The top is really blurry in comparison to the rest, which is crisp and clear, and I agree with Drex, the round things should touch. Also, I see that band as being metal. EDIT: Actually, I see the underwater pillars all being metal and the ones on land as stone. I imagine that's just the coloration, but that's just the way I've always seen it.
I agree about the blurry top. Also, try weathering the vertical edges going down the main part of the column. Look at original sprite, the edges are rough and gritty. Overall it's looking very good though.
I realize the top is blury and all other critisisms. This is a work in progress, before I begin applying texture and what not I need to have the basic structure formed, that is, perhaps as the pillar may have looked when it was brand spanking new. I personally never considered the pilllar to be made of metal myself. The image below shows a pillar half submerged, to me it looks like a standard stone pillar. Also the way it is broken at the bottom looks like how stone would break, not metal. It's supposed to be a ruin, so I would still think it ought to be stone, it also has no rust on it (not that I've necissarily ever seen anything submerged in a zone covered with rust). Lastly, I sort of figured that the underwater parts used to not be underwater, like Atlantis. So why would the pillars above ground be stone, and those which sank, or became submerged, be metal? Hiowever, I did always think the ring in the center was metal, maybe so things could be attached to it, or for added support. Personally, it looks like the intent was to make it look like your typical Roman pillar.
Yeah, I imagined that it was just the different color that made me think the whole pillar was metal, but I still say that band could be metal.
I'd also make sure the dots along the top are all in a straight line. There's a slight downward bend in the middle two. And of course, the white bits along the top that haven't been fully erased. But you knew that already, didn't you?
I've always thought the band right above the falling part was supposed to be metallic, too... even if it doesn't make much sense when you think of it. =| EDIT: By the way, this is an example where the original artists actually added the graininess they wanted, so some texturing would be quite welcome in here.
In my opinion, the weathering of the pillar is too fine and too much... its hard to explain, but right now, it looks a little... furry or fuzzy. Mabye if the weathering was a bit more coarse... for example a few more cracks.
Why don't you try taking this in another direction; take a look at some reference images of marble, I have a feeling that correctly applied, that could be a great fit for the pillars.
Ahh, thats the word I was looking for... I was gonna say 'kinda, like, make it, like, wood grain...like'... then I realised how stupid I sounded...
I think you might be slightly better off putting in the texture yourself rather than throwing it through a filter. I mean for one, the filter isn't going to take into account the fact that the pillar is curved, not to mention you're probably not going to find the "perfect" texture unless it's made by hand anyway Sure it's a lot of extra work but Aquatic Ruin is arguably one of the more fancy looking stages in Sonic 2 - if you're to carry that through to Sonic 2 HD it can't be rushed. On the plus side though I can't think of any other zones that'll need loads of texturing.
Hmm, perhaps the texture could be applied to a 3D cylinder (like the yellow/black stripes in the CPZ platforms) and then overlapped to these graphics? It could make a difference.
Will do, but won't be able to start again for a few days. To me the first texturized one I posted looked like how I would expect a pillar to look after decades of being submerged, erroded, sediment, etc. At least from what I've seen of the Titanic, but I do see what all of you mean, and it is lacking Character. Will go for a more "toon-ish" look next go around. Thanks
Dare I suggest adding a bit of seaweed to it, for a more authentically underwater feel to it? Or should we leave it off because it's not in the original sprites? Of course, having it on would mean we'd need about 10-15 different variations of the arrangement/look of seaweed to give the impression that it's on there randomly, and not just a bodged-up copy-and-paste/tiled effort.
While we do have room in the tilesets to add in more custom tiles as need be, I'd prefer to see the main piece tweaked for additional character first like subsubstantive already mentioned.
