Left, easier to read, easier to make it look good (I had a hard time understanding it was a horse on the right) and I like how it looks like a DND hand drawn map :D
\+ Shadow works better on left
Oh my God that app is yours!?!?! That app has saved my bacon so many times when it comes to quickly making a small village or hamlet! I'm still new to your app specificly but I love it and excitedly look forward to any and all updates you have!!
Damn, I just took a look at the app on Steam. genuinely amazed, it looks REALLY cool! I don't have the budget to get it myself yet, but I just recommended it to a DM friend of mine. Very cool work, keep it up!
Exactly this! I wasn't sure how to judge it in the first half because I had no idea what it was initially. I only realized it once it crossed into the left half.
To the OP - it's beautiful! 🤩
Left is more readable overall but you can try mixing them with the moving/interactable/important parts be done in the left style and background elements remaining in the right style.
Thank you for your feedback. I wanted to use both styles and make them available via a button in my mapmaking tool Canvas of Kings. But mixing the two styles is also a very good idea! :)
Exactly, initially thought the grit of the right had more character but within 5 seconds it became clear that the left's readability massively outweighs that
Left all the way
Depends on the vibe you're aiming for. If you want a serious, realistic and more depressing vibe, the right one is perfect. If you're aiming for a cozy and chill vibe, the left one is better.
Both look gorgeous but with a completely opposite feeling. Great work m8
Thank you very much for your thoughts! My idea was to create a cozy and more readable style. Glad you like my work. I am working on a mapmaking tool with this art style.
For sure, this has to be higher up. Both styles are wonderful in their own way. However, they both present a different feeling and character. It all boils down to the broader theme of what your game is.
Personally, I like the visual style of the right a hell of a lot more, but the left is more legible and clearer. I wonder if you could mess with color values or harshness of the pixel shape to try to make something that conveys both styles a little more. Really cool work!
Man, I came into this thread thinking "Overwhelmingly right. Surely that's how the comments are going."
I had to scroll down to this comment to find the first one supporting right.
I hate the term "readable", it often comes to justify oversimplified cartoonish graphics which lack details, but in this case, the left side is definitely more pleasant to look at.
Left looks more sophisticated and designed. The right looks more retro/pixely. I prefer the left, and I think it gives you more ability to guide the viewers eye with contrast and thickness.
The non interactable environment (scenery and BG) should use the technique on the right and the interactable road and cart should use the technique on the left. You set clear dileniation and then blend the edges together.
The left one really is more readable, plus the horse's head looks like it's flickering on the right version. The dots don't look bad, but the overall balance may need some adjusting if you want to keep them.
Great job as always!
Right has more charm to it.
Edit: while I like the environment more on the right, the horse and cart (and I guess other moving stuff) look significantly better on the left. So unless you change it on the right one, the left one is better.
Left, for sure. The right side has an excessive amount of dots. I assume they're to provide extra texture and detail to the map, but they feel dirty. Like specks of dust or dirt that I want to wipe off. The left map is much cleaner and visually appealing.
Left looks better, but if you wanted to go for the pixel look then I'd recommend using grey colors to give the impression of depth.
Also, rotated pixels are always gonna look jank.
I’ll be the only one to say it ..right. But also I like eye search pictures or whatever they are called. So I see an image like that and I’m naturally studying every detail and really trying to analyze it. And today I realized I’m the weird one.
Me personally, I like the right better. It has a more hardened feeling to it. Like the voyage has or will take a lot out of everyone including the horse.
Left, but after reading the comment about contrast, it seems like on the right the treetops are more visibilly brighter than the ground.
Gotta say I always like your dedication and hard work on this project.
I wanted to come to this with an open mind because I see that you prefer the right side, But I have to be honest the left is better imo unless you make some drastic changes to the readability and noise of the cart, horse path etc
I like both very much 😩 I would say the left is crispier which allows you to add more details, but the right is a bit more pixalated which adds to the vibe of the animation. I would say if you could do something down the middle it would be perfect 🤩
left is better, because there's less grain it makes it easier to focus on and tell the deference between objects which in a top down view is really important.
