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TLS Art Style Decisions (Patreon)

Published:
2019-04-24 22:51:50
Imported:
2026-06

Content

I haven't been talking about it a lot, but I've been quietly working with Annikath on a variety of foundational issues regarding how to go about art for TLS. This post is for potentially one of the biggest decisions, an attempt to experiment with style and make a final decision.

You can see a preview of the six styles above, but to really compare them I think you'd want larger files. So click here to download all six versions at decent resolution:

https://mega.nz/#!3k9EGQAD!XliksMDEV8nT19SlKfLG2m1GUcPfRu2E0G7C4ap2Ym4 

Let me say a bit about what each style is trying to accomplish:

#0 Softshaded: A standard anime style of shading.

#1 Cres-shading: Copying the blend of styles that Crescentia uses.

#2 TLS Style: An attempt to copy the character portraits as much as possible.

#3 Soft Light: This one adds a bit of painterly styling.

#4 Annikath: A blend of styles particular to Annikath.

#5 Grayshading: Another style of shading altogether.

Feel free to give any feedback you like, but I'm definitely looking for people to vote on their preferences. I'll make a poll if necessary, but we'll see. If you care about art for TLS, please vote!

Meanwhile, I have some other things that may entertain. First, here are a couple pictures of Dari - they don't represent any one of the six styles, they were just style exploration prior to those pictures. They're the first art of Dari, anyway, so enjoy!

Those are just for fun, but I do want your opinions on another thing: the style for the pictures in the prologue. We haven't spent very much time on this, but here are two potential paths:

The first is an attempt to do a simpler shading style that still looks appealing, while the second is embracing the comedic aspect. Thoughts? Preferences for either? Ideas for something else? This decision is nowhere near as important as the core style decision, but feel free to speak up on it as well.

Exciting times overall! I actually have several different posts I want to write, but those are getting set back while I focus on a higher priority. I didn't want to let the art question go silent for too long, though, hence this post.

Files

Comments

Dmitry F

3, 5, 4, 1, 0, 2 for me. I prefer the comedic art style and having a disappointed Simon in the background is required. Also I really like seeing art for Dari, but the mouth shape and size seems a little off. I think it looks better closer to the in game portrait. Otherwise everything seems pretty great.

Hypo Soc

From immediate first glance impression, I would say 3 looks best to me, followed by 5 at a somewhat close second. The others fall behind. Past the first glance, it still feels like 3 and 5. As far as I can tell, 3 simply looks better to me when you are zoomed out, such as in the preview that comes with the post, but when you look closer glossiness feels a bit off. I'm not certain if that tidbit is helpful at all, but it is my thought. As for the second, I feel that stylized art is better when you are doing quicker and dirtier things, and it would better serve as contrast. The simpler style feels flat, and I imagine it would look even less appealing when directly contrasted with more important, and more detailed pieces, while the second can take advantage of the dissonance because it feels like "it's supposed to look like that," if that makes any sense.

genericname12345

Legitimately unsure - I like all of them, tbh. I suppose 3 would come first, then 5 and 1 are tied, then 4 and 0, and lastly 2. Not really good at art or any terminology, and I think that any of them wold be fine, but those are my rough preferences. And for the second, comedic aspect. 100%, all the way, needed. Perfect for the situation - and a disappointed Simon is essential.

Vitreous Humour

Really like art style #1 on top. And I also like the second art style for the prologue. Hilarious!

Nome

In order of most favorite to least favorite: 2, 4, 1, 0, 3, 5. For the prologue art, I like the second for comedy purposes, but if the serious one ends up getting used Simon and Altina should show up being disappointed.

Dubsington

The comedic/cartoony prologue art is great, but I worry that it might be a turn off to someone who casually downloads the game to check it out. I wouldn't risk it. The prologue is really only funny in hindsight. I liked style #3, followed by style #1. I can't articulate the reasons well though, as I am artistically impaired.

sunriseland

I prefer #5 personally but they all look good.

Trevor

I like art here. Dari is super creepy here but not repulsive, a fine line to tread. Props off to Annikath. Voting on preferences: 1: OG- Annikath (4) 2: Soft-light (3) 3: Soft Shaded/Cres (1) 4: Gray-Shaded (5) 5: Soft-Shaded (0) 6: TLS-Original (2) Just want to say that this was a really hard decision which really came down to being nit picky. I really wanted to like the TLS style more, but it just felt off. I think it might be the overall brightness involved in the piece. Not something that can be avoided with Nalili though, shes really pale. With the prologue I like both pieces for different reasons. It depends on what tone you want to project. When you first built the prologue what were you attempting to go for?

Dream Fractal

The cartoony, crayon style is perfect for the prologue. Art styles ... it's tough. I like the styles with more contrast, I think. #2 has an appeal for it's match in art style, but looks a bit flat. #1 is quite nice, as it feels more three dimensional. #3 has a nice, soft romantic light. It's a difficult call!

Afforess

Lewd comedy is great. Same with zero based art listings. In order, preferred to least preferred: 5, 3, 1, 4, 2, 0

Badger66

For the first set of pictures, I like #1 and # 4 the best. For Dari's pictures, I like these. But as others have said, the shape and size of the mouth are off. They just don't really match the image portrayed by the portrait or by any descriptions of her in game. Otherwise, I do enjoy her pictures. For the last set of pictures, I actually like the comedic style better, mainly because of this particular situation the art is portraying. However, in saying that, I do enjoy how the Lamia looks in the non-comedic picture. This gives me hope for some sexy Lamia art later on down the road.

