Some NES-Style Level Art

[Bynary Fission]

It's been almost six years since I made a thread in this forum...ahh, how time flies. I've been starting work on a game in the past few weeks, and I am aiming for an NES* look graphics-wise. I know basically *nothing* about pixel art - I've been looking up lots of guides on topics like shading, dithering, lighting, etc. These are the results - I don't think they're too bad but hopefully they are convincing enough to hide the fact that I'm artistically declined. (be sure to zoom in on each one - I was hoping it would allow for more zoom but oh well). So without further ado, here are the (metaphorical) pencil-tests I've managed to come up with. Titles given may not reflect the final product.

*I'm not actually adhering to the NES's graphical limitations in these images. If an NES were to try and render these it'd probably burst into flames. I'm merely reaching for the aesthetic.



#1 Diabetes Land
http://i1058.photobucket.com/albums/...elmock-up2.png

This was the first made out of these four images. I liked how this turned out, but the clouds lack shading as I wasn't sure how to correctly do it when I made this. I've contemplated using a cut of The Root of the Problem as the music for this level.
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#2 Oceanside
http://i1058.photobucket.com/albums/...0Art/Stage.png

The shortest one out of the four. I like how the ocean turned out, but the pillars seem to stick out a little bit.

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#3 The Golden Tower
http://i1058.photobucket.com/albums/...WIPversion.png

https://soundcloud.com/bynary-fission/the-golden-tower

This is about 60% complete - I figured I had enough finished to get some feedback. You'll notice I left some of the tile pieces on the bottom. This one has a musical jingle to go with it!

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#4 Nightmare Castle
http://i1058.photobucket.com/albums/...mareCastle.png

Okay, this one is cool as hell. I get a total Castlevania vibe from this, which is just as well seeing as how I was listening to Akumajou Densetsu's (Castlevania 3) soundtrack while making this. I really like the way the mountains look - doing that kind of lighting is really difficult for me.



I've learned quite a bit about making pixel art while crafting these, and I can feel myself getting better each time I do it. I've got so much more to create and so much more to learn, but this is a very effective way to do it, I think. These were all made in MSPaint, with a tiny bit of help from Paint.NET for a few minor things.

[Nullifidian]

If you're going to ignore graphic limitations you might as well go all out with how materials should look (like how your gold towers just look like yellow towers, you can definitely improve on that). Currently your color schemes are very basic and not so atmospheric (for example, the flat grey colors in the nightmare castle picture). Colors are dependent on the surroundings so make use of that to create a consistent atmospheric look (take a look at this image for example, the background houses are blue/purplish in tone because they recede into the purple-ish sky). I'd urge you to read up on color theory to improve your color schemes and also look at reference of how things actually look like (cause even pixel art artists look at reference to make sure it's accurately stylized).

[hi19hi19]

Diabetes Land is extremely Super Mario-ish. I actually like it the most in terms of a consistent feel.

The background of Nightmare Castle is great, but the palette choice for the foreground is pretty lame. The flat grey wall and the bright green grass really don't fit the mood.
For this kind of theme, I'd definitely take inspiration from the artwork for the old NES Castlevania game. Not really the most spectacular technical use of the NES's graphics, but I always thought they did a damn good job with the atmosphere.
Check this shit out:

You can see the foliage green is dark and a tinge bluish to go with the bluish highlight on the gravestone, and the green on the cloak in the middle is also a faded, earthy olive tone. Really sells the graveyard feel.

[Bynary Fission]

Originally Posted by _.Spitfire._

If you're going to ignore graphic limitations you might as well go all out with how materials should look (like how your gold towers just look like yellow towers, you can definitely improve on that). Currently your color schemes are very basic and not so atmospheric (for example, the flat grey colors in the nightmare castle picture). Colors are dependent on the surroundings so make use of that to create a consistent atmospheric look (take a look at this image for example, the background houses are blue/purplish in tone because they recede into the purple-ish sky). I'd urge you to read up on color theory to improve your color schemes and also look at reference of how things actually look like (cause even pixel art artists look at reference to make sure it's accurately stylized).

Making this pixel art has been my education - I basically knew *nothing* about any of what you mentioned prior to a few months ago. I'm definitely taking a lot of what you have mentioned in - especially in regards to shading, texturing and color theory. While still a long ways off I'm definitely making progress on that front - thanks for your input though as it helps focus where I need to improve.

The basic color schemes mirror the NES' own limitations - only about 25 colors could ever be present at a given time. Where I am working on is utilizing those colors in a more effective manner to give the illusion of texture and depth.

Originally Posted by hi19hi19

Diabetes Land is extremely Super Mario-ish. I actually like it the most in terms of a consistent feel.

The background of Nightmare Castle is great, but the palette choice for the foreground is pretty lame. The flat grey wall and the bright green grass really don't fit the mood.
For this kind of theme, I'd definitely take inspiration from the artwork for the old NES Castlevania game. Not really the most spectacular technical use of the NES's graphics, but I always thought they did a damn good job with the atmosphere.
Check this shit out:

You can see the foliage green is dark and a tinge bluish to go with the bluish highlight on the gravestone, and the green on the cloak in the middle is also a faded, earthy olive tone. Really sells the graveyard feel.

Super Mario World has been a huge influence - I keep a lot of the maps handy on my computer as a reference.

Glad you mentioned Castlevania - that has also been a large influence despite my inability to reproduce many of the graphics haha. The bricks I used don't seem to match the theme well, and the way the artists adhered to the graveyard theme in Castlevania is something I've looked up as a reference as well. It's a matter of me knowing how to use blacks as shading effectively - I've always struggled with getting the correct look. Thanks for your input, I'll definitely keep that image handy.