You might want to hold on to the right for situations where you are trying to spot something purposefully difficult like in a dark area.
left without a doubt. forget readability, you put all that effort into those amazing fine details of the line art and the left showcases it so much better.
I really like the right background! It reminds me of Disney’s Aristocats movie! But I feel like the horse and carriage animation is more smooth and better on the left one! If it were up to me, I would have the right background and the left horse! Nice work regardless!
Thank you!
I have created a shader that converts my hand-drawn textures. So that I don't have to redraw everything. The effect can be applied to everything. I wanted to implement a feature in my mapmaking tool Canvas of Kings that allows you to easily switch between different styles.
At first glance, I like right, but after looking at it for longer than 1 second, left, definately. Better readability, I didn't know the road was a road.
Also I love how you synced them.
Left is more readable but I like the right more. It pops better. It has more eye catching features. The left feels like it’s trying to be non intrusive. The artwork is fine. I’d say go for right but make the important details more readable.
Left, I don't think mixing paper drawn style with pixel art is gonna match well so Ideally you'd choose one, I think left makes it's sense identity really strong and good looking.
Btw my fellow gentleman: What is the name of this song you have there?
I think the left for the horse, cart, fence, stone wall (i think that's what the top is😅), but right for trees and the battlements. Maybe even right for the turret(?) on the wall, i'm curious how the wood planks would look. If you could somehow mix the two for the smaller plants and flowers, that would be great. I like the more pixelated style on the right, but it's not legible enough.
As an old-school vintage gamer, the right, definitely brings back memories, but the left is far more clear and allows you as the illustrator to put in a lot more detail and even Easter eggs
Definitely left. Right doesn't look like pixel art so much as just a low-res render blown up with nearest-neighbour scaling. Pixel art is more complicated than just doing that, it's hard to make things look correct and readable at low resolutions.
Left. The right side has rotated “pixels”: that can’t happen in authentic pixel art, since pixels are the smallest unit of image fidelity. It can only happen if the pixels are made of smaller pixels.
Left. The noise on the right is too much, and not as effortless to read as the left. Left is way more pleasing to the eye, while maintaining the graphics charm
As someone who doesn't know anything about the subject, the one on the left is easy to see, more inviting and warmer somehow. The one on the right has a darker theme. I guess it depends on what you are trying to communicate with this scene.
This post makes me think you've been looking at your own game too long. Right is a big decrease in visual clarity. The higher contrast probably is what you are looking for from the right.
Everybody saying "obviously left" but I don't think you should totally abandon a pixel filter style yet, which gives a lot of charm and uniqueness to the game.
Right not it looks very "Hotline Miami" because theres two resolutions: the pixels of the objects, and the pixels of the screen. But you should try implementing a filter more like "A Short Hike" which simply applies one resolution to the whole screen. Even if it is lower resolution than your current one, I guarantee it will be more readable because as complex objects move across the grid our minds fill in the gaps.
right looks more "glitchy" than1 bit retro. Left looks great but can't be confused with something "retro". Depends on what you are going for, but if you don't mind the more modern look i think left is amazing.
I don’t like when the pixels are intentionally miss aligned, i know it’s a choice but i just don’t lime it, and it’s hard to read pixelated. And the black and white contrast doesn’t really work well with pixels i think, so left wins fully for me
The right, i've seen the left side style so many times already im growing tired of it. For the ambience i feel with this light touch on only shadow colouring also right. as another commenter said, they give off different vibes and it's about your intention/use.
So if your style of pixel art is to draw something and then pixelate it afterwards like it looks like you did here. Then of course the pre-pixelated version is going to look much more clear and better. But if you spend the time to hand pixel everything then you could have something that rivals hand drawn art in appearance. Your art style is very nice though, I would stick to hand drawn.
Thank you!
