Concept Art & Mockups - Aquatic Ruin Mockups Needed!!

..I think it would be better to get the basics done, first.



By the way, I don't think Tails clashes too much with the background like many were fearing. I like how it's looking.

 

Until the main level has been completed, we're working for strict recreation.

Like I said, we'll take a closer look at it once we have an approved tileset for that area. However, you raise a good point about the Mega Mack. I'd love to see the Mack bubble that are being launched from the tubes done in a way that will emphasize this. Probably a good opportunity to make use of 3D, given that accurately drawing translucency is difficult at best.

 

3D:


2.5D:

 

Well, if you are talking about level design is gonna be the same, however Im sure gambit took some liberties at some tiles for some places (There are some tiles errors in the original, like for example the loop...nothing noticeable in the original).

About special effect and new tiles...Im sure we are gonna add some new ones.

Holy, lovely piece, Maximus... Personally I love it. A painted background with some 3D rendered objects and special effects like some glow could be awesome... also, will like to see how that blue stuff glows in the tube haha! :P

 

lol Some liberties, eh? There's so many tiling errors in Emerald Hill Zone it isn't even funny.

 

This is just amazing with what your doing. While it still needs finishing touches to make it more fitting. It's got that clean look that I was hoping for.

 

My god, Maximus, how can you make this awesome stuff so fast?

 

This looks SO MUCH better than what we have for EHZ.

 

Can I jump on the "Maximus is awesome" bandwagon? I don't care who said we don't need 2.5D stuff, these must be in if your eyes are connected to your brain in some way.

 

MaximusDM is making some great stuff here, and personally I wouldn't be completely averse to this "2.5D" look being the one S2HD has, if the backgrounds were designed to suit. I mean, a little texture (maybe some brushed metal effect, nothing so much as to suggest a lot of rusting or whatever) and this CPZ stuff could be perfect.

I love what I'm seeing.

 

We have the situation where one guy, Maximus, is creating awesome 3D graphics in one very expensive program, Maya.

I have seen many 3D versions of EHZ. I am sure Maximus can do better than all of them. He is simply outstanding!

 

Perhaps he could work with what the other artists have been coming up with, and use his 3D models to render some tiles?
I mean, got nothing to lose in trying, since he seems to be getting such a positive reaction.

 

Hey, congs on your 3D models MaximusDM!
I didn't honestly expect a CPZ concept of this quality.

This is exactly what this topic is meant for, and please do feel free to throw in anything you feel to make! (including BG)
Putting in characters to test clashes is surely going to help, even if in the end it won't be copy/paste job and we'll need to draw the actual tiles, it makes your concept one step closer to set a working base we like as a reference!

About suggestions on your concept:

-Much of your steel seems abit too polished
-The yellow stripes texture seems of a much lower resolution compared to the rest
-Several overall aliasing issues, especially on bolts and the red tube

Keep it up! ^^

 

Well... this is getting a more positive reaction from everybody than the drawn foregrounds ever got, so redrawing all this would be actually spending more time in regressing what Maximus managed.

Honestly, having followed the development of this project since the very beginning, I think the foregrounds should be made like this from now on, since this way is both faster and flashier. In a few days, Maximus has made more than twice the amount of tiles that had been made for EHZ during the same period, and with surprising results that only need a few improvements.

Backgrounds, characters and certain objects could still be hand drawn, with caution when applying the shadowing correctly so they don't feel like cutouts (the example with Tails shows how both CG and hand-drawn don't need to clash when done properly).



The original Sonic 2 (and even its Japanese commercials) already featured hand drawn sprites and CG coexisting, after all. I think we should be aiming for the same thing.

 

As I thought might happen, I think the artwork does clash a bit more when comparing hand-shaded metal with the 3.5D work of the level.

 

That might be due to the current lightning being used, which seems to be dimmer (and more yellow) than it should. =\

 

Haha!, Yeah, remember? It was fucking hard to do the same fucking loop without that tile errors in the base...

...I think, that the team should have a meeting about this thing too...at least look at the forums, some people is loving the 3D tiles, and since Its not that noticeable that's so 3D...

Just think of the potential of a 3D rendered foreground and 2D painted background...It could look pretty nice, since Sonic Team also used renders of, LOT of things while doing the art and sprite for the levels...

Well, I suppose we might still use the EHZ we have right now (Looks beautiful just right now, 3D would not suit the level to me too...) but Im with you about the time, and things about shading...

Well, Like Ice said, that's because of Lighting, I used a "white light" with a grey metal shading... so the egg-0-matic is pretty "blue-ish" I suppose that if he changes the light to make it feel like the egg-o-matic, it would look shiny metally and nice too. I can edit the art too if really needed.

 

Maya must have some sort of Toon shader built into it. If it's anything like the one Max has, you can play around with the color stepping on the shading to better blend the 3D and 2D pieces. Food for thought.

 

It does have a toon shader, but it really wouldn't make it fit better. What it does it add 3D strokes around objects that will appear/dissappear based on angle and lighting. I think it will just make it look bulkier. And applying it to all the objects would probably take a while and then I would need to twist knobs in the settings. Seems like something that you 2D artists might want to just do. Like I said, I can render this stuff seperately and at any resolution you want. From there, people that know their way around photoshop better than I do can help alter it to fit better with the 2D art.

To Vincent, which steel in particular are you talking about. Because when in a 2D view, I don't really have a problem with the high shininess off things because most of it is boxes, it really shines on cylinders.
The texture was temporary, it was something so distinct that I needed to put it there, would look empty with out it. As I get around to putting textures on metal and stuff, I'll be making a texture sheet.
Not sure exactly how to fix aliasing, probably has something to do with lighting settings. I'll check it out when I get to attempting to do the lighting.


Thanks for the support everybody, its your encouragement that keeps me making these so fast.


If you are gonna put in Robotnik, but him in his natural environment.
Whine about the crappy lighting and I'll throw a shoe at you.

 

What is this? Are you all really considering using these graphics for the game? It's a great take on the zones 3D, but I though almost everything was going to be hand drawn on this? To me it looks sort of cheap compared the the hand drawn stuff.