Hello good people, I have thoughts to share with you.
During my last break I took some distance with MC and computer in general and it did me much good. Last time I quit Minecraft I thought it was perhaps definitive, but now that my gamer feelings have refreshed, I want to play to MC again! (My new computer coming in the next days may have a role in this too ^^, t'will be a good change to play with more than 5fps)
Though I'm still a damned perfectionist and I'm still dissatisfied with plenty of our textures, many of mine and most of yours (sorry). And it puts me off, I can't play with that.
Dissatisfaction with Minecraft's graphics is why I started this pack in the first place, but at the end of the day, I just want to play. I don't want to spend all my time doing textures. I do like making them but I'm not passionate about it. It's closer to work than entertainment to me.
And this is why I've tried multiple times to get some remuneration for it. So I could work on textures in the day and still have time to play in the evening.
The idea I have now is to start a very small crowdfunding¹ campaign. I'd ask for $200 and would work 3h/day on textures for 5 days, which would amount to 10 to 15 new 64x64 tiles. It may sound like a lot of money for this but I've checked pixel art² prices and that's it, about $10 for a unique 32x tile by a good artist. Here I'm estimating a 64x tile to $15, it's 4 x more pixels than 32x and I'm spending a lot of time testing in-game.
Like any other crowdfunding campaign, those who pledge would get small rewards, like choosing which textures I will do, or such. (To be thought over.)
If the operation works out well, it can be repeated.
Is it a bad idea?
(I have the feeling I'll get burned. '^^)
¹ Crowdfunding means gathering funds collectively for a project. Sites like kickstarter.com permit this: you tell people about your project and the money you need to do it; people have a month to pledge money to the project. At the end of the month, if the goal is reached, you get the money and start working. Otherwise people get their money back and you're back begging on the streets.
² What I'm doing is not exactly pixel art. It's brush painting with pixel precision most of the time. It's a little bit faster than true pixel art I guess.
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Sharing | Freedom | Kindness | Wisdom => The roots for a better world.
Sites like kickstarter.com permit this: you tell people about your project and the money you need to do it; people have a month to pledge money to the project. At the end of the month, if the goal is reached, you get the money and start working. Otherwise people get their money back and you're back begging on the streets.
But the other thought could be if you give us feedback on our own work too! Be picky (perfectionists are good at that!), everyone knows I've pestered the daylights out of the rest of the ORR artists! (and a few pages back, I even mentioned hating my own work too!)
You could always shoot for both ideas too: start the kick-starter, if it doesn't work, then pester us other artists.
I'll see if I can come up with any other options in the future...
On a side note: I know where you're coming from about being worried we'll put you on a stake and roast you alive. It's mostly because of the mention of money, and that's always a very hard subject to broach to people without getting burned. Especially to people who are already having this stuff for free or doing this stuff for free (even more so if the people you're proposing this idea to get paid less than what your asking for the jobs they're already doing). I won't give you any fire, though. You're Ovo, and your ideas are welcome, regardless of who agrees or disagrees with them. Besides, you broached it politely and did your research. I respect that!
Serrinatta and Apachey, thanks for your anwsers!
So what about the fact that I'm asking to get paid for something that people get or do for free?
Well, it's no secret that some people get paid for making games and graphics for games. Sometimes what you get for free is enough for you, sometimes not. In the second case, someone has to be paid to get the extra work done, otherwise it's not done.
Maybe there is a handful of people here who specifically want more of my style and are willing to pay for that because they can't find what they like anywhere else by anyone else. And that's what I'm trying to find out here.
If you're are interested, please let me know, here or by PM. If I see there is a bit of interest I'll start this crowdfunding campaign and if it works I'll have a big pack of new textures to share with everyone some time later. That's about it. All the reasoning is given in my last post, if you haven't read, or if you have forgotten.
As for giving advice to you guys who make textures... if you ask for picky feedback on your work, no problem I can provide , but I'm not going to pester everyone to get what I would like. This time would be better spent doing the job myself.
Well, if it does start, I can see what I can donate, but I won't have much. As it is, I'm still on the fence about it. It's no offense to your work, Ovo, it's always wonderful, which is why I'd even consider a donation at all (as I normally wouldn't). All I bring home is $500 for 75 hours (two weeks).
