Levels & Items Art

I have nothing to contribute except YOU GUYS ROCK. OMG. I can't wait to see more of this amazing work!

Oh wait, I do have something http://www.xaraxtreme.org/

This amuses me, apparently Xara extreme for *nix is free, and the windows version is not :o If you have Windows 2000/XP/Vista, it should run fine if you install "andLinux" for windows http://www.andlinux.org/

 

Hello. I know there's already been a WIP Masher posted, but I started one today and wanted to hear some input. Feel free.



As you can see, I opted to draw it by hand before vectoring. This is probably the best way to go. I had to try basing some details on the artwork because, honestly, the Masher sprite is a bit of a mess in some spots. It still needs to be shaded (even most of the color is placeholder at this point), so this is most definitely a WIP.


I start off and say this: now that I have stepped back from it a bit, maybe a metallic tail like the sprite would look better.

 

Hi guys,

I'm having a go at elements for the Emerald Hill background. I've started with the clouds. It still needs alot of work but thought I'd show my progress so far.

Things I know I need to change:
- clean up some of the rougher edges and some curves that don't quite flow right.
- refine the reflection (I just drew that in quickly as a starting point)
- work out how I'm going to go about drawing that water 'sparkle'... if anyone has any suggestions let me know, as I think this will be the hardest part to get right!

 

The generic shape is like an 8-12 pointed glint.

Consider this image:
http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_...ter_sparkle.jpg

For pixels that are conjoined, you might consider doing something a little different, or maybe you could just take them apart and do two seperate glints.

@Burping Cat: You are taking too much creative license. Preserving what the base image actually is comes first. In this case you've made the tail look more organiz than it should be and given parts too much rounding when they aren't meant to be round.

 

Hmm, I believe the clouds have been one of the few elements intended to look photorealistic since Sonic 1... so there's still some work to do in there, specially to make the borders look right.

But before continuing, make sure you get the correct graphics, without the raster effects or palette changes applied.

 

Can you elaborate on what's too round?

 

*le sigh*

I've got to differ and say to stay away from photorealism. Like I've iterated time and again, going for photorealism is against the scope of this particular project in all of the same ways it was part of the actual Sonic 2's art style. We aren't trying to make Sonic look 3D unlike in the real game, so we shouldn't be trying to make everything else look different from the style we are already going for.

Stick to the hand-drawn look, both for the sake of consistency and for the sake of actually getting things done. It's much easier and in the end it will be a lot better looking.

@Burping cat: Fins mostly.

 

I think the clouds are one of the few things that should look real-ish. Look at all the clouds in Sonic 1-3K. This is something I've noticed since I first played these games. When playing on a TV, the colors blended very well and gave the clouds this certain look.

 

@ DimensionWarped: Thanks for the info!

I have to agree that going for photorealism would be a mistake, and look out of place with the feel of the original. A crisp HD version of the original elements would look much better than a re-imagining of the game, especially when resources are coming from a bunch of different artists with potentially different styles...

@ICEknight: how do I go about getting the correct graphics minus raster effects and palette changes as you mentioned?

 

I suppose if someone posted a realistic looking background that didn't look like shit with what we have, I could see where you are coming from maybe, but in the meantime, I don't have anything better to go on and to be blunt, trying to do the background animations in a more photo-realistic manner... probably impossible if not just plain ridiculously hard. I think it will just be better for the sake of keeping the project going in the long term if everyone goes for the hand drawn look on everything.

 

Just a quick note: I've confirmed the 4x issue with Vincent and I've added it to the project summary under "contribution guidelines".

 

This was a WIP I had of the clouds before I quit with the level graphics. A better approach than the vector one before?

(For bonus points, try overlaying this cloud over the original graphic) =)

 

Very Good!
That cloud looks amazingly accurate, and is very fitting too

 

It's like High detaieled cloud of sonic 2.
That means it's perfect!

 

That cloud looks great man.

 

Thanks. I've PMed Vincent, and it looks like I might have to work on this again; I'm opposed to the idea of 'trickling' in the work piece by piece and I'd rather mockup an entire screen or level section, have the thing critiqued as a whole; it seems a better idea to me, then I can work on the elements as a cohesive whole.

In the meantime, nobody had any plans to draw EHZ or ARZ art, did they? ^_^

In other news, I wrote my big essay for the year and I have animated pretty much all of my segment for the last project of the year. I may find myself with plenty of time for this art :D

 

Love.self.hate, it would be great to have you back on this project! Your experience as an artist is invaluable and I look forward to seeing your level art interpretations! You expressed concern a while back that this project did not have a cohesive direction, do you still feel that is the case?

 

<!--quoteo(post=192328:date=May 1 2008, 01:09 AM:name=DeeDubXL)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (DeeDubXL @ May 1 2008, 01:09 AM)

This was a WIP I had of the clouds before I quit with the level graphics. A better approach than the vector one before?[/quote]Looks better, but you got rid of many irregularities that made the original clouds less "solid". Also, the colors are a bit off.

I've edited them a little to show you what I mean:

Original, for reference:

*Still, some of the original shadows in the outside part (which really aren't shadows but the sky seen through them) would have to be added.

 

Comparing with the original, I really like the texture love.self.hate used in the center of the cloud, but the edges do need more definition. They're not wispy enough.