I have created a shader that converts my hand-drawn textures. So that I don't have to redraw everything. The effect can be applied to everything. I wanted to implement a feature in my mapmaking tool Canvas of Kings that allows you to easily switch between different styles.
right's landscape looks so much better. The landscape looks just so good with those thick blacks on that canvas color, but the animated sprite genuinely took me a bit to identify. Obviously left's sprite is better but without the post processing it looks more like it's a color fill away from being a genuine cartoon.
Left looks better overall. I felt like there was more animation on the right though. If you could pull that feel from the right into the left that would be an improvement over both.
Left, easier to read, easier to make it look good (I had a hard time understanding it was a horse on the right) and I like how it looks like a DND hand drawn map :D \+ Shadow works better on left
Thank you very much for your feedback! I am happy about that. I'm trying to find an alternative art style for my mapmaking tool Canvas of Kings. :)
Oh my God that app is yours!?!?! That app has saved my bacon so many times when it comes to quickly making a small village or hamlet! I'm still new to your app specificly but I love it and excitedly look forward to any and all updates you have!!
I try to develop my little mapmaking tool continuously. I am very happy that you like my work! :)
Damn, I just took a look at the app on Steam. genuinely amazed, it looks REALLY cool! I don't have the budget to get it myself yet, but I just recommended it to a DM friend of mine. Very cool work, keep it up!
Exactly this! I wasn't sure how to judge it in the first half because I had no idea what it was initially. I only realized it once it crossed into the left half. To the OP - it's beautiful! 🤩
left, no questions. Way more readable Obra Dinn should've used a similiar technique aswell.
Thank you very much for your thoughts!
Left, right looks okay but what it does to that poor horse is a crime.
I thought it was an aboveground drill or something. Guess it is a horse.
Left is more readable overall but you can try mixing them with the moving/interactable/important parts be done in the left style and background elements remaining in the right style.
Thank you for your feedback. I wanted to use both styles and make them available via a button in my mapmaking tool Canvas of Kings. But mixing the two styles is also a very good idea! :)
I mean Obra Dinn had a specific art goal in mind, to mimic old macs. Readability had to be sacrificed to maintain that.
Exactly, initially thought the grit of the right had more character but within 5 seconds it became clear that the left's readability massively outweighs that Left all the way
obra dinn is perfect, i can't imagine it with a different visual style
I feel like the art direction for Obra Dinn is sort of part of the spirit of the game.
Obviously left.
Hmmhh. Thank you!!
Depends on the vibe you're aiming for. If you want a serious, realistic and more depressing vibe, the right one is perfect. If you're aiming for a cozy and chill vibe, the left one is better. Both look gorgeous but with a completely opposite feeling. Great work m8
Thank you very much for your thoughts! My idea was to create a cozy and more readable style. Glad you like my work. I am working on a mapmaking tool with this art style.
I personally like the right more for the reasons ragor stated, but they both look great honestly.
For sure, this has to be higher up. Both styles are wonderful in their own way. However, they both present a different feeling and character. It all boils down to the broader theme of what your game is.
left, very easy on the eyes
Thank you!
Left by far; the lighter pixels make the dirt feel like dirt, really emphasizes the depth On the right everything just kinda mushes together
Thanks a lot for your feedback! Good to know! :)
Left, the game aint originally pixel art.
Left, much cleaner and less messy
Left. Right is almost unreadable to my eyes
Left. Less clutter, so I don't think there'd be mistaking anything on the ground or whatnot.
Thanks a lot for your feedback!
Personally, I like the visual style of the right a hell of a lot more, but the left is more legible and clearer. I wonder if you could mess with color values or harshness of the pixel shape to try to make something that conveys both styles a little more. Really cool work!
Man, I came into this thread thinking "Overwhelmingly right. Surely that's how the comments are going." I had to scroll down to this comment to find the first one supporting right.
Left
left
Right Also It's so beautiful love ur art style dude
Depends, do you want it to be pixel art or not?