I'd encourage the kickstarter only in that there's no harm in trying it out. If you succeed, yay! If you don't, well, nothing's changed then (but at least you tried). There have been plenty of kickstarter programs that have been much larger amounts of money than $200, after all.
Many loyal fans have turned away from these continuation projects, not necessarily because the quality of the updated art is poor, but rather that there remains no consistency in style, from what once may have been.
With regards to payment for your art, Ovo, its simply unlikely to happen. Look across the forum! Noteworthy artists who take donations have barely amassed $50 for their grueling efforts. You're asking for a bit much, though I do believe in this art as a hobby of mine, rather than something that I, personally, have true experience and mastery in. Therefore it's not truly my place.
But certainly you have to take dominant control of this project, again, or in no way will this gain (or regain) the necessary audience in the first place to fund such a proposal.
Working on a new compass:
Needs to be lighter overall, I think...
I don't really think the bottom edge that the game adds to make it look like a 3D object is necessary, but I'm having a hard time making it look 3D otherwise. Also, I'm thinking the arrow is too subtle, but then, if it'll be moving, it will probably look just fine.
Also!For those that know more about the new snapshot! I peeked at another texture pack (John Smith) and it seems like compass and clock are handled by several images in a row like stages? Is this a special set up? Or is this the new way the snapshot is handling them?
Also!For those that know more about the new snapshot! I peeked at another texture pack (John Smith) and it seems like compass and clock are handled by several images in a row like stages? Is this a special set up? Or is this the new way the snapshot is handling them?
I think i shouldn't make any new textures untill I'll gain a lot more experience or just take creating new textures as seriously as Ovo do. No, i don't saying that i'm just like factory of low-quality of textures, i just not so great artist, if people talking about bad quality of continuation, because there is many textures used in current .zip. But there is thing that i'm trying to keep up updates in time, but you can't be fast and make high quality textures at same time.
I'm waiting of your thought about that, community, and, especiailly, your feedback, Ovo.
From that moment - NO FAST UPDATES. Even more, we can late on that amount of snapshots\releases which will allow us to do VERY, very qualitatively work.
We'll better be late, than mixing and turning Ovo's original work into another, simple and common texture pack.
I think i shouldn't make any new textures untill I'll gain a lot more experience or just take creating new textures as seriously as Ovo do. No, i don't saying that i'm just like factory of low-quality of textures, i just not so great artist, if people talking about bad quality of continuation, because there is many textures used in current .zip. But there is thing that i'm trying to keep up updates in time, but you can't be fast and make high quality textures at same time.
I'm waiting of your thought about that, community, and, especiailly, your feedback, Ovo.
From that moment - NO FAST UPDATES. Even more, we can late on that amount of snapshots\releases which will allow us to do VERY, very qualitatively work.
We'll better be late, than mixing and turning Ovo's original work into another, simple and common texture pack.
Apachey, though you've been a "fast" texture-er, usually you've got a good idea in mind on how it looks. I think we all were falling away from testing in game which made us forget some steps of the process.
While I agree, we shouldn't be making them quickly, I also think we should be showing our 'in progress' work much more often. As it is, we often drop in a texture once we, the artist, think it's 'done' (or good enough). But if we've gone the wrong way along the line of creating it, then people feel uncomfortable telling us to change it. All of us adore different aspects of the original pack that Ovo made. Our differing opinions keep us from going off on a tangent (not the cranky kind). I like the 'rough brush' feel in the artwork, but it's not the only thing that makes it good. It's what I like, but not everyone else. So I honestly think we need to go back to making these textures as a community, not a conglomerate of different artists work.
Apachey, though you've been a "fast" texture-er, usually you've got a good idea in mind on how it looks. I think we all were falling away from testing in game which made us forget some steps of the process.
