Need help with turning 3D images into VN backgrounds

[Aviala]

Hey guys! I'm making a visual novel and needed backgrounds. Then I got an idea: why not make them with sims? I needed backgrounds from the house my characters live in so I simply built that house and took screenshots. I thought I could use photoshop filters to make them look less like Sims and more like VN backgrounds - maybe something cartoonish or anime-like, or at least not so.... 3D?

I managed to turn this:


Into this:

(the grey painting looks like shit because it was originally a placeholder sims painting that I wanted to change into something different, feel free to ignore it)

I'm not happy with the results. Is there someone experienced with PS filters who could help me make this image look better without having to paint over it much? Or do I have to resort to plan b and only use my screenshots as bases to paint on? I'm using PS CS2 btw.

[thebackup]

Try using PS's artistic filters, like the Cutout effect. There are several others if you're not happy with Cutout... experiment.

Otherwise, you'll pretty much have to mess with the textures. Hope this is what you're looking for.

[Aviala]

Sorry, but that wasn't very helpful. I already tried messing around with some filters but couldn't find any that would work perfectly, that's why I asked for help here. I was wondering if anyone has done anything like this before and could tell me what kind of filter would work the best (and in what settings). Thanks for answering though!

[LateWhiteRabbit]

Sorry, but that wasn't very helpful. I already tried messing around with some filters but couldn't find any that would work perfectly, that's why I asked for help here. I was wondering if anyone has done anything like this before and could tell me what kind of filter would work the best (and in what settings). Thanks for answering though!

Well, you can't use just ONE filter. For best results, you have to apply different filters to different layers (each a copy of the original image) and then combine them using different blending modes until you get something you like.

Frankly though, it's difficult to get good results from a pre-rendered image with texture affects and lighting already applied. Most of the really nice looking 3D generated backgrounds are rendered in a program like Sketchup in separate passes (i.e. the wireframes, the lighting, the colors or textures, etc.) and then combined in Photoshop to tweak for desired results.

[sasquatchii]

Have you considered using Adobe Illustrator's Image Trace option? If you have illustrator, open up the image, and then click on window > image trace. You can play around with how many colors there are, and it flattens the image out quite nicely.

Here is a quick example of something I did in 5 seconds:





This is kind of crappy since I did it quickly, but if I were to do this for real I would go into the shapes and clean them up a bit.

And if you want, you can pull it into photoshop, play with the colors, adjust lighting & even blur it a bit so your character sprites stand out:



I would highly suggest playing with image trace in illustrator & seeing what you can accomplish with it

[Tempus]

As LateWhiteRabbit touched on, the image has problems which can't be fixed with filters. The lighting is off, the textures are poor since they've been optimised for a lightweight real-time game, the colours clash and there's aliasing on all the edges. That being said, if the writing of the VN were good it wouldn't matter as much. I'm not sure you'd want to use images of one game as the resources for your own though.

[shortycake]

Tried using lots of different filter using PS. I think it didn't work too. :\

[Aviala]

Okay, so from what you guys are saying, I gather that I really should only use the sims screenshots as a base and paint over them. Oh well, it's a lot more work but at least they'll help me get the perspective right, and perspective has always been the biggest problem for me.

I might resort to the filters if I'm feeling lazy, though. :''D Thanks, everyone!

[meiri]

If your computer can handle it (because I know mine cant) you may want to try turning up the antialias setting in Sims. That way your edges will be a little smoother.

This is what I was able to accomplish. Like others have said, make duplicates of your original layer. Also, play with brightness/contrast, hue/saturation and Curves settings so the lighting can fit whatever mood you want to portray. If you need day/night versions, play with Color Balance.

As for the filters, make different effects on different layers, but always keep a base layer w/ the original image. I use stuff like Paint Daubs and Sponge (running CS4 btw)

Oh, and another tip is to try and make sure the ceiling is showing in Sims....I filled it in in the example pic I showed you.
Thats the best advice I can offer and dont be afraid to try anything new My method definitely isn't the only one but if you need any more tips Id be glad to help.

