you seem to be on the right path, but I think you have to work on thicker lines for the characters, look at how your character got completely lost in the MI3 screenshot and lost all its features making him unrecognizable.
Look how Guybrush, even on that very low quality screenshot is well defined and you can still see all his details.
Yeah. There's a couple of things going on there. When the images are pared down to a non native resolution and then pared back up, they lose definition in the lines. Though there are some lines that do need an honest thickening up. However, when you see the characters before a size compromise, the lining looks thick.
I guess my final decision on which to touch up will come down to what they look like in a native resolution background.
Old room in back, new room in front with added arches, different perspective. Still rough because I need to clean up lines and pen marks, but the papers higher quality and transfers without so much jaggedness. Then off to color!
You got a fan audience mate. It's a massive undertaking, pull it off and you got rep coming your way. Not to say you deserve glory above others without your abilities, but for your own merit, this is quite an impressive thing to do all on your own, even when these are your abilities. This is a big project you took on.
Hopefully this illustrates the art direction at the moment. When I first did my backgrounds they were off the cuff and just whatever I imagined. I'm trying to take time to make them feel more alive. Specifically here, drew the camera back, made the tower wall less bland by adding additional structures, dotted the country with brush, trees including limb in the foreground. Also because of the scale, it will make the characters seem to be dwarfed by the size of the building before them.
Further updates. The original house sketch you see in the first photo was uninked, but even inked I don't think it would have had the complexity or general 'better touch' of the second photo in the lower position. I think when you compare these two it shows a general increase in general complexity and quality.
The lower house is definitely more complex, but then, it has more lines and things in it. It also has some strange "blob" in the upper left, and I can't tell what it is without inking.
One of the scenes in Myst that annoyed me was a very dark scene, that I had to turn my monitor brightness all the way up to see anything.
EVERY Myst game hast a brightness setup that makes you adjust your monitor to an optimal level to see everything that you must. That's there for a reason.
I'm happy for you, you found something you enjoy, you're good at and no one can disagree with it. Really, because it's art, and it's something you enjoy, that's good. The perspective looks good even...
One person, that is quite the achievement. It's sticking it to the fan genre, I'd like to see this done, so many projects don't make it, because teams just give up.
I see some similarities. That game looks awesome but Sierra games take a whole other dimension, XD you can die in those games. Lucas arts that's rare and it's not as multiple path as Sierra games.
There may be a role for dying in my game for sure. I mean, the villain of the story is an 8 foot shadow with a suspended skull for a face. I don't want "King's Quest" level dying, but there have to be critical moments of the game where dying is possible.
But the vibe, I think, is totally achievable. The eeriness of the castle, for instance, and that moon with the circles of purples shades. I want to be able to hit those notes.
I think you can , the lines you used in the drawings are already similar. It's looking good. Yeah, King's Quest went over board with the dead thing, but it's sort of funny. I have to go back to those games.
I wanted to provide an area where a bit more could happen in terms of puzzle solving and narration. The old barn is a little too tightly focused. Plus the barn has no character it's just a perfect geometric box.
Well the other major inspiration for the style comes from Legend of Mana which has a very curvy art style.
Especially looking at the doors and walls.
So I guess my main point is that I want the game to have a fantastic feel. Something a bit otherworldly, like a structure you know shouldn't be standing because of its dimensions and yet is. Overall, Black Cauldron, Legend of Mana, Curse of Monkey Island and Whispered World are all big inspirations behind my background style. But Black Cauldron more than any of them I think.
I understand, I barely have any classes. I just don't like school I like learning, I love using my brain, expanding my horizons, I just don't like doing it the way they want me to all the time, some of it seems so tedious and silly and it's like you're on a short leash the whole time you're learning or you're looking through a structured window that your head just doesn't fit right all the way through and you have a hard time peeking out that window...
Comments
you seem to be on the right path, but I think you have to work on thicker lines for the characters, look at how your character got completely lost in the MI3 screenshot and lost all its features making him unrecognizable.
Look how Guybrush, even on that very low quality screenshot is well defined and you can still see all his details.
I guess my final decision on which to touch up will come down to what they look like in a native resolution background.
Old room in back, new room in front with added arches, different perspective. Still rough because I need to clean up lines and pen marks, but the papers higher quality and transfers without so much jaggedness. Then off to color!
Hehehe... hehe...hehehe...
Can't wait to see this finished!
Hopefully this illustrates the art direction at the moment. When I first did my backgrounds they were off the cuff and just whatever I imagined. I'm trying to take time to make them feel more alive. Specifically here, drew the camera back, made the tower wall less bland by adding additional structures, dotted the country with brush, trees including limb in the foreground. Also because of the scale, it will make the characters seem to be dwarfed by the size of the building before them.
Late night endeavors.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CeFHHvBpQk
EVERY Myst game hast a brightness setup that makes you adjust your monitor to an optimal level to see everything that you must. That's there for a reason.
Promotional poster.
Inked version.
Original barebones drawing
In progress revamped town.
This is the starting town. I think its name is Anuvil.
Innnnking processs... takes soo looongg....
Und Voila! Inking job for first town is basically complete.
My entire lifetime, this one game has been in my head. If I can evoke the mood of this game, I'll be happy.
But the vibe, I think, is totally achievable. The eeriness of the castle, for instance, and that moon with the circles of purples shades. I want to be able to hit those notes.
Old Barn
New Barn
I wanted to provide an area where a bit more could happen in terms of puzzle solving and narration. The old barn is a little too tightly focused. Plus the barn has no character it's just a perfect geometric box.
Oh, this one is still in-progress.
Especially looking at the doors and walls.
So I guess my main point is that I want the game to have a fantastic feel. Something a bit otherworldly, like a structure you know shouldn't be standing because of its dimensions and yet is. Overall, Black Cauldron, Legend of Mana, Curse of Monkey Island and Whispered World are all big inspirations behind my background style. But Black Cauldron more than any of them I think.
XD
Got bored, heard a song, wanted to draw this. Quickie pen and ink, maybe 20-30 mins.
That's pretty epic. What song was it, if I might ask?