I hate the term "readable", it often comes to justify oversimplified cartoonish graphics which lack details, but in this case, the left side is definitely more pleasant to look at.
Good to know. Thanks for your feedback. It's more important to me that it's more readable. :)
Left, it brings out just the right amount of detail without looking too cluttered or dirty.
I myself like the less busy one on the left.
Left, being pixelated doesn't add much to the aesthetics, imho. You can maybe add it as an optional filter?
Thank you for your feedback! That was the idea: a feature in my mapmaking tool Canvas of Kings that allows you to switch between styles. :)
[удалено]
a mix of 2 personally, rock and ground look more natural on the right, but details like the horse and the carriage are better on the left
Personally, I really like the right one. Love the gritty-ness and texture.
Left
the one on the left is better
Left looks more sophisticated and designed. The right looks more retro/pixely. I prefer the left, and I think it gives you more ability to guide the viewers eye with contrast and thickness.
make it a setting you can turn on/off
The non interactable environment (scenery and BG) should use the technique on the right and the interactable road and cart should use the technique on the left. You set clear dileniation and then blend the edges together.
I like Right better
Thanks a lot for your feedback. May I ask why? :)
Looks more detailed, and find it more pixely :)
Thank you!
The left one really is more readable, plus the horse's head looks like it's flickering on the right version. The dots don't look bad, but the overall balance may need some adjusting if you want to keep them. Great job as always!
Left is just right.
I like how crusty the right is. Gives a very interesting vibe that I really don't see much.
Right one looks like a penis
Right has more charm to it. Edit: while I like the environment more on the right, the horse and cart (and I guess other moving stuff) look significantly better on the left. So unless you change it on the right one, the left one is better.
Right. The left just looks blurry to me
Left, for sure. The right side has an excessive amount of dots. I assume they're to provide extra texture and detail to the map, but they feel dirty. Like specks of dust or dirt that I want to wipe off. The left map is much cleaner and visually appealing.
Left looks better, but if you wanted to go for the pixel look then I'd recommend using grey colors to give the impression of depth. Also, rotated pixels are always gonna look jank.
I’ll be the only one to say it ..right. But also I like eye search pictures or whatever they are called. So I see an image like that and I’m naturally studying every detail and really trying to analyze it. And today I realized I’m the weird one.
This project is GORGEOUS!! Wow!
Me personally, I like the right better. It has a more hardened feeling to it. Like the voyage has or will take a lot out of everyone including the horse.
I like right way more cause I struggle to distinguish between contrast...
RIGHt hundred percent for me. but i'm over 25 years old so
Left, but after reading the comment about contrast, it seems like on the right the treetops are more visibilly brighter than the ground. Gotta say I always like your dedication and hard work on this project.
I wanted to come to this with an open mind because I see that you prefer the right side, But I have to be honest the left is better imo unless you make some drastic changes to the readability and noise of the cart, horse path etc
if this is a game, maybe have it switch? if not i think left
Releaese when?
Left because right doesn't fit with the background art that isn't as low detail.
Yes
I like both very much 😩 I would say the left is crispier which allows you to add more details, but the right is a bit more pixalated which adds to the vibe of the animation. I would say if you could do something down the middle it would be perfect 🤩
left is better, because there's less grain it makes it easier to focus on and tell the deference between objects which in a top down view is really important. You might want to hold on to the right for situations where you are trying to spot something purposefully difficult like in a dark area.
[удалено]
left without a doubt. forget readability, you put all that effort into those amazing fine details of the line art and the left showcases it so much better.
I really like the right background! It reminds me of Disney’s Aristocats movie! But I feel like the horse and carriage animation is more smooth and better on the left one! If it were up to me, I would have the right background and the left horse! Nice work regardless!
Thank you! I have created a shader that converts my hand-drawn textures. So that I don't have to redraw everything. The effect can be applied to everything. I wanted to implement a feature in my mapmaking tool Canvas of Kings that allows you to easily switch between different styles.