While I agree, we shouldn't be making them quickly, I also think we should be showing our 'in progress' work much more often. As it is, we often drop in a texture once we, the artist, think it's 'done' (or good enough). But if we've gone the wrong way along the line of creating it, then people feel uncomfortable telling us to change it. All of us adore different aspects of the original pack that Ovo made. Our differing opinions keep us from going off on a tangent (not the cranky kind). I like the 'rough brush' feel in the artwork, but it's not the only thing that makes it good. It's what I like, but not everyone else. So I honestly think we need to go back to making these textures as a community, not a conglomerate of different artists work.
And this is the main reason I haven't been posting my textures as much anymore As I know I am not the best "rustic" artist. I'm working on trying to get things to be a little more how I'd like them to be to fit the pack but when this is basically some of the first artwork I've done on the computer (I've been using a sketchbook for my art the past 6 years who would have guessed?? :D!) I'm still learning all the tricks and pixels. I'm still debating on what to do for that ironchests mod support I was working on. Maybe you might have an insight on something I could do? (Chests look unfinished as they have a "wood" top to them. If needed and you can't find the post a couple pages back I can link another picture to them). These were simple as I just used some of Ovo's original blocks and just clipped them together.
ive been looking at how to update the liquid animations. i might post some water textures (or it might fall through) but not lava textures to encourage the creation of our own lava texture
til then heres the completed set of future_martyr/serrinata style quartz:
one more thing: ive been looking for a red version of the white dead bush texture. its been made before but i must have saved it to some dark forgotten corner of my computer so i cant find it. does anyone have the red dead bush someone made? if not i could recreate myself, i was just curious (i dont think its in the texture library, but i might have just not looked hard enough. i think it was part of a ctm set)
I'll see if I can slap those in game when I get home.... won't be exactly the same if I put them on wool, but.... oh well, we'll still get at least a partial impression.
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My imagination has run free for so long, that I am afraid when it returns it will not recognize me, and eat me! -- Serrinatta
J_m1e, you better read Ovo's, Serrinata's and mine last posts
that textures is just no. It's can't be even alternative. It's just darkened in some parts square of some quartz-like texture.
Serrinata, sorry, but that textures can't be approved. I'm even holding my version as placeholder, because they tile bad and need improvement.
I would spent money for this pack! But if I do this, there is one thing I'd ask for. I loved the darker style of the TP and I spent quite a bit of time to collect all the darker textures and darken the others a bit to fit my whishes.
If you do some Textures Ovo, please do darker ones aswell. I know you changed your style a while ago, but to me it was more "rustic" when it was darker.
Ok all, how is this for compass?
I added a small hint of a 3rd dimension (lol)
Brightened it, like I intended
Added some four directionals to it (not labeled for North South East West, but still helps to know when it's pointing at a true 90 degrees)
Thoughts? Comments?
If I don't get feedback to fix anything then I'm going to presume it's good enough to start making all the steps for the rotation of the arrow.
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My imagination has run free for so long, that I am afraid when it returns it will not recognize me, and eat me! -- Serrinatta
I think i shouldn't make any new textures untill I'll gain a lot more experience or just take creating new textures as seriously as Ovo do. No, i don't saying that i'm just like factory of low-quality of textures, i just not so great artist, if people talking about bad quality of continuation, because there is many textures used in current .zip. But there is thing that i'm trying to keep up updates in time, but you can't be fast and make high quality textures at same time.
I'm waiting of your thought about that, community, and, especiailly, your feedback, Ovo.
From that moment - NO FAST UPDATES. Even more, we can late on that amount of snapshots\releases which will allow us to do VERY, very qualitatively work.
We'll better be late, than mixing and turning Ovo's original work into another, simple and common texture pack.
If you can do better quality, then definitely go for it! I like your textures but they always lack a lot of polish, they're always below my acceptable level of quality. You need to work more on shadowing, your stuff looks often too flat. Don't leave any blurry parts and some things need more little details. The skeleton is a a good example of combining all these issues.
I would spent money for this pack! But if I do this, there is one thing I'd ask for. I loved the darker style of the TP and I spent quite a bit of time to collect all the darker textures and darken the others a bit to fit my whishes.
If you do some Textures Ovo, please do darker ones aswell. I know you changed your style a while ago, but to me it was more "rustic" when it was darker.
