Leon's BGs [critiques welcome!]

[RafaelLeon]

Hi, all,

I've been practicing creation of backgrounds for the past couple of months and I'd like your feedback on these works. I know that the style is a bit inconsistent since I've been experimenting with different rendering options according to the intended environment.











Critiques are welcome!

Also let me know if you'd like to use any of the works I post here in your commercial or non-commercial projects. I only request a copy of your game if you do so!

[cmarin17]

I like the backgrounds. You have a good cross section of... I don't know what to call it. "Feels"? First seems like a dating sim. Second could be mystery, drama, horror... Third one could be for many purposes. The fourth one reminds me a bit of Portal, but could be used for a lot.

I'm not an artist, so I can't give any artistic advice, but to me, I'd use them in a VN if I found a spot for them.

Keep up the good work.

[RafaelLeon]

I like the backgrounds. You have a good cross section of... I don't know what to call it. "Feels"? First seems like a dating sim. Second could be mystery, drama, horror... Third one could be for many purposes. The fourth one reminds me a bit of Portal, but could be used for a lot.

I'm not an artist, so I can't give any artistic advice, but to me, I'd use them in a VN if I found a spot for them.

Keep up the good work.

Thank you so much! Since I'm fairly new to this, I've been experimenting with different "feels", like you said. Hopefully it'll all get more cohesive when I start an actual game project!

Here's my latest work:

[cmarin17]

Thank you so much! Since I'm fairly new to this, I've been experimenting with different "feels", like you said. Hopefully it'll all get more cohesive when I start an actual game project!

Here's my latest work:

We are all new at some point. I'm very new to scripting and coding, so I know the struggles.

This new one looks good, too. It could fit in a few different types of VNs or other projects.

Do you have a style you feel more comfortable in over others? Do you have an art page on one of the sites to showcase sketches or works-in-progress?

[RafaelLeon]

We are all new at some point. I'm very new to scripting and coding, so I know the struggles.

This new one looks good, too. It could fit in a few different types of VNs or other projects.

Do you have a style you feel more comfortable in over others? Do you have an art page on one of the sites to showcase sketches or works-in-progress?

Thanks! That's a good question. I feel more comfortable with environments for which there are handy references for, like more realistic stuff. But I'd say that I enjoy creating more "fantasy" backgrounds instead, like the scifi ones, even though they push me out of my comfort zone. So there's a balance of comfort and challenge in the works I've been creating!

I don't have a page where I show works in progress yet, but I do have an ArtStation page:

https://www.artstation.com/sketchabledaydreams

Thanks for your continued support!

Here are some new works:

[anh0814]

I love the diversity of your BGs very much! It feels like you can make so many things.

Although your "feels" differ, I think your art looks consistent and I can see myself playing a game with all these BGs without them feeling out of place!

Though it's true that they range from the mundane to the Sci-fi ha ha.

Your new pink lake BG reminds me of horror, maybe something from the works of Junji Ito!

May I ask how you create your BGs? I would like to make BGs for my game but I'm not sure where to start!

[RafaelLeon]

I love the diversity of your BGs very much! It feels like you can make so many things.

Although your "feels" differ, I think your art looks consistent and I can see myself playing a game with all these BGs without them feeling out of place!

Though it's true that they range from the mundane to the Sci-fi ha ha.

Your new pink lake BG reminds me of horror, maybe something from the works of Junji Ito!

May I ask how you create your BGs? I would like to make BGs for my game but I'm not sure where to start!

Thanks a lot for the feedback! It takes me a lot of thinking and pondering to visualize what is exactly that I want to create, so it's great to know that there's people out there that enjoy it and would use it.

It's also funny you say that the lake scene reminds you of Junji Ito, because I made this scene shortly after watching the Junji Ito episode of "Manben"... Though not intended, I'm glad to know that the influence is there! He's definitely one of my favorite artists (along with Manben's host, Naoki Urasawa).

I've only started making backgrounds recently myself, and it's a process that involves a lot of trial and error. At this point, I think that I have a method. First, I create the 3D scene on SketchUp using standard 3D warehouse assets or I create the shapes myself if there's something really specific I want to convey. I haven't been formally trained in SketchUp, so this step took me a long time at first. The process gets increasingly faster with practice, though.

Then I export the 3D scene from SketchUp into Lumion, a rendering software. Lumion has a good library of materials that you can apply to objects if there are any materials that couldn't be applied in SketchUp. After this, I create different renders of the same shot with different styles: Color Sketch, Watercolor, Line Art, 3D realistic. These three or four output renderings are then transferred to Photoshop and I use effects and photo filters to achieve the intended mood and level of detail.

As of now, with this process, I'd say that I can create one of these backgrounds in 5 to 6 hours of uninterrupted work. I don't think it's anything like what people do with Blender sometimes, but it's a process that works for me! If you decide to use this method, I look forward to seeing what you can create.

[nelephant]

I love the style. Especially the interiors that look like a blend of dead drawn lines and photos, there's something to the flatness of the lines and colors compared to the sometimes really realistic objects/shadows that seems like it would fit perfectly with a lot of character styles I've seen on this site. Especially reminding me of the gorgeous backgrounds from something like Gantz (the manga series) but in color. Has that manga feel.

I'm particularly talking about the pinkish room and the room with the turquoise chairs. Very cool.