which background looks better?

[machinist]

well i decided to stick with simple coloring for my first VN..
now another question!

i am using photos with creative commons license since i can't draw bg..
which effect looks better? i used cut-something and crosshatch..

and btw how do i make scg look clean on scene...
the little white bits around scg is botherin me T_T

[J. Datie]

I'd go for the first one, since it fits the style of the character better. Plus, the second one stands out too much and draws attention away from the character and textbox. I'd also advise against using that particular picture, since it makes the view point character look really, really tall, because of the angle.

[Wintermoon]

Both have problems, but the problems in the first one bother me more. Reducing color depth like that is a horrible way to simulate cell shading. I think using the photo unfiltered is probably better than either of these.

[sake-bento]

I actually like the second one more, because it's easier for me to figure out what's going on in it. Also, if you want to clean away the white halo around your guy, you'll have to erase it yourself. Or you could try selecting the transparent area, expanding it by a pixel, and deleting everything, but that will very likely give you some ugly jagged edges. >.>

[sheetcakeghost]

I'm going with 2. The scritchy look is better suited to your art, plus you can still make out what it's supposed to be.

The color select and expand is the best bet, but you can just make white transparent instead of cutting it entirely.

In the future though you want want to just draw them on a transparent background for convenience.

[Lekhaka]

Too much noise in the first one...I find it distracting. I would vote for the second or perhaps the original photo without effects.

[PyTom]

I'm distracted by different areas of the two backgrounds. In the first, the complex edges on the couch tend to take a lot of my attention, as they're very dramatic and don't have much physical meaning. In the second, the couch is fine, there's a lot of detail on the table - detail that isn't real, since we have sharp edges in the place of smooth fruit.

Although it's still a cheap trick, a selective gaussian blur would probably look better than either of these.

[LinWest]

I don't really like either. They're both obviously just a photoshop filter. I'd rather just see the photograph. I'd maybe bump down the white "level", do some "color balance" adjustments, and selective guassian blur is always a smart option. It's always best not to filter an entire image, but rework parts of it.

((The angle of the photgraph is kinda a weird angle tho))

[machinist]

ohhh never thought about angle being weird,...
now i know i should find a different photo for living room then
anyways in morgue it said i can't use without having alteration being done.. so yeah
(if all fails might as well just go with flickr photos that have alteration enabled in license >_<)

i'm noob at photoshop so i'm not sure how to do selective gaussian blur and other adjustments..
(using adobe photoshop elements 4.0 that came with my tablet atm)
but i know gaussian blur effect.. here i tried out gaussian blur and facet

any better than first 2?

o and thanks for the tips about scg!

[LinWest]

Oh yeah, that looks much better without the intense filtering. They're pretty close, but I think I prefer the facet more.

Your sprite is cute btw. ^^

[J. Datie]

These look much better. Enough detail to tell what everything is, but without being too distracting. You can adjust the colours by going to Image -> Adjustments. (At least, that's what it is in Photoshop, it might be different for Elements.) I'd recommend playing around with "Levels" and "Vibrance" if you have it.

[machinist]

haha thx
anyway i'll be playing around with levels and color adjustments...

[Dark]

I like facet, as it causes the details like the glass to pop a bit more.

TBH, I don't like over filters either. Stuff like that in Umineko always got to me.

[AQU]

I like the first one, the second looks a bit too realistic : )

[feyz]

Agree with AQU. The second twos are too realistic. I prefer the first blurry one.