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Author Topic: Since we don't have a critique forum -- Some initial sketches  (Read 9060 times)

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Uhfgood

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Since we don't have a critique forum -- Some initial sketches
« on: August 16, 2007, 06:57:13 AM »

This is going to sound like a spam for my blog, but rest assured it isn't ;-)  The top 4 posts concern my game Enchanted Lands -- I've been basically racking my brains trying to get a suitable looking bedroom.  Now firstly it's not complete -- I leave the stuff like open drawers and stuff in the closet and stuff on the bed off, to be added later...  I do a yellow sketch to block in the areas and a blue one over the top to define more details -- i've still got stuff to do... but please let me know what you think... Perspective was a pain.

http://www.gamesafoot.com

Keith
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CMK2901

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Re: Since we don't have a critique forum -- Some initial sketches
« Reply #1 on: August 17, 2007, 06:09:11 AM »

Hey, as long as you maintain perspective, I'm alright with it. 

I think you've got a good start; it's really all in the details now.  I'm not sure if you're going for realistic or cartoony or what (talking about coloring here), but if you plan on having some kind of realism, I'd suggest you decide where your light sources will be and plan on adding something like a light, a window, or maybe just the computer glow. 

And something that was pretty cool in some older games was the foreground items...like, maybe right near the bottom of the screen, you can put some large books with one or two leaning...just like if the camera was behind some books on a shelf looking out at the room.  You certainly don't have to do this, but Gabriel Knight, for example, used it well to add some extra details to the scene and let the player know that there is a wall there.

But these ideas really only apply if you plan on developing your graphics in certain ways.  If you're going for a simplistic, minimalism style, these suggestions might not work.
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Uhfgood

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Re: Since we don't have a critique forum -- Some initial sketches
« Reply #2 on: August 17, 2007, 07:42:13 PM »

Thanks for the tip.  Don't know if you've seen the latest though -- I changed the placement a bit, and added a book case, in any case I like the look of this sketch, some others do to, and you said I had a good start, I think this one is going to make it to "black pencil" (using a number 2 pencil to trace out clean lines so i can ink it and then scan it for coloring).  I am looking to make it realistic.  Basically the main human characters are going to be drawn realistically, while some of the more interesting characters in my game are going to be more cartoony.  The backgrounds however I would like to be fairly realistic (or at the very least look like a very nice painting).  Like an old Disney cartoon.  (Not that I'm comparing myself,  just I'm going for that, examples being Pinocchio, and Peter Pan, and maybe Cinderella for the human characters.)

It seems everyone wants to emulate the cartoon style of Maniac Mansion 2: Day of the Tentacle -- I guess because it's easy and caricatured, but not me, as I want to be a bit different :-)

Keith

Thanks for looking
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Uhfgood

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Re: Since we don't have a critique forum -- Some initial sketches
« Reply #3 on: August 19, 2007, 10:28:20 PM »

i've gotten 87 views and only one reply, so that means to me that you're not following the link, but would rather see the image in the post...  Although I don't know when my webhost will go down, i'll attempt to post the images in here, and then you might decide you want to critque it :-)

Latest on top, earliest on the bottom.

I've said before I start with a yellow colored pencil and start blocking on the shapes getting perspective right, and then i go over it in a blue sketch, then after I get some critique i'll modify it and do several more until finally it gets looking correct, then it's on to a black pencil sketch and do any last minute detailing and fixing, and finally i'll ink it.

// black pencil sketch


// blue sketch number 4 -- this is the one where i got perspective right and got everything in the room correctly


// perspective was off here...


// this one wasn't too bad i think, but maybe a the room was a bit too big even if everything else was ok


// this was my initial attempt, note how the perspective is all whack, because i didn't follow any rules


// this was how it was originally going to go... I kind of had a go using this image as a start, but realized that it would be tough to navigate
// plus later when i was attempting real perspective, this was getting kind of tough for me.  As a a picture it would have been interesting,
// as a game it might not have been that great.


Anyways thanks for looking.
Keith
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CMK2901

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Re: Since we don't have a critique forum -- Some initial sketches
« Reply #4 on: August 30, 2007, 04:13:55 AM »

Sorry you haven't got much of a response, and I'm sure you want to hear from someone other than the same guy, but I just wanted to say that I like the direction you're going in.  If you're going for a certain style, they're perfect.

It seems now that it's all in the details.  And, anyway, I think that if you just colored in what you've got now, it could look stunning (I'd look at http://kafkaskoffee.com/tutorials/hirestut.shtml for a really great tutorial on coloring and lighting with a cartoon style).  And just, again, I suppose the light source could be the hallway or  the computer screen, but if that's not you're intention, I'd consider a light source.

That's all I got.  Hopefully you'll get some more responses; if not, you could always post this on the AGS board for a critique; they need not know you're not using their engine >:D.
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odnorf

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Re: Since we don't have a critique forum -- Some initial sketches
« Reply #5 on: August 30, 2007, 08:47:32 AM »

Hm, somehow I have missed this thread. That's why I haven't posted.
I don't think it's a necessity to go with correct perspective when doing cartoony graphics (I've done perspective at school and I hated it :)) but if that's what you want then you are on the right track. The latest image (the one on top) is definitely the best. On the first ones the various items where a bit too far from the gamers eyes and the perspective (although off) was too aggressive. The trick now is the coloring of the sketch, since that's when you'll get to add the details.
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Uhfgood

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Re: Since we don't have a critique forum -- Some initial sketches
« Reply #6 on: September 01, 2007, 08:28:55 PM »

Hmm interesting.  Everyone assumes my scant drawing skills are attempting to emulate a cartoony look.  In fact I want it to be painted realistically, and it's not my intent to make it that cartoony looking.  The first character you play is a human from our world, which means he's supposed to be somewhat realistic.  Firstly although it is going to be cartoon animated (like curse of monkey island, although the characters are not really stylized like CMI), the styles i'm going for are some of the early Disney stuff.  Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs backgrounds were painted in a semi-realistic style (like lighting and no distortions) although it was de-saturated watercolor, still retains a sort of realistic style.  Snow White herself was drawn as realistic as they could get back then, while the dwarfs were cartoon characters.  And that's what i'm going to go.  Comparison to a modern game, better than CMI, is maybe Broken Sword 1 and 2 -- they're drawing with a realistic style and yet they're cartoons.  That's sort of what i'm going for. 

I will probably get to start coloring soon. 

Thanks for the critiques.
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