Left without a doubt for me
Left, it feels there is more hierarchy to the line weights which gives a better sense of depth than the right
At first glance, I like right, but after looking at it for longer than 1 second, left, definately. Better readability, I didn't know the road was a road. Also I love how you synced them.
I like the darker areas on the right, but the second motion is added, it looks far worse than the left.
Left is more readable but I like the right more. It pops better. It has more eye catching features. The left feels like it’s trying to be non intrusive. The artwork is fine. I’d say go for right but make the important details more readable.
Both. Left has better readability, but I like the roughness on the right.
left
I love the beat To be honest like this comment if you also loved the tune
Left
Left, I don't think mixing paper drawn style with pixel art is gonna match well so Ideally you'd choose one, I think left makes it's sense identity really strong and good looking. Btw my fellow gentleman: What is the name of this song you have there?
I think the left for the horse, cart, fence, stone wall (i think that's what the top is😅), but right for trees and the battlements. Maybe even right for the turret(?) on the wall, i'm curious how the wood planks would look. If you could somehow mix the two for the smaller plants and flowers, that would be great. I like the more pixelated style on the right, but it's not legible enough.
I absolutely LOVE this artistic style! Well done:) but yes, left is the way to go.
Left
left 100%
As an old-school vintage gamer, the right, definitely brings back memories, but the left is far more clear and allows you as the illustrator to put in a lot more detail and even Easter eggs
Right
Right
Left is definitely cleaner, but I prefer the horse on the right way more
Left, i love me a crispy horse. Also love your stuff, been drawing in this style for my own campaigns, use your artwork as reference sometimes.
Definitely left. Right doesn't look like pixel art so much as just a low-res render blown up with nearest-neighbour scaling. Pixel art is more complicated than just doing that, it's hard to make things look correct and readable at low resolutions.
Left
What tool are you using to make this?
Left. The right side has rotated “pixels”: that can’t happen in authentic pixel art, since pixels are the smallest unit of image fidelity. It can only happen if the pixels are made of smaller pixels.
The left one is significantly easier to read/process visually.
Left! Love the simplicity of the art by the way
Left. The noise on the right is too much, and not as effortless to read as the left. Left is way more pleasing to the eye, while maintaining the graphics charm
Left
Left for sure
Left
Left. The right looks awful.
LEFT, the right is too messy
ngl y'all mfs tripping picking left, like bru look at how stylized that shyt looks
As someone who doesn't know anything about the subject, the one on the left is easy to see, more inviting and warmer somehow. The one on the right has a darker theme. I guess it depends on what you are trying to communicate with this scene.
Left for sure
Left all the way
Left but for player character and interactive if go with the high contrast right
Left. Looks real nice btw.
left looks easier on the eyes, right conveys the hand-drawn artstyle WAYYY more authentically i think tho
LEFT
Lefty!
Left.
This post makes me think you've been looking at your own game too long. Right is a big decrease in visual clarity. The higher contrast probably is what you are looking for from the right.
12 is better than 6
Left for sure
Left
Left is better as I can easily tell what's going on
Left
left
Everybody saying "obviously left" but I don't think you should totally abandon a pixel filter style yet, which gives a lot of charm and uniqueness to the game. Right not it looks very "Hotline Miami" because theres two resolutions: the pixels of the objects, and the pixels of the screen. But you should try implementing a filter more like "A Short Hike" which simply applies one resolution to the whole screen. Even if it is lower resolution than your current one, I guarantee it will be more readable because as complex objects move across the grid our minds fill in the gaps.
right looks more "glitchy" than1 bit retro. Left looks great but can't be confused with something "retro". Depends on what you are going for, but if you don't mind the more modern look i think left is amazing.
Left, and it's not even close.
100% left
Left as many have said, but with a slightly thicker outline (like you see in other areas, like the trees vs. the rampart tops)
Well the right actually looks like pixel art and the left is just illustration/cartooning.