I know many people prefered the darker version, I'm sorry, I thought everyone would agree that it was abnormally dark. But in the process I probably made everything a little more saturated. Maybe what you don't like is mostly the difference in saturation? Could you send me your current dark version so I can see the difference?
I really don't feel like managing two versions myself but if you provide me with a place like Pythro's vault where I can drop darkened versions of the textures I do and let you organize it, I certainly can do this.
Ok all, how is this for compass?
I added a small hint of a 3rd dimension (lol)
Brightened it, like I intended
Added some four directionals to it (not labeled for North South East West, but still helps to know when it's pointing at a true 90 degrees)
Thoughts? Comments?
If I don't get feedback to fix anything then I'm going to presume it's good enough to start making all the steps for the rotation of the arrow.
Could you post in-game shots? The reflections on the glass are bad. They're a lot too heavy, and they should convey a round aspect, at least on the edges. The glass should pop out a bit, see what I mean? To help with this, 1px of the metal around must be darkened and a bit of shadow cast on the low part, since the compass is held vertically (sic). The needle is equally bad, it would look better with the usual shape (large in the middle, pointy at the ends), and a sharp separation of color between the two halves, or the same color but a different shape, but not this red/white gradient. The metal decoration is nice. Could be a little more contrasted around the red spots, which could be a little darker, I don't know.
Could you post in-game shots? The reflections on the glass are bad. They're a lot too heavy, and they should convey a round aspect, at least on the edges. The glass should pop out a bit, see what I mean? To help with this, 1px of the metal around must be darkened and a bit of shadow cast on the low part, since the compass is held vertically (sic). The needle is equally bad, it would look better with the usual shape (large in the middle, pointy at the ends), and a sharp separation of color between the two halves, or the same color but a different shape, but not this red/white gradient. The metal decoration is nice. Could be a little more contrasted around the red spots, which could be a little darker, I don't know.
Ah! Good call on the slight shadow onto the glass! I forgot about that. I was thinking adding the same to below the dots (they have a rim around them, as if to hold them, which I didn't think stood out enough, but I was afraid if they did, it'd look out of place). I was 50/50 on leaving the shine as is or dubbing it down, but we'll go dubbed down. I'm also thinking it should come from the opposite direction as it is going to be held in the right hand, therefore, as it is, the shine is more horizontal. If I flip it, it will be more vertical.
I'm not sure what you mean by having the shine convey 'round'. The glass itself should be flat, shouldn't it? I don't think I've seen a bubbled glass compass before *head-scratch* or am I thinking the wrong thing?
I'll actually try de-saturating the dots first, because I was thinking they're pretty bold before I posted. Not too much, just a touch.
As for the arrow, I originally wanted a Flur de lis (or however it's spelt) as the tip, but at this size, it just doesn't come out. I'll try a different approach to the arrow, and I think I've got a tip-only red for it somewhere in the hidden layers.... Also, would a dot in the center that is above the glass help anchor it? As if the arrow is on a post all the way through? I'd rather not do a diamond shaped arrow, I was hoping to stick to more classic, but the thinner it gets, the more likely I"ll have to redraw it from scratch come time when it needs to be rotated. (I completely admit I wanted to just duplicate it and rotate 5.625 degrees for a 64 stage rotation.) Sadly photoshop has a bad habit of blurring things that you rotate (maybe there's a setting I can change? I'll look into that).
I"ll post some in-game shots after I do the above touch-ups tonight. I'm not running the snapshot right now, so I'll just plop the compass over coal or something so that we don't get the default line ontop, lol
I was afraid of bad opinion about my textures... But, when you told me what is wrong, actually i liked it a little bit more that appreciation! lol
(maybe because you're professional and author of this pack)
thanks, Ovo, i'll better go now remastering
That's exactly it, Apachey. Constructive criticism that's specific and from a fellow artist is much easier to accept than "your work stinks, fix it". We can all help encourage each other to do better. And, as you pointed out, Ovo's the creator of the pack, so his criticism is usually more fitting than a fan's.
