I decided to do another Soul Calibur Wallpaper, but this time all of the female
characters in one!
This is pretty much what I've done so far, theres actually meant to be one more
character to put in, but as of this moment I cant find a high res of her, so I
left space on the right side to add her in later.
So for now which one of the following do you prefer, or any suggestions on how
to improve the wall some more.
btw the Sword in the background is Soul Calibur, in which the story centers
around.
hmmm...it's a tough decision between the first and second, the last one is too
bleached out, not enough contrast. The first one's texture blends everything
together better since they're all linked through that grainy texture. The
problem is that you lose some of the sharpness and dimension. They looks sexier
in the second one because there's no disturbances =P The characters also stand
out slightly more, which I like. The second one becomes more of a picture rather
than a wallpaper, though.
I think you should stick with the second one, and up the contrast a bit by
making darker darks. The textures in the first one become a distraction. Also,
the end of the blade of Soul Calibur is very busy. Some parts of the blade are
lost in the rock formations. Also, the characters look like they're floating, or
jumping, rather than standing on the floor. Play around with resizing the scans
and moving them around so they seem more like on one plane. Try more variation
in the fog too, it seems too consistent.
Overall, I think this wall is pretty nice. I especially like the sword for some
reason, good placement, though it doesn't really blend in well with the sky. It
looks like it is sitting on it.
Well good luck and good work on the wall! I need to sleep, it's 2:20AM X_X
I think the second one is better, I don't enjoy noise on characters too much ...
Also maybe you should use some textures or something, than just noise filter,
looks a bit plain. Maybe get rid of that sword, a bit too busy like poster above
said. I think it's looking pretty good though, keep it up!
Well, first of all i blended the sword more into the background, so it doesnt
look as busy, or out of place. Id rather have it in the wall the than take it
out if possible.
I added texture to the background image to give it more of a parchment/scroll
feel, and also made it darker and with more contrast to match more with the
characters vivid colours. There's also a slight texture to the mist to further
link the characters with the background, so it doesnt look so plain. I held off
on putting texture to the characters as it would distort the crisp and strong
colours of them, taking away the focus on them in the wall.
As for the charaters, there not standing on the same plain lol. I went for the
school group picture style. So the second row, is meant to seem like they're on
a higher platform. I tried putting them on the same level but it doest really
work unless you want them in a single row. I think you would loose too much of
the characters outfit designs and focus if you were to put charaters behind
others on the one level. The two top right characters are actually leaping so it
i thought it would make sense to put them higher.
Do you have to crop the feet? =P If you're only going to crop a little, don't
crop it at all. I think adding a textured mist kinda confuses things too. Some
parts of the characters are textured under the mist but others aren't. I suggest
leaving the mist as it was. As for the sword, lowering the opacity did help, but
the end of the blade is still cluttered with the rocks and stuff. Maybe try
making the blade go behind the cliff, that'll add even more spacial effect too.
You also said that you wanted it to be like a parchment/scroll, if so, I think
you should put the texture over the characters too so they are part of the
parchment.
Okay, yea i noticed the issue with the feet lol. When you work on something for
a while i guess you become accustomed to the image, you miss things like
that.
As for the texture thing, ive come to the conclusion:
1. For a clean and crisp style, it may end up seeming too plain, or without
effort.
2. For something that looks more complex/artistic you can end up having it too
cluttered and busy.
Finding a balance is not a simple thing...
Anyway, Im thinking the final style will come down to certain
preference.
Parchment textured version
This version has minimal textures for those who wish to have a clearer view of
the artwork
I personally like the first one better since everything is more congruent and
actually fits the 'parchement' style. Though if I didn't know you were going for
that, I'd probably like the other one better. Mmmm....the fog seems thicker in
the foreground than in the background, I think it would make more sense if it
was reversed, though it may not necessarily look better. Also, the robe of the
character at the left sticks out like a sore thumb; it doesn't blend very well
with the background. Maybe try bluring it a bit, because it's sharp edges may be
the reason. If not, I don't know what else to suggest, sorry.
Good stuff though, I don't really know what else to say. I need others'
opinions/perspectives to help any further; I can't see everything myself, and
it's very subjective if it's just coming from me.
Thanks EternaLumination for your constant feed back and ideas. I'll try the
changes and experimet with things here and there. Im still waiting to get my
hands on a high res for the final character, as soon as i find one i'll add her
in and post up the latest version.
