How to make the BG and Sprites work well together

[CeruliDaruli]

So me and my friend are making the art for our VN and we've kinda been avoiding this subject because the script and world-building was far more important. Now that the time has come to make the sprites and BGs (I'm doing sprites, she's doing BGs), and I'm wondering how I can make sure that they look good together and I'm looking for advice.

Our characters all have individual colours (like weird power rangers) so I was planning on having specific colours that carried through all of their designs (similar to the red, blue and black of the MCs in Gurren Lagann) which compliments their personal colour. But then they might clash with the BGs. Should I try and use similar colour schemes throughout my sprites and the BGs, so they don't look horrible together? Or should I just not worry about? As in there are examples where it looks perfectly fine despite the differing colour palette.

Also I'm wondering if it would look okay if the sprites were painted (rather than inked/coloured like a manga), whilst the BG is inked. Are there examples where this looks good or nah? I would prefer if both of them were painted (since that's what I'm good at) but that's not my friend's specialty although she's more than willing to cooperate with me on that.

For any of these point could you give examples for or against? I'm a visual person, so I need examples to understand stuff

[Zelan]

I think the colors are less important than style when it comes to "clashing" with backgrounds. If anything, noticeable colors in the characters are better, because while they need to look like they belong in the background, they shouldn't fade into it.

As for style, I am also a visual person so I couldn't say for sure about the styles unless I could see an example of a sprite paired with a background. Hopefully someone can help you with that question though. (:Good luck!

[rainarium]

There are tons of elements in regards to BG+Sprite consistency. Learning about warm and cool colors can help. Color is all relevant. It already looks like you have an understanding of that after looking at your tumblr.

Here are some examples:

Warm vs cool ambiance

KyoAni Color Direction Observation

Side by Side Warm and Cool

Also I'm wondering if it would look okay if the sprites were painted (rather than inked/coloured like a manga), whilst the BG is inked. Are there examples where this looks good or nah?

No examples come to mind. Drawing them in one style would be preferred, but I think you can have inked BGs with colored lineart for better consistency? You could always add a blur effect if needed.

Would definitely need to see examples.

[DarkChibiShadow]

Lots of visual novels have different style backgrounds than they do sprites! I would say the VAST MAJORITY do, actually! As most backgrounds are drawn/made by someone different than the person who made the sprites. (Not to mention all of the games that just use photos for backgrounds! There's nothing more stark than that, aha.)

So, my advice is just not to worry about it too much and focus on having fun and finishing your game over anything else! Good luck!

[puppetbomb]

Here's a few general tips that can keep things running fairly smoothly when working with a team:

• Make a layout mock-up. Get everyone on the same page on the general placement of sprites and size of the text box.
• Set up a drive/folder where everyone can drop off their files.
• Encourage artists to share WIPs (It's a great way to generate momentum and morale)
• Create a reference document where teammates can get the big picture of the project, such as:
  • Size/screen resolution
  • Detailed breakdown of assets plus reference images
  • Character information
  • Story synopsis
  • A picture/movie/comic/art style that is similar to the kind of story/atmosphere you have for your story

It'll help keep art on the same general direction.

[DarkChibiShadow]

• Make a layout mock-up. Get everyone on the same page on the general placement of sprites and size of the text box.
• Set up a drive/folder where everyone can drop off their files.

Both of these tips are so good! Getting text box size figured out first and fore most helps a lot with projects in general.

[CeruliDaruli]

Okay, so I'm kind of an idiot and don't know how to use a forum (sorry). I appreciate all of your advice and your opinions on the topic. I will try to take them to heart and keep you posted with that entire thing. For those who may be interested, we were making some headway art-wise but with the writing, some rewrites have stopped us in our tracks. Hopefully we can post something on here as a WIP eventually.

Again thanks for the help