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My imagination has run free for so long, that I am afraid when it returns it will not recognize me, and eat me! -- Serrinatta
I was afraid of bad opinion about my textures... But, when you told me what is wrong, actually i liked it a little bit more that appreciation! lol
(maybe because you're professional and author of this pack)
thanks, Ovo, i'll better go now remastering
You're welcome. Giving negative feedback isn't really a pleasing thing to do, because I know well that most people don't really like receiving it. So I'm glad your taking it well eventually.
And I'm not so professional... Nor am I *the* author of the pack anymore. Let's say I'm the lead designer, alright?
Hm.. play for a bit, look at the textures and try to get the feeling yourself for which ones aren't good enough and need your master skills to make them shine.
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Sharing | Freedom | Kindness | Wisdom => The roots for a better world.
I'm not sure what you mean by having the shine convey 'round'. The glass itself should be flat, shouldn't it? I don't think I've seen a bubbled glass compass before *head-scratch* or am I thinking the wrong thing?
iiii guess I'm the one thinking wrong. Your ref pictures are great. And as you can see, the reflections are rather subtle.
I've no opinion about your dot in the center you're thinking about adding.
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Sharing | Freedom | Kindness | Wisdom => The roots for a better world.
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During my last break I took some distance with MC and computer in general and it did me much good. Last time I quit Minecraft I thought it was perhaps definitive, but now that my gamer feelings have refreshed, I want to play to MC again! (My new computer coming in the next days may have a role in this too ^^, t'will be a good change to play with more than 5fps)
Though I'm still a damned perfectionist and I'm still dissatisfied with plenty of our textures, many of mine and most of yours (sorry). And it puts me off, I can't play with that.
Dissatisfaction with Minecraft's graphics is why I started this pack in the first place, but at the end of the day, I just want to play. I don't want to spend all my time doing textures. I do like making them but I'm not passionate about it. It's closer to work than entertainment to me.
And this is why I've tried multiple times to get some remuneration for it. So I could work on textures in the day and still have time to play in the evening.
The idea I have now is to start a very small crowdfunding¹ campaign. I'd ask for $200 and would work 3h/day on textures for 5 days, which would amount to 10 to 15 new 64x64 tiles. It may sound like a lot of money for this but I've checked pixel art² prices and that's it, about $10 for a unique 32x tile by a good artist. Here I'm estimating a 64x tile to $15, it's 4 x more pixels than 32x and I'm spending a lot of time testing in-game.
Like any other crowdfunding campaign, those who pledge would get small rewards, like choosing which textures I will do, or such. (To be thought over.)
If the operation works out well, it can be repeated.
Is it a bad idea?
(I have the feeling I'll get burned. '^^)
¹ Crowdfunding means gathering funds collectively for a project. Sites like kickstarter.com permit this: you tell people about your project and the money you need to do it; people have a month to pledge money to the project. At the end of the month, if the goal is reached, you get the money and start working. Otherwise people get their money back and you're back begging on the streets.
² What I'm doing is not exactly pixel art. It's brush painting with pixel precision most of the time. It's a little bit faster than true pixel art I guess.
Well, you already stated what I'd thought of to respond with,
But the other thought could be if you give us feedback on our own work too! Be picky (perfectionists are good at that!), everyone knows I've pestered the daylights out of the rest of the ORR artists! (and a few pages back, I even mentioned hating my own work too!)
You could always shoot for both ideas too: start the kick-starter, if it doesn't work, then pester us other artists.
I'll see if I can come up with any other options in the future...
On a side note: I know where you're coming from about being worried we'll put you on a stake and roast you alive. It's mostly because of the mention of money, and that's always a very hard subject to broach to people without getting burned. Especially to people who are already having this stuff for free or doing this stuff for free (even more so if the people you're proposing this idea to get paid less than what your asking for the jobs they're already doing). I won't give you any fire, though. You're Ovo, and your ideas are welcome, regardless of who agrees or disagrees with them.
That campaign idea is pretty cool, but what about people who had that already for free?
I will not stop working and for me there is nothing bad, though everything I support you.
And yes, as Serrinatta already said, give us picky feedback, don't look at who draw textures, just review current ones and then give us feedback
And it is great that you back:)
So what about the fact that I'm asking to get paid for something that people get or do for free?
