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Weekly Challenge: Platform
It does make me wonder what you had in mind for Watson, but i like it all as is. Good work.
this is really fantastic. brilliant colors and its full of style. the foreground platforms are a little on the flat side but this is great work for a weekly. im a fan.
This is getting a facelift now that the contest is over. Thanks to everyone for all the comments
Maybe I should do something about that banding. I think there's a very good chance the texture on that layer would be loads more pronounced. In fact, the buildings on that layer ought to be very contrasty. I toned it down a lot already, but I see your point. Thanks Helm!
daring work on the middle background focus blur. It bands, but it's a good aesthetic tradeoff. I'd remove the textury detail work on that layer, though.
@showtime thanks! You don't have to vote for it if you don't like it! It's not a monocle, it's a magnifying glass fused onto his head, so he can be looking for clues robocop style.
@big brother: I thought it was too cartoony as well, but then I remembered the Lucasarts' Indy adventure games and felt it was justified. I was planning to add Moriarty and some turrets, but was out of time. Thanks for the kind comment
This is really cool and I want to vote for it, but the monocle! it's so distracting! Why? :' (
The sprite looks a little too cartoony to match the more straightforward portrait and clock tower. I guess he fits the platforms. I could be sold if you added more cartoony elements. Like little robots: razor teeth dentures with legs. Or maybe Watson could be somewhere so Holmes isn't talking to himself. Obviously, if you had more time... It's a great start with a fun idea. The colors are very pensive and harmonic.
I do not like the Sherlock Holmes platformer idea, but your background is excellent! =)
Wow, I wish I had this many comments for my entry...
I really like the style of the background! Big Ben looks particularly awesome. Needs more elements in the foreground, though, it's too empty.
Of course the rule of cool is cool, but a wing pointed in the other direction would have been just as cool no? I understand the backwards parking story thingy, but it is not so obvious in the image.
On an over the top steampunk I would not mind where the wings are as long as they are there. However, I do not see this as an over the top myself.. it is not like it is completely overfilled with random fantasy things right?
To prevent misunderstandings: Yes, the rule of cool is important, and yes this is good, I just thought it could have better.
It's very unfinished, still voted for it. The preview promises a lot more. An enemy or an item on the right side, coins on the air or even a health bar, whatever that would balance the piece will make it look a lot more complete. The idea and the bg are awesome and I'd love to see this win a reward.
I love how you handled the background in this. Excellent job.
Hapiel, Rule of Cool? Not everything has to be 100% realistic, especially in an over-the-top steampunk setting. Also, that is the back end of the glider, so the 'fin' is actually pointing the right way.
Great entry! :D love the background and colours. fave 
Voted =)
Improvable points have been covered by previous comments. What bothers me most is the right side clock. Hope you find a few more dozen hours for this after the vote!
If I would make a steering wing, I would not point it directly into the direction I am floating too. It would be ineffective and probably break on high speed, as it looks fragile. How about doing it the other way around? Boats (both the sails as the steers) and airplanes do this for a reason, and your drawing will start to make more sense.
Thanks guys!
@Hapiel: thank you so much for the edit and comments. I really like my reddish brown shade, it's the only luxury I afforded myself. You're absolutely right about the hat. His monocle is a huge prosthetic lens, like his hand is a huge prosthetic glove. I like the background without the brightest shade, but it doesn't tell the story I need to tell, I guess I should go over and re-do it sometime when I haven't worked 30+hours on it.
The wing does (some of) the steering. Holmes has parked his glider backwards as close to a building landing bay as he can and has to jump. The booth on the bell-tower is a landing, and the huge useless bottom part of it is just decoration on the building, like so much of gothic architecture. Thank you for your input, and it's ok that you missed it on the WIP thread. I'll change some things when the challenge is over.
@Cyangmou: thank you, and I know you're right. I run out of time, and it's not right to fix it now that the challenge is on. I will though.
@Cure: you bet
@Tarius: lol, you!
@CELS sure thing, thanks! I know, the white socks are for readability, and to show his trousers are not long enough. He has enough fashion sense lacking that he still wears his Deerstalker hat :) I went for iconic, hopefully.
@Arkan omg thanks for reminding me ^-^
Good work!
P.S: usually you put a "+" on the preview. Maybe you forgot it this time... 
Wonderful idea, wonderful work.
The only thing you shoould overlook once more is the dark side of BigBen styled tower. Especially the clock should be cleaned up - not a necessarity but it'd improve the quality a little.
Hi Neo,
Sorry I missed the WIP thread. Overall it looks great, well done on the composition, setting and character!
Some pointers:
Put even more effort in keeping the color count low! I noticed one useless shade of brown which could be removed instantly without any damage to the piece. I found the background detail destracting from the game, and removing the brightest purple solved this problem for me. 18 colors, with some effort I am sure you could bring it to 16. Not neccecary, but fun :)
I find the hat on the portrait to be a bit jaggy, it looks rushed, while it could be so smooth! And what is the glass thing next to his face supposed to be? A monocle? A monocle could have been nice if it looked like one.. But I removed it because it distracted me.
Around the ELEMENTARY frame, the decoration is a great addition! However, at the moment the darkest color is a bit too dark compared to the two bright ones to add shadow or detail. After removing it it looked better, and while playing some more I figured it could be used to outline different parts of the detail.
What is the wing doing under the platform. Keeping it in air I suppose, but how does that work? Do you know what the function of the wing is? If not, it is going to be hard to show us, the viewer. Same goes for the platform on the right: What is it? Only in unrealistic settings like super mario I believe in randomly hovering ugly platforms. In this case you gave everything a realistic style, than show us what it is! What material is it made of? Why and how did it get there? And what is the function of the booth on the Big Ben?
Back to the left side, the platform is pretty much on your foreground. Show off with it! Dont let them blend into the background too much! I outlined the bottom side and your wing.
I hope there is something in here you find interesting, and that you can learn from it!
Oh, and that I posted this whole essay on what can be improved des not mean that it sucks, or that I underrate it. This is worth another daily deviation or depending on the other entries perhaps even a place in the finals from the challenge! Keep up your selfesteem!
Steampunk Sherlock Holmes, the way it SHOULD be done! :D
The backdrop is beautiful, and has what looks like subtle lens blur which I happen to like a lot :D
Looks fantastic, even though I would have expected Mr. Holmes to have enough fashion sense to avoid the white socks :)
Would have liked to see some more steampunk victorian details on the platforms in the foreground. Maybe a street light. I'm also wondering if the pink roof on Westminister Abbey is a bit flat, colorwise, even for a misty London morning.
Good luck in the comp. You have my vote.
Amazing