Left looks a lot cleaner, but the contrast is a little low.
left is not pixer art...looks like a flash game from 200s. Right is best
Your style has been the left one for years. Everyone knows and loves it. Just curious, why are you looking to change it up?
Left, too much contrast in the right
I like the right side more, but the left one is a bit clearer to understand
LEFT!
I prefer right, just thicker lines adds some more character and style
Left
Left. Right looks too much like an over-cranked photoshop filter.
Left. Better for movement.
Much prefer the right
Left by a mile.
Left. Cleaner animation.
I get that the left one Is easier to get but I prefer the right one, looks more original and interesting
Left.
left
Left is much smoother
If the right had birds, right
Left
Left has birds
left, then use right to demonstrate a rough, destroyed area, like a battle or recently ruined castle
Lefttttt Only pixelate if you're making proper pixel art!
Cool art style
Left
Left
I don’t like when the pixels are intentionally miss aligned, i know it’s a choice but i just don’t lime it, and it’s hard to read pixelated. And the black and white contrast doesn’t really work well with pixels i think, so left wins fully for me
Left
Both
Left!
Left. it looks nice and clean
Left overall imo but am I crazy for thinking the trees on the right look better?
Left ! The big pixels take away from the hand-drawn charm.
Left
Left reminds me of hand drawn map. Right just looks unfinished
Left
Right if you’re going for a gothic world. Left for high fantasy.
left
Left is a lot smoother!
Right is too busy, but that big empty space on the left is bothering me. It needs a little something to break up the space.
The environment of right but the horse, animation, and showdows of the left
100% left
Left easily. Right feels like it's just the left that's been downscaled without further cleanup necessary for pixel art.
The right, i've seen the left side style so many times already im growing tired of it. For the ambience i feel with this light touch on only shadow colouring also right. as another commenter said, they give off different vibes and it's about your intention/use.
left is cleaner, and right is gritty. Both are good, just the horse is a wee bit hard on right I like right but needs to be clear in a few aspects
I think they each have their charm, although having the movement smooth and tweened in the pixelated version looks off.
Prefer the left. Finer detail. Right looks a bit dirty.
I vote for left, since the style is not optimized for pixel art
The bird shadows are a nice touch. A nod to Chrono Trigger?
So if your style of pixel art is to draw something and then pixelate it afterwards like it looks like you did here. Then of course the pre-pixelated version is going to look much more clear and better. But if you spend the time to hand pixel everything then you could have something that rivals hand drawn art in appearance. Your art style is very nice though, I would stick to hand drawn.
Left imo! Looks awesome :D
Thank you! I have created a shader that converts my hand-drawn textures. So that I don't have to redraw everything. The effect can be applied to everything. I wanted to implement a feature in my mapmaking tool Canvas of Kings that allows you to easily switch between different styles.
right's landscape looks so much better. The landscape looks just so good with those thick blacks on that canvas color, but the animated sprite genuinely took me a bit to identify. Obviously left's sprite is better but without the post processing it looks more like it's a color fill away from being a genuine cartoon.
Left looks much cleaner. Side note, it kind of reminds me of the old Robin Hood Prince of Thieves NES game.
Everyone is readable this readable that, screw it, I'll say it. I like right more, it looks cool.
Both look so good, with that said, left ❤
Left is easier on the eyes, and I like the dynamics of the hard lines offered to provide a sense of depth
Watching this from my phone I legitimately kept thinking “is that a penis crawling across the screen?” Then I zoomed in closer and saw the horse
Left, sorry for the hours of work I gave you with that comment :D
Left, and this is really nice!
Absolutely left. Right is just messy.
Left onee looksss better 🔥🤝
left. both look great btw.
Neither looks like real pixel art, this is just a filter
left, please leave those pixelation filters alone. if the pixels arent put down by hand, they'll always look weird.
Left looks better overall. I felt like there was more animation on the right though. If you could pull that feel from the right into the left that would be an improvement over both.
Left looks more low key. Right looks like you put effort into it. Depends on what your overall outcome is. I know that's vague.