Well, it's no secret that some people get paid for making games and graphics for games. Sometimes what you get for free is enough for you, sometimes not. In the second case, someone has to be paid to get the extra work done, otherwise it's not done.
Maybe there is a handful of people here who specifically want more of my style and are willing to pay for that because they can't find what they like anywhere else by anyone else. And that's what I'm trying to find out here.
If you're are interested, please let me know, here or by PM. If I see there is a bit of interest I'll start this crowdfunding campaign and if it works I'll have a big pack of new textures to share with everyone some time later. That's about it. All the reasoning is given in my last post, if you haven't read, or if you have forgotten.
As for giving advice to you guys who make textures... if you ask for picky feedback on your work, no problem I can provide
I'd encourage the kickstarter only in that there's no harm in trying it out. If you succeed, yay! If you don't, well, nothing's changed then (but at least you tried). There have been plenty of kickstarter programs that have been much larger amounts of money than $200, after all.
With regards to payment for your art, Ovo, its simply unlikely to happen. Look across the forum! Noteworthy artists who take donations have barely amassed $50 for their grueling efforts. You're asking for a bit much, though I do believe in this art as a hobby of mine, rather than something that I, personally, have true experience and mastery in. Therefore it's not truly my place.
But certainly you have to take dominant control of this project, again, or in no way will this gain (or regain) the necessary audience in the first place to fund such a proposal.
Good luck.
Needs to be lighter overall, I think...
I don't really think the bottom edge that the game adds to make it look like a 3D object is necessary, but I'm having a hard time making it look 3D otherwise. Also, I'm thinking the arrow is too subtle, but then, if it'll be moving, it will probably look just fine.
Also! For those that know more about the new snapshot! I peeked at another texture pack (John Smith) and it seems like compass and clock are handled by several images in a row like stages? Is this a special set up? Or is this the new way the snapshot is handling them?
http://www.minecraftwiki.net/wiki/Texture_Pack#Special_Sheet_Images_in_Minecraft_1.5 and https://twitter.com/jeb_/status/289753091178373120
-Part-time Maintainer of Ovo's Rustic Pack: Redemption
-Owner and Founder of ChiRho Entertainment-
I think i shouldn't make any new textures untill I'll gain a lot more experience or just take creating new textures as seriously as Ovo do. No, i don't saying that i'm just like factory of low-quality of textures, i just not so great artist, if people talking about bad quality of continuation, because there is many textures used in current .zip. But there is thing that i'm trying to keep up updates in time, but you can't be fast and make high quality textures at same time.
I'm waiting of your thought about that, community, and, especiailly, your feedback, Ovo.
From that moment - NO FAST UPDATES. Even more, we can late on that amount of snapshots\releases which will allow us to do VERY, very qualitatively work.
We'll better be late, than mixing and turning Ovo's original work into another, simple and common texture pack.
Ah ha! Thank you!
Apachey, though you've been a "fast" texture-er, usually you've got a good idea in mind on how it looks. I think we all were falling away from testing in game which made us forget some steps of the process.
While I agree, we shouldn't be making them quickly, I also think we should be showing our 'in progress' work much more often. As it is, we often drop in a texture once we, the artist, think it's 'done' (or good enough). But if we've gone the wrong way along the line of creating it, then people feel uncomfortable telling us to change it. All of us adore different aspects of the original pack that Ovo made. Our differing opinions keep us from going off on a tangent (not the cranky kind). I like the 'rough brush' feel in the artwork, but it's not the only thing that makes it good. It's what I like, but not everyone else. So I honestly think we need to go back to making these textures as a community, not a conglomerate of different artists work.
And this is the main reason I haven't been posting my textures as much anymore
I'll see if I can slap those in game when I get home.... won't be exactly the same if I put them on wool, but.... oh well, we'll still get at least a partial impression.
that textures is just no. It's can't be even alternative. It's just darkened in some parts square of some quartz-like texture.
Serrinata, sorry, but that textures can't be approved. I'm even holding my version as placeholder, because they tile bad and need improvement.
The darker version was my favorite as well.
