. Good point with the 2 walls having a non-existant contrast difference.

I hope this new edition included some of your comments:
www.key2heaven.com/k2h2/house5.PNG

[Triple]

Decided to start working a little on windows and such and this is how it turned out:

www.key2heaven.com/k2h2/house6.PNG


I found it difficult to fade the windows, so some pointers on that would be nice.

Edit: Further Updates:
www.key2heaven.com/k2h2/house7.PNG

[Manupix]

Windows: these are the window frames but there are no actual windows; the bars do not look centered, because they are actually centered on the outside of window frames, which they shouldn't be since since they are recessed (does this make sense?); the 3 outline pixels in the lower outer corners should be removed.

Door: it might be recessed too; having it centered is maybe not the best visual option, nor a good structural option (cut of center post).

Chimney: centered on the roof > same thing; the top and all brick joints being horizontal, should have the iso 2x1 angle; chimneys usually are rectangles not squares (from above), and made of far thicker bricks / stones.

[Triple]

Reorganising the centering and such is a pretty big job atm, so for now I fixed the other things you mentioned:
www.key2heaven.com/k2h2/house8.PNG

[Phones]

I'm thinking that the chimney there has some perspective issues. It looks rather off. Also, a cast shadow, and maybe removal of those black lines would be helpful as it stands, so it blends in with the house more. The chimney is the first thing my eyes jump to there.

[The Mozack]

Chimney: centered on the roof > same thing; the top and all brick joints being horizontal, should have the iso 2x1 angle; chimneys usually are rectangles not squares (from above), and made of far thicker bricks / stones.

Here's a hastily made example to illustrate the case of the chimney.


A run-in-the-mill chimney stack typically has flat tops that do not slant alongside the pitch of the roof. Neither does its brickwork slant along with the pitch of the roof, because chimneys are not supposed to be laid out in this manner (chimneys made from masonry usually run from within the house (starting from the fireplace) to the top of the stack, so they need to be laid out evenly). This is what a typical chimney stack would look like when the rest of the building is gone:



Unless this is exactly what you're aiming for.

[Triple]

I suppose a good idea could be to have the chimney outside the exterior wall. Imagine putting the image http://farm1.static.flickr.com/18/72642830_b1fa383aae.jpg onto the wall of a house, and the place you put the wood is aimed into the wall. And hence from inside you can only see the chimney fire place. That way I could also add a pile of wood outside the house.

[The Mozack]

I suppose a good idea could be to have the chimney outside the exterior wall. Imagine putting the image http://farm1.static.flickr.com/18/72642830_b1fa383aae.jpg onto the wall of a house, and the place you put the wood is aimed into the wall. And hence from inside you can only see the chimney fire place. That way I could also add a pile of wood outside the house.

That works. Go for it.

[Triple]

This is how it turned out:

www.key2heaven.com/k2h2/house9.PNG

[Gil]

A little more contrast is needed. Especially the darker range of colors is lacking.

[Triple]

What about this:

www.key2heaven.com/k2h2/house10.PNG

[Zoggles]

At the moment, despite the texturing it still appears very 'thin' and flat on every side.

I've made a couple of quick edits to part of it:

• added some highlighting to edges (window frames / door frame / beams)
• made the main beams stick out a bit more than the panelling
• re-did and simplified your chimney brickwork. Your brick-offsetting is very minimal in your chimney. Usually bricks are placed centrally over the gap between bricks on the row below - not just slightly to one side. You do not need to use so many colours.

It could really use more contrast - i.e darker shades for the front-left face and more shadowing under the eaves of the roof, next to main support beams etc.

Still.. hope this gives you a few ideas.



-Z-

[NaCl]

I see the same problem here that I see in tons of iso work. It's like, you made a big box, then started adding more boxes to it for details, and it's obvious in the finished product. It's very difficult, or impossible to imagine all the details on some object you have not interacted with intimately. This is why people always say to look at references. A barn is not really just a big box, a house isn't either. There is a logic to it's construction that is apparent in how the finished thing looks. I know you're not making a barn, but look at this as a structure:



See, it is a very complicated object, not just a big square. So basically what I'm saying is, if I asked you to draw a chair, you could make a flat square with 4 square legs coming down, and a flat square at 90 degrees from the seat, but thats boring, while chairs can be interesting and vastly more complex then that:

[Triple]

I will resume this project later on (and answer your comments and such), but for now my time is focused on other things such as christmas and a retake of 1 exam.