I decided to do another Soul Calibur Wallpaper, but this time all of the female characters in one!
This is pretty much what I've done so far, theres actually meant to be one more character to put in, but as of this moment I cant find a high res of her, so I left space on the right side to add her in later.
So for now which one of the following do you prefer, or any suggestions on how to improve the wall some more.
btw the Sword in the background is Soul Calibur, in which the story centers around.
It is really hard to say because from what I see it is already good. The first one seemed a little darker, which is good.
hmmm...it's a tough decision between the first and second, the last one is too bleached out, not enough contrast. The first one's texture blends everything together better since they're all linked through that grainy texture. The problem is that you lose some of the sharpness and dimension. They looks sexier in the second one because there's no disturbances =P The characters also stand out slightly more, which I like. The second one becomes more of a picture rather than a wallpaper, though.
I think you should stick with the second one, and up the contrast a bit by making darker darks. The textures in the first one become a distraction. Also, the end of the blade of Soul Calibur is very busy. Some parts of the blade are lost in the rock formations. Also, the characters look like they're floating, or jumping, rather than standing on the floor. Play around with resizing the scans and moving them around so they seem more like on one plane. Try more variation in the fog too, it seems too consistent.
Overall, I think this wall is pretty nice. I especially like the sword for some reason, good placement, though it doesn't really blend in well with the sky. It looks like it is sitting on it.
Well good luck and good work on the wall! I need to sleep, it's 2:20AM X_X
I think the second one is better, I don't enjoy noise on characters too much ... Also maybe you should use some textures or something, than just noise filter, looks a bit plain. Maybe get rid of that sword, a bit too busy like poster above said. I think it's looking pretty good though, keep it up!
Thank you for all your feedback,
Well, first of all i blended the sword more into the background, so it doesnt look as busy, or out of place. Id rather have it in the wall the than take it out if possible.
I added texture to the background image to give it more of a parchment/scroll feel, and also made it darker and with more contrast to match more with the characters vivid colours. There's also a slight texture to the mist to further link the characters with the background, so it doesnt look so plain. I held off on putting texture to the characters as it would distort the crisp and strong colours of them, taking away the focus on them in the wall.
As for the charaters, there not standing on the same plain lol. I went for the school group picture style. So the second row, is meant to seem like they're on a higher platform. I tried putting them on the same level but it doest really work unless you want them in a single row. I think you would loose too much of the characters outfit designs and focus if you were to put charaters behind others on the one level. The two top right characters are actually leaping so it i thought it would make sense to put them higher.
So what do you think? getting there?
Do you have to crop the feet? =P If you're only going to crop a little, don't crop it at all. I think adding a textured mist kinda confuses things too. Some parts of the characters are textured under the mist but others aren't. I suggest leaving the mist as it was. As for the sword, lowering the opacity did help, but the end of the blade is still cluttered with the rocks and stuff. Maybe try making the blade go behind the cliff, that'll add even more spacial effect too. You also said that you wanted it to be like a parchment/scroll, if so, I think you should put the texture over the characters too so they are part of the parchment.
Okay, yea i noticed the issue with the feet lol. When you work on something for a while i guess you become accustomed to the image, you miss things like that.
As for the texture thing, ive come to the conclusion:
1. For a clean and crisp style, it may end up seeming too plain, or without effort.
2. For something that looks more complex/artistic you can end up having it too cluttered and busy.
Finding a balance is not a simple thing...
Anyway, Im thinking the final style will come down to certain preference.
Parchment textured version
This version has minimal textures for those who wish to have a clearer view of the artwork
Comments, suggestions?
I personally like the first one better since everything is more congruent and actually fits the 'parchement' style. Though if I didn't know you were going for that, I'd probably like the other one better. Mmmm....the fog seems thicker in the foreground than in the background, I think it would make more sense if it was reversed, though it may not necessarily look better. Also, the robe of the character at the left sticks out like a sore thumb; it doesn't blend very well with the background. Maybe try bluring it a bit, because it's sharp edges may be the reason. If not, I don't know what else to suggest, sorry.
Good stuff though, I don't really know what else to say. I need others' opinions/perspectives to help any further; I can't see everything myself, and it's very subjective if it's just coming from me.
Thanks EternaLumination for your constant feed back and ideas. I'll try the changes and experimet with things here and there. Im still waiting to get my hands on a high res for the final character, as soon as i find one i'll add her in and post up the latest version.