Hi!
I just wanted to help the game in any way, but don't have any experience. So I decided to start making tiles and post them here. I would be happy about comments, so I can improve my skill in making tiles.
Yes, I know they may not be useful to the game, but this is a learning thread. If you comment I'll get better and in some time produce something useful...
Here my first tile:
[DIS] gagggo's pixel learning thread
Re: My pixel learning thread
You already understood the meaning of dithering. That is already a big archievement. But to become a good tile artist you will need two additional skills: Light direction and color selection.
First about light direction: The key of good tile art is not drawing shapes with lines but drawing shapes with light and shadow. You can do this by imagining a light source (usually above and to the right or to the left) and drawing surfaces and lines facing the light source brighter than the rest and those away from the light source darker than the rest. I added a bright line to the lower and right edge of your bricks. Do you note how they look much more three-dimensional? Second about color selection: You used pure greyscale shades. The problem with greyscales is that they look boring and transport no atmosphere. By adding a tiny bit of color to shades of grey you can add a lot more "feeling" to your tiles. Here are two versions of the tile. I added a tiny bit of blue to one and a tiny bit of orange to the other using a graphic filter (When making real tiles I would have added more saturation to the darker shades than the brighter ones). Note how the blue one gives a cold, sinister feeling like the castle of a dark lord while the orange one seems warm and friendly like the castle of a beloved king. I hope that this was helpful for you.
First about light direction: The key of good tile art is not drawing shapes with lines but drawing shapes with light and shadow. You can do this by imagining a light source (usually above and to the right or to the left) and drawing surfaces and lines facing the light source brighter than the rest and those away from the light source darker than the rest. I added a bright line to the lower and right edge of your bricks. Do you note how they look much more three-dimensional? Second about color selection: You used pure greyscale shades. The problem with greyscales is that they look boring and transport no atmosphere. By adding a tiny bit of color to shades of grey you can add a lot more "feeling" to your tiles. Here are two versions of the tile. I added a tiny bit of blue to one and a tiny bit of orange to the other using a graphic filter (When making real tiles I would have added more saturation to the darker shades than the brighter ones). Note how the blue one gives a cold, sinister feeling like the castle of a dark lord while the orange one seems warm and friendly like the castle of a beloved king. I hope that this was helpful for you.
- former Manasource Programmer
- former TMW Pixel artist
- NOT a game master
Please do not send me any inquiries regarding player accounts on TMW.
You might have heard a certain rumor about me. This rumor is completely false. You might also have heard the other rumor about me. This rumor is 100% accurate.
Re: My pixel learning thread
gagggo: Your work reminds me mine, when I was starting.
I got some hints:
1. Making of tiles start from concept
2. Don't be afraid to experiment and play with pixels
3. Learn some tricks and pixelart techniques and try use them in practice
4. Try to make tiles tillable on angles different than 0° and 90° 5. And of course have fun! ;)
I got some hints:
1. Making of tiles start from concept
2. Don't be afraid to experiment and play with pixels
3. Learn some tricks and pixelart techniques and try use them in practice
4. Try to make tiles tillable on angles different than 0° and 90° 5. And of course have fun! ;)
Re: My pixel learning thread
I would only suggest experimenting with skewed patterns after gaining some experiments with organizing tilesets for mapping, because there is a big danger of creating tiles which are pretty but very impractical for building real maps with them.
- former Manasource Programmer
- former TMW Pixel artist
- NOT a game master
Please do not send me any inquiries regarding player accounts on TMW.
You might have heard a certain rumor about me. This rumor is completely false. You might also have heard the other rumor about me. This rumor is 100% accurate.