I added a small hint of a 3rd dimension (lol)
Brightened it, like I intended
Added some four directionals to it (not labeled for North South East West, but still helps to know when it's pointing at a true 90 degrees)
Thoughts? Comments?
If I don't get feedback to fix anything then I'm going to presume it's good enough to start making all the steps for the rotation of the arrow.
I know many people prefered the darker version, I'm sorry, I thought everyone would agree that it was abnormally dark. But in the process I probably made everything a little more saturated. Maybe what you don't like is mostly the difference in saturation? Could you send me your current dark version so I can see the difference?
I really don't feel like managing two versions myself but if you provide me with a place like Pythro's vault where I can drop darkened versions of the textures I do and let you organize it, I certainly can do this.
Could you post in-game shots? The reflections on the glass are bad. They're a lot too heavy, and they should convey a round aspect, at least on the edges. The glass should pop out a bit, see what I mean? To help with this, 1px of the metal around must be darkened and a bit of shadow cast on the low part, since the compass is held vertically (sic). The needle is equally bad, it would look better with the usual shape (large in the middle, pointy at the ends), and a sharp separation of color between the two halves, or the same color but a different shape, but not this red/white gradient. The metal decoration is nice. Could be a little more contrasted around the red spots, which could be a little darker, I don't know.
(maybe because you're professional and author of this pack)
thanks, Ovo, i'll better go now remastering
btw, what textures i should start remaster first?
Ah! Good call on the slight shadow onto the glass! I forgot about that. I was thinking adding the same to below the dots (they have a rim around them, as if to hold them, which I didn't think stood out enough, but I was afraid if they did, it'd look out of place). I was 50/50 on leaving the shine as is or dubbing it down, but we'll go dubbed down. I'm also thinking it should come from the opposite direction as it is going to be held in the right hand, therefore, as it is, the shine is more horizontal. If I flip it, it will be more vertical.
I'm not sure what you mean by having the shine convey 'round'. The glass itself should be flat, shouldn't it? I don't think I've seen a bubbled glass compass before *head-scratch* or am I thinking the wrong thing?
I'll actually try de-saturating the dots first, because I was thinking they're pretty bold before I posted. Not too much, just a touch.
As for the arrow, I originally wanted a Flur de lis (or however it's spelt) as the tip, but at this size, it just doesn't come out. I'll try a different approach to the arrow, and I think I've got a tip-only red for it somewhere in the hidden layers.... Also, would a dot in the center that is above the glass help anchor it? As if the arrow is on a post all the way through? I'd rather not do a diamond shaped arrow, I was hoping to stick to more classic, but the thinner it gets, the more likely I"ll have to redraw it from scratch come time when it needs to be rotated. (I completely admit I wanted to just duplicate it and rotate 5.625 degrees for a 64 stage rotation.) Sadly photoshop has a bad habit of blurring things that you rotate (maybe there's a setting I can change? I'll look into that).
Here's some references of what I meant by the dot in the center:
http://www.solarnavigator.net/images/compass_pocket.jpg
http://static4.depositphotos.com/1008065/298/i/950/depositphotos_2988424-Brass-Compass-on-an-old-cherrywood-table.jpg
http://image.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/83858/83858,1283234503,2/stock-photo-old-compass-on-white-background-60073192.jpg
http://static3.depositphotos.com/1000970/159/i/950/depositphotos_1595477-Antique-brass-compass-over-old-USA-map.jpg
I"ll post some in-game shots after I do the above touch-ups tonight. I'm not running the snapshot right now, so I'll just plop the compass over coal or something so that we don't get the default line ontop, lol
That's exactly it, Apachey. Constructive criticism that's specific and from a fellow artist is much easier to accept than "your work stinks, fix it". We can all help encourage each other to do better. And, as you pointed out, Ovo's the creator of the pack, so his criticism is usually more fitting than a fan's.
And I'm not so professional... Nor am I *the* author of the pack anymore. Let's say I'm the lead designer, alright?
Hm.. play for a bit, look at the textures and try to get the feeling yourself for which ones aren't good enough and need your master skills to make them shine.
I've no opinion about your dot in the center you're thinking about adding.