Improve this ugly "style"

[Bijulinus]

I'm working on Jack Trasheater, and I hurried much for scenes...
how can I improve this awful style?




:o this scene looks a bit splatter...Ã,  :-\sorry!



:o the pointer is not the final one.

What do you all thinK about this?

[DGMacphee]

It doesn't look all that "ugly" as such. It looks like a very suitable style, especially compared to a lot of Sierra games.

I think "retro" is a better way to put it.

[Neutron]

well, the main thing would be to not rush in the first place, but i think a bit of shading would be a nice touch. Ã, especially on the toilet and the stairs. Ã, also,....maybe this is just my own preference, but when i am setting up a scene, whether it's pixel art, or whatever,...especially if it has lots of 3 point perspective,...I like to block it out using a 3D program first. Ã, this is a bit lazy of me, i suppose, since i have the skills to do it correctly without using the 3D program,...but hey,...it's so convenient, and yields such nice results,...shadows are perfect,....etc. Ã, so,...my advice would be to do a bit of preperation, maybe set things up with a 3D program first. Ã, I use blender, but some find it a bit difficult to use. Ã, It's actually quite intuitive once you get the feel for it,...it's interface is not the standard windows interface, and it does not work like the standard interface. Ã, Personally,...I really like that it does not closely resemble every program out there,....but, if you find it daunting, there are other programs, like 'design studio lite' which are not great, but they are easy to use, and work fine for things like setting up perspective. Ã, Anyway,...my point is, that taking some time to prepare actually saves time in the long run. Ã, Also,...if you feel impatient,...take a break. Ã, don't hurry through things. Ã, walk away, and then come back to it. Ã, anyway,...not to ramble. Ã, just some simple shading would add to it quite a bit,....and I find that when doing pixel art, it's best to use sculptural lighting, which is to say, put the highlites in the middle, and the shading on both sides, as opposed to light on one side, shadow on the other side. Ã, cheers!

[Bijulinus]

Yes, I used a 3d base in other projects, but it took too much time - probably because I did not have the right tools...
but would you explain me what do you mean for sculptural lighting?

[Neutron]

ok think of it this way,....if you were making an orange,....ordinarily the tendancy would be to put the shaded part all on one side, and the hilight part all on the other side,....with sculptural lighting, the hilight, or the lighter area goes more in the center of the object, with the darker area all around the edges.Ã, 
---<edit>---
here's an example i made.  the one on the left is normal lighting, and the one on the right is sculptural lighting.

[CoffeeBob]

The perspective is a bit off. It looks very painty.

[HillBilly]

I love this, but I think you should make that toilet somewhat bigger.

[Bijulinus]

Aaaaah now I got it. But how can I make it? Just filling two different areas with two different colors? Es. lighted area with lighter colour, darker area with darker colour. Is that it?

[InCreator]

Wohoo, retro! Ã, 8)
Graphics remind me Hugo trilogy games.

It'll be a pearl, in my opinion, if you improve style/stuff as following:

1) show the real screenshots! I mean - NO JPG compression! Since there's very few colors, save all shots as GIF or PNG. (Just don't REsave these blurry jpg's, right?) (oh, and no GIF making in MS Paint!!! Get any other painting program to do that, like ArtGem for example (link in my signature))
2) if they ARE as blurry a seen here - take a hint: clean lines, ho! Style is good, but blurriness spoils it all.
3) Do not use MSPaint's default palette... even not it's custom colors! Never! This looks just sooo standard, boring and ugly. And too contrasty and overcolored and... Well, your rooms definetly need a more peaceful tone: like draw the background using different tones of cyan or beige or something. Not supercontrasty tones, but just by few RGB values differing ones.
4) You definetly have to improve the character. Do work and feel pain, but be accurate. This stairway looks like it's drawn by someone drunk and character's face ain't too good neither. I don't think that you cannot do better - it looks more like you didn't have willpower to work a bit harder. And this sucks.
5) More about character(s) -- there's loads of nice tutorials around, Ã, if you're having trouble drawing.

[Bijulinus]

Well... actually lines are clear, but the size is 320X200...
what shall I do? Shall I enlarge the screenshots or let them so small?
I think they are too small to be seen!

About the character... yes, you are right, I'd love to improve it, more then backgrounds, because "rooms pass, character keep being  "
but I dont know any good program
and I feel Photoshop too messy - with lines.

[BlackMan890]

i am editing the first picture right now, i shall show it to you tomorrow

[Raider]

Okay do you want to change your style of improve it?
If you want a better style change the program you are using.
If you want to improve your style then take your time and put in shading, also it's detail that you need. The toilet looks like it is about to pour out onto the floor because of the angle.
Your character needs to be much more detailed, maybe put crinkles in his clothing or something.
The main thing is practice, practice practice practice!
Thats all I can think of, good luck

- Raider

[Bijulinus]

Yes, you are right.
Tell me, what software may I use?

[Raider]

I use THE GIMP which is very good for me and my style, Photoshop is l33t (good) . I guess Your style reflects slightly on the program that you use. THE GIMP works for me because it is freeware 
Download from here: http://www.tucows.com/preview/194851.html
hope it helps
Can I post a bg i did in Gimp on here moderators?

- Raider

[Bijulinus]

Thanks, I'm checking it!

[Hawkins]

Due to the long message by Neutron this may've already been said, but this is what I think, not that I'm an expert or so...

1. Look over that 3D graphics. the upper edge of the doors leans in the wrong direction, whitch makes the doors look small (I'm mostley reffers to the door beside the sairs.

2. The doors in the back of the room are too straight, try to make them a little more un-straight.

3. What is that blue-yellow square doing on the wall. If you've put it there I suggest you skip it or, at least, try to make it moe ovious what it is.

As for the toilet:

The door's still a litlle strange, the toilet's aimed down too much and that blue line, skip it or paint the whole wall beneath it the same colour.

Ps. So far, when I paint somethin, I've been using Paint, Can someone recomend any other program

Hope I didn'n say too much.

[Raider]

I think Bijulinus is asking how to improve his style and the BGs are just examples for the style. Good pointers though. (I could be mistaken)

- Raider

[BorisZ]

Yes, I used a 3d base in other projects, but it took too much time - probably because I did not have the right tools...

There is ink'n'paint material in newer versions of 3d studio max, you get rendered image as a final background!

[Pft!]

Well for one thing you could spend more than 60 seconds on each background. Take the time and just look at what you have done, add some chading where its needed and more detail, it looks scruffy, even some amateur MS paint user do better than that. You cannot rush a game, it will turn out crap. Just take more time.Ã,  8)

[Moox]

SQ4.5 what the hell are you talking about? I love these bgrounds, they are retro and amazing. A spacequest fan, like yourself, would have played sq1 and realize that these bground are perfect for what they are trying to accomplish.