[-Ren-]

The biggest problem with that image is the aliasing on the edges, that's really the thing that stands out the most to me. Lighting, sure it might not be the best, but it's nothing a simple mask and some dodge/burning can't fix.

What I would do, as simply as I can put it:

1) Add a roof
2) Grab the pen tool > go over each line as finely as you can and stroke the path with the appropriate colour. Motion blur and erase as needed.
3) Use the pen tool again, but this time make selections where the lights would cast light and shadows. You can play around with this part.
4) The textures honestly aren't that terrible, it's just the aliasing makes them look worse than they actually are. But if you honestly can't stand the textures, pen tool again, trace the path around the textures you want to change > change the path into a selection and fill it with a new texture / solid colour.
5) When you're satisfied with the above, work on the colour balance and any other such things. Again, depends on how you want your scene to look.
6) Rinse and repeat until it's perfect.

Don't bother with just looking for a quick fix from a filter or two, no matter how many you add it'll always look bad.
I do remember a filter that I used a few years back, I think it was called 'Topaz Labs'. That could help you with smoothing out a lot of your aliasing problems. But as far as I remember, it's a paid plug-in, and it's pretty expensive. they may have a trial though.


Hope this helped in some way

[OokamiKasumi]

Hey guys! I'm making a visual novel and needed backgrounds. Then I got an idea: why not make them with sims? I needed backgrounds from the house my characters live in so I simply built that house and took screenshots. I thought I could use photoshop filters to make them look less like Sims and more like VN backgrounds - maybe something cartoonish or anime-like, or at least not so.... 3D?

I borrowed your image and made a few adjustments in Photoshop; adding a ceiling and adding light to the wall under the lamp with a simple pale yellow overlay.

Then, with a free program called FotoSketcher set to "Pencil Sketch 3" I came up with this:

Would this be something you can use?

[Elze]

I had a go at it in Photoshop. I didn't do any paint-overs or use any of the brushes/tools. I feel that the easiest and fastest way to make it look less "rough" is to just flatten the image using filters - adjusting the curves and exposure, blurring the image and throwing light over it. A lot of details will get lost, but at least the reader won't be distracted by the background:

Will this work? I can send you the psd file for your reference if you'd like.

[allenmathews]

Hey guys! I'm making a visual novel and needed backgrounds. Then I got an idea: why not make them with sims? I needed backgrounds from the house my characters live in so I simply built that house and took screenshots. I thought I could use photoshop filters to make them look less like Sims and more like VN backgrounds - maybe something cartoonish or anime-like, or at least not so.... 3D?

I borrowed your image and made a few adjustments in Photoshop; adding a ceiling and adding light to the wall under the lamp with a simple pale yellow overlay.

Sims02.jpg

Then, with a free program called FotoSketcher set to "Pencil Sketch 3" I came up with this:

FotoSketcher - Sims03.jpg

Would this be something you can use?

I like the idea you added in this sketch. It's looking better than the above ones.

[sei.chan]

Hey guys! I'm making a visual novel and needed backgrounds. Then I got an idea: why not make them with sims? I needed backgrounds from the house my characters live in so I simply built that house and took screenshots. I thought I could use photoshop filters to make them look less like Sims and more like VN backgrounds - maybe something cartoonish or anime-like, or at least not so.... 3D?

I borrowed your image and made a few adjustments in Photoshop; adding a ceiling and adding light to the wall under the lamp with a simple pale yellow overlay.

The attachment Sims02.jpg is no longer available

Then, with a free program called FotoSketcher set to "Pencil Sketch 3" I came up with this:

The attachment FotoSketcher - Sims03.jpg is no longer available

Would this be something you can use?

I like the idea you added in this sketch. It's looking better than the above ones.

I messed around with filters and color scheme to make it look like morning

[alberte]

I couldn't decide which one I liked better but I tried.
:O
I edited your edit I just noticed lol.