a quick update, added the Prime 550 Mk II, im working on adding system 25, IBM 3081D, IBM 370, possibly a Masstor M860 and most defiantly a few offices full of "dumb terminals", scanning equipment, etc all from the late 50s through to the 1980s.

Also this version is 20 colors, I have cut it down via photo-shop to just 12 and it looks nice, just need to choose which pallet to keep for the 12 colors.




Edited by carbontwelve - 17 August 2010 at 9:44am

Hi Manupix, thanks for the comments. I realized earlier that I hadn't thought about the general layout and begun working on one that could be easily built upon using multiples of 10 as the scale.

The light source is from the right. However I have just noticed that some of the machines have light facing the left...

From my research of mainframes it looks like they had the base model which I have drawn here and simply multiplied the units, therefore I should now have enough sprites for the mainframe just need to work on the auxiliaries such as the car punchers and fan fold printers :)

As for realism I am going for as realistic as possible, most the units I have drawn should be pretty recognizable.

Here is a small update with the start of a scene:


oh and 15 colours ;)

edit:
a quick update :)



edit:
Created some simple office sprites today.

edit: added water cooler and some desk decoration, not sure about the light switches yet, hopefully they don't look too much like air vents.




Edited by carbontwelve - 18 August 2010 at 8:24am

The people are great and look different, me likes that!
Everything else looks nice but is still way too boxy, rigid, and square. Consider making the floor circular, random or somehow break the linear monotony. Even if its a sterile lab there should be some visual interest beyond lines.

True about the people but I think your version is unique enough that they actually stood out.

Floors can tile in multiple ways so thats tough to answer but staying away from 2:1 lines will break it up. This floor won't work for you at all, I know, but I show only to point out how its circles that hide the grid. Also other floors that break things up.

perhaps adding floor ventalation (common in modern server farms) you could break up the monotony of the floor.

Manupix, thanks for the nice comments. I didn't think that they were perfectly isometric because the feet didn't look right. In response to your suggestion I have pixeled a cray-1 from this reference: http://business.rediff.com/slide-show/2009/jul/27/slide-show-1-worlds-fastest-supercomputers.htm

stepdragon, that's a better reference than the one I had, I shall implement something like that... i think c-dogs did something similar shall have to boot up dosbox and have a look.

I see what you mean now, I don't really know how to draw cylinders so this was drawn by eye. I shall do it again using guides.

edit:



I had a quick go at it, but while I can do the smaller cylinder, creating the larger one is beyond me. Every time I try it goes wrong and looks out of perspective.


Edited by carbontwelve - 19 August 2010 at 9:38am

To make horizontal circles, like you have, you can easily do this, if you don't mind using some tools:
-make circle (with tool)
-scale Y to 50%
-make into neat pixels

I also think it would be a good idea to remove the outlines on the bottom of objects, so things look more grounded.

Also, also. Cray had different colors, no?

Cylinders are much, much better.

Heed snader's classic iso trick 'its a good idea to remove the outlines on the bottom of objects, so things look more grounded.'

Ive been working on small items each day, in an effort to do some pixel art each day of the week. Currently done: wall posters, charts, clock, cushioned chair, shelves, books, book case, coffee cups, drinks machine and wall clock.

edit:

I have begun working out the basement layout in some more detail, I also added the external cut away walls to the main scene I think they look ok although I did spend ages playing with different colours before settling for the same gray as every other wall due to it looking less weird.

Going to add stairs too once I figure out how to draw them, my fiance created a drinks machine for it which will be included in the final composition.

So far as the final layout goes, this building will have several floors: basement, ground, 1st floor, 2nd floor, 3rd floor, 4th floor, rooftop. The basement of course contains the mainframe(s), it will have electrical fuse boxes along the wall and a few other misc bits, the ground floor will have an entrance lobby with security desk, plants, not sure what else, the 1st and 2nd floor will have cubicles and on one of them a staff room and toilets, the third floor will have walled offices and the fourth will be the directors office (might have an indoor gold course or something), the roof will be a roof... not sure what to add up here yet.



edit:
also been working on the ground floor now... hoping to have each floors layout planned soon.






Edited by carbontwelve - 22 August 2010 at 8:09am

I think you've gone off in another direction, but in case you're still interested in your earlier goal, check this article out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semi_Automatic_Ground_Environment

You seem to be pretty inspired on this front. I say, keep going with your original idea. :)

I see what you mean. The lower images definitely looks better.

The way you drew the glass is acceptable and I'm not criticizing it, but, it is the lazy/sloppy way to go about it. Anytime you depend on semitransparent overlays it just looks cheap and dithering on shiny surfaces like glass ends up too textury(?). Here's an easier way to go about it in the future.
* for reflections you will have to draw stuff from the other side so its not really easier, just better




Edited by jalonso - 24 August 2010 at 10:30am

It is OK to to use semi-transparent layers for stuff like reflections on glass. It is also OK to add a semi-transparent layer to get #2 in the edit I made. These steps are taken on commission jobs and when deadlines are tight very often and I have done so myself.
However, from a pure pixelart standpoint it is considered a poor technique. It takes very little effort to just re-color using your existing colors in the piece. My edit was made using NO semitransparent layers at all. I just recolored with other colors you already had and only added a few new ones. I'm sure had I looked at other images up there I would have found colors to use that already existed. Color conservation is a very important thing in pixelart.
I will point out that reflecting on glass is a 'tool' that does not always work. Depending on what it is that's being reflected it can actually look ugly, dunno why this is. So I often draw them in with about half of the detail to soften the blow. This sample below is mirrored walls so the reflections are more prominent but with much less detail.

The Pixeljoint gallery hates semi-transparent pixels so do try to pixel instead of overlaying with semi-transparent layers whenever possible. Its a good habit, takes just as much effort and makes for better pixelart.

The image below shows that you are using several kinds of centerlines which can cause problems sometimes and you probably already encountered this.

In isometric pixelart using 2px corners is for big and complex scenes where items are being used and reused and alignment is more crucial. I think your project is a 2px kind of project.

In standalone iso pieces or in 2px scenes where you need a center (Church steeple with cross, for example) then 3px centers are used. It is common to pepper 2px scenes with some 3px assets. Just watch yourself too much mix ends up looking off.

A tidbit for you to 'break the grid' which is very minor but adds overall impact is to never place assets against the walls. Step of the grid by 1px adds volume, depth and reads more true. Adding a tiny bit of back shadow further adds to it.

Don't bother with it now, you're on the wave, ride it.
Just keep those details in mind from this point on and in the future. As you layout and place assets around whenever things are off, just know why it is happening. For this project have a plant, a water cooler, fire extinguisher and a trashcan handy to camo these areas. People and lamps are great 'blenders' too.

I think the floor would look nice with some pattern going on instead of just random dark tiles here and there.

like