Ee.forumify.com-Everybody Edits RavaTrolls Playable Landscapes Construction Tutorial Lot of Pics

April 29, 2011

Oh, hai !

Welcome to RavaTroll's "playable landscapes" construction tutorial

( Note : you should read Bee's Art Tutorial before starting, it might help for huge projects !)

I'll show you ( using screenshots I made while drawing ) how to design art in a level that will have(non-black-blocks) minis inside it.

For this, I made a very simple level called "The Wizard's Tower". The theme is pretty simple. : A tower.

So, the first thing to do when you create a map is a scheme :

( T = Tower ; G = "Grotte" in french => "Caves" in english ; F =Forest ; TP = Teleportation Point = Start. )

I made this picture on MSPaint in 1 minute. I wanted a nice cliff tohave the tower suspended over the lake, and woods, because awizard's tower is always lost somewhere. ( In a forest, on amountain, underwater, etc. )Then, start drawing in EE. You don't have to follow exactly your firstdraft, just try to make the minimap looks "good" :

You can see that this is quite different from the first draft. I also filled the empty blocks with brown bricks to help me to seewhat the final minimap will look like. It can take a loooot of time

when you're alone to fillthose spaces. Then, draw the path thatthe players will takethrough your map. It's veryimportant to have a colorthat is : Visible ; Clear ; notused in the level. ( Pink isrecommended here,because there's no pink inforests, water, caves ortowers. )

( You can see that the beginning is not where it was supposed to be, BTW )

Once you've laid out your path, you can start the "art part".First, destroy all the "path"-blocks where you are drawing to clear the minimap and help you seeingthe colors better.I started with the grass. Grass isn't very difficult to draw. You just have to draw something near the"inside" of a grass block.

Once you've drawn the grass, which will be the bottom of your minis, you can start drawingtrees/buildings/whatever.You should notice that there are different trees in my forest : it's more realistic that way. There's one thing very useful here : The shadow.

When you look at the minimap once you've draw all the trees, some of them will look like they'rebehind the others.

Now, you can draw some small details in the "rooms" formed by the ground, the trunks and the leafs.I usually add bushes with a different green color to show they are not grass, and they are not trees.You can draw bushes like half-circles.

The forest has been created, it's time to start the caves.There are several types of cave complexes, and you can google for "cave map" to see how they are( or just visit caves near home :p ).

I usually draw caves like bubbles linked with some thin strings. It's the usual "cartoon" drawing ofcaves for me.

Now that you have finished the design of the first corner of the map, you can start "painting" thetrees/the dirt and add shadows.

You can see how I made my shadows : All previous empty blocks are replaced with green keys, andI used grass blocks to show the depth of the tree. The main color of the pine has been changed, butdon't delete all the old green blocks from it to make it looks different.The shadows on the trunks are not very difficult : Just try to have at least 1 block on 2 darker, anddraw lines to "show" roots.Once you've made this, you can add more plants, and background trees. ( On top of the trees on theminimap. )

You can now start the drawing stalactites in the caves. It's very important, because they'll be used inthe minis.

Now you can start coloring the dirt. I usually "troll" it with dark-red bricks and have a nice result: justtry it To draw simple water, you'll have to use beta-blocks. ( If you're not beta, just replace them withnormal blue blocks. )

Draw a simple pattern to simulate waves and reflections over the lake/sea.

Then, start drawing the deep water with inverted key-blocks. You'll have to create minis WITHOUTany arrows inside water. Labyrinths and normal-platforming are recommended.

( You can see I added Blue keys to draw a shadow, but I decided they were not very usefull laterso I deleted them. )

You can also add "light rays" with the normal blue by drawing diagonal lines under water.

Remember that players will play minis under or between them, so leave some spaces.

You can see I drew underwater caves. Here's a good tip for the constrast dirt/water : If you put wateron sand/dirt, the sand/dirt becomes darker.So every block that is in contact with the water has to be replaced with dark-red blocks.

I added other caves while following my "pink" path. You can see I added an inhabited cave, to add some unusual details on the level. This will also be

fun if player wants to take a break in the middle of your map.

I drew plants near the cave entrance on the cliff to create some life for that boring dirt-only cliff. It's useful for jungle maps though.

I added great rooms to add diversity in the level. They'll be used for storage by the sorcerer, so I'lldraw some crates in them.

I started drawing the stairs of the towers. Using shadows is very important on "human-made"buildings, to show how it really looks like.

I re-drew a forest like the first one, and will draw shadows after the design of the tower. Try to find some originals design for your buildings. Rectangular buildings are very common, soyou'll have to show you can invent some new kind of building. Just use your imagination !

Like with the stairs at the entrance, you should add light / shadows on your buildings to help theplayer understand their geometry. The bottom and the tops of my towers, with light / shadows / look

like spheres.

You're almost done ! Erase the last part of your path, and draw the last details on the level, like clouds, birds, etc...Here's a picture of real clouds to help you understand what they really look like :

I usually draw Cumulus, Nimbo-stratus,strato-cumulus and alto-cumulus. They are, I think, the mostusual clouds on non-rainy days.

Draw shadows on the clouds, but not so much, just to show the depth, and you're done. This level is100% playable, with rooms and a lot of space for minis !

RavaTroll - Terrorist Troll.

Last edited by RavaTroll (2011-02-25 19:02:08)