Vince, that commercial does not follow any artist style (I was wrong before =P), I'm convinced that it may be all "guessed" =P so, we had better not use it as a reference xD
That's the only S2 "Official HD Ring Artwork" in my knowledge, and it clearly states there was no intention to make them non-cylindrical in the first place. ^^
Finally got my camera managed, rings are 64x64px now. (Since switching to orthographic view [no perspective], I forgot to account for that with the camera zoom.) Two more revisions: I personally prefer the former, although the latter has the original sprite-sheet lighting.
He said that was due to the ring reflection back on itself, but I agree -- it's really distracting overall. Gambit's shape with TyrantWave's lighting and shading would basically nail it for me looking at them out of context. Having them in EHZ screenshots is still going to be the best comparative measure I believe.
And now modifying the thickness of the rings: (So they're not doughnuts =P) Half-width: 3/4-width: The 3/4 one seems to be the most correct one I've done I reckon.
Removed the ring's reflection and that's about it for this one. New Old I kinda liked the reflection, but it looks good either way. All I had to do was tell the ring not to be visible in reflections and bada bing.
This is kinda off topic, but I was looking around the archive, and I noticed that the emeralds said complete. I have always loved those things because they're pretty and they let you do fun stuff. However, the image in there is not very pretty. I mean, it works, but I think it could be better. Original Archived Version Mine The edges on mine are a bit rough, but that's easy to fix. Anyways, what do you guys think?
<!--quoteo(post=289314:date=Mar 12 2009, 08:50 PM:name=TyrantWave)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (TyrantWave @ Mar 12 2009, 08:50 PM) [/quote] I personally prefer this one to the cylindrical ones, due to them not looking like cheerios. I can't really tell in either of the references whether the rings are pure tori (donuts) or are more like the ring from LOTR. If everyone thinks the torus is better, I probably prefer TW's 3/4 - I like the lighting better for some reason. I think someone already mentioned it, but it'd be cool to start sticking some in EHZ next to each other and see which ones fit.
<!--quoteo(post=289397:date=Mar 13 2009, 06:40 AM:name=Gambit)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Gambit @ Mar 13 2009, 06:40 AM) Archived Version Mine The edges on mine are a bit rough, but that's easy to fix. Anyways, what do you guys think?[/quote] No offence dude, but yours look dirty. I seriously don't get what you've done with the texturing.
<!--quoteo(post=289397:date=Mar 13 2009, 07:40 AM:name=Gambit)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Gambit @ Mar 13 2009, 07:40 AM) Archived Version Mine The edges on mine are a bit rough, but that's easy to fix. Anyways, what do you guys think?[/quote] This doesnt really fit in with the rest of the game at all... Its way to shiny and dirty. Maybe you could try a more cartoonish look instead of realistic?
As you noted Gambit, those were marked as complete. While you're welcome to create versions for yourself, we're not looking for improvements on that piece anymore. I have to agree with what the others have said; your version is looking extremely rough, and the texture work on them leaves a lot to be desired.
@ Tyr: This one's really good. @ Gambit: It has improved alot, now. To improve it further, you could tone down the lighting (especially the white spread areas) which is actually too strong. -- If you guys don't want to wait for me to do a mockup version, do add your PNG into this Mockup to test how it's getting with clashing issues:
I don't know quite how to make an APNG or GIF using an already existing APNG/GIF, so I had to make mine layer by layer (Else I would have added Gambit's as well). APNG: This is a link, as it's a bandwidth killer else: Linky GIF:
Can you make it more fluid? When it's in frontal view, it holds still for a split second. EDIT: Holy fuck is Tails small compared to that spring!!
Redo The delay is exactly 60ms between every frame - if it looks like it's freezing slightly, it's because the animation is looping back to the first frame (Which with a large PNG like this can have lag).
<!--quoteo(post=289435:date=Mar 13 2009, 03:27 PM:name=TyrantWave)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (TyrantWave @ Mar 13 2009, 03:27 PM) [/quote] Your ring's turning the wrong way. I haven't decided whether I like the hyper-realistic rendered rings, yet. In comparison to the rest of the art in that mockup it looks out of place.
Applied an Unsharp-Mask to each frame of the animation (This is just a gif atm). It looks a bit more cartoon like, however the effect may be too strong...
<!--quoteo(post=289356:date=Mar 12 2009, 10:07 PM:name=Gambit)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Gambit @ Mar 12 2009, 10:07 PM) [/quote] I really love that one. I agree with Vincent though, tone down the white spots a bit....it's just a tad too bright. TW's are a little to dark in my opinion however. Also, any chance you could thin them just a bit? I think TW's more on the ball in that category. It's kind of funny, you guys are pretty well balancing each other out.