WaxerRed

I like 2- no wait 4 no WAIT 1 WAIT I can't pick they are all good by my eyes so I'll just give a general thumbs up to everything. And awesome job on Dari that's my adorably horrifying cannibalistic monster girl at her best! And I really really like the comedic drawing of the prologue piece. I've seen some comments saying that it would ruin the twist by I don't think so. Since the opening credit has the phrase "and then fuck it all in the ass- definitely metaphorically, possible literally" I kinda assumed the tone was going to be more comical. And that's what the twist was for me, not the whole swapping protagonist thing, but the 'this game is deep' thing which I got more when we walked into Ferholm. That's just my thoughts though I wouldn't be that mad with any choice based on whats seen in this post so good luck!

Decanter

I would rank the styles: 4 > 1 > 0 > 5 > 3 > 2 More detailed thoughts on that: * While I still ranked it highest, I wonder where Esthera's eyeliner went in #4. Probably a minor oversight of the sort that would get caught in the normal process. * #4 has the best-looking hair. I like pretty hair, so I may be a bit biased here, but I do think this is a nice thing to do well, since it's a factor differentiating the appearances of some girls, and is specifically called out as being a striking feature of some e.g. Varia. * #0, #1, #3 all have a bit of the oddly shiny look that some people apparently must like but I find a bit nonplussing. By all means shine your characters up for a nice massage or bath scene, but not every depiction. #3 in particular makes Esthera's hair and Nalili's horns look like they're plastic, not a good look. If anything can be said for #3 it's at least a good technique for shiny nail polish, and the shading on the skin is good if not the shininess.. * #5 brings a lot of strange coloration to the picture, like a vague suggestion of a corset on Esthera and making Nalili look like she's been spanked a bit recently. * #2 has a lot of light-colored line art, including exterior lines, which I don't feel is actually very true to the TLS art even in low resolution. It's also simply not shaded enough. It's nice that an attempt was made, though. Silly version for Kai x Lamia. If you do the serious version, I feel it's just going to contribute to the illusion of a mediocre h-game, especially since it's not obviously bad on purpose (seen plenty of games using that sort of style unironically). I recall the plan was to lean into being obviously silly so people would suspect the twist, so I say stick to that and make the art contrast very noticably different from what's in the promo screenshots. Besides, it makes me giggle, and that's something players can appreciate if nothing else. Nice Dari picture, though I agree it's not the style to use for the game.

SantaTheHutt

I'd rank the styles 3, 4, 5, 0, 1, 2. I like the highlights in 3 and 4 that the other styles don't have. I'm not at all bothered by breaking with the style set by the existing portraits, so long as the characters remain recognizable. For the prologue, definitely go with the comedic approach. The first one just looks...bad, and might set up the player to expect that quality level for all art in the game, which I don't think is a good idea. The crayonish, toony approach of the second is recognizable within the genre of the art style as an affectation establishing a comedic context, which is appropriate. It also leaves open the door to use that same style to accent more lighthearted scenes later on in the game. Many of the scenes in which Yarra expresses her sexual frustration during the summit, or suggests that the problem of the day could be solved if only Simon would have sex with someone come to mind as candidates for such.

DuckTogo

I like the comedic take. (Duh.) Altina's pose is also pretty cute in that picture and makes for good internet-avatar material.

onodera

I won't comment on the main styles, as the difference is not crucial, but I'd really prefer the comedic style for the prologue. There are basically two groups of people you might lose:

Phonyhomeless

3 is my favorite, but I'm inclined to agree with genericname12345 in that I don't have a strong preference any which way. As for the prologue art... That's a tough one. I was initially opposed to the comedic one as it felt out of place when compared to the rest of the game. However, upon further reflection, I have come to realize that the first 10 minutes aren't indicative of the subsequent 40+ hours of gameplay, and perhaps it does fit the tone somewhat better. Of course, there are risks that people will assume it's a bit of a juvenile game, but I think that they'd get that impression prior to the art appearing anyway. The introduction is a bit (intentionally) cliche and the first succubus fight sets up Kai as a cocky, sex-seeking protagonist. Art reflecting these qualities may not significantly detract from the experience, and in fact could enhance the twist. On the other hand, it may tip the scales in the minds of the people playing who may have otherwise endured the remaining few minutes until the real game begins. Long story short, I lean slightly towards comedic despite my initial reaction to the contrary.

Runcible Technician

I like TLS original, maybe I'm just spoiled on the lines from the portraits. As for the prologue, the second style all the way. I laughed pretty good at that.

Codered999

I like #3 myself and prefer the comedic pic. #3 gives a more natural skin tone on everyone's favorite slutty princess, and I feel the comedic pic fits the tone of the prologue better and you can have the actual representation immediately after with the scene of Simon being seduced/raped. I feel that people who would turn away from the game so quickly, aren't likely to enjoy the game continuing on. I also sometimes wish it were possible to accomplish everything I want to in one go, but that's just not going to happen and I accept that while still enjoying the game.

Mip

With the exception of 2 (original TLS), any of the other styles will do nicely. Gun to my head I'd probably choose 3 (soft light) but really it's not a meaningful choice. Though I find the comic style painting fucking hilarious, I think it'll have to be established very very clearly that it's not the games actual art style, otherwise it may turn off exactly the people you're intending to clue in (those that take the prologue at face value). And, naturally, it detracts from the great surprise reveal, which I personally enjoyed. Anecdotally, word of mouth made people sit through ~2 hours of doki doki literature club before it showed it's hand. I think TLS has a similar kind of dedicated audience of advocates.

StormyAngel

I like #4 for the hair, and 5 and 3 because they just look sharper to me. I'm no art person though. For the prologue, I'm a little torn. I happen to be one of those rare individuals who actually got the intended experience with the prologue. (I played through it without a clue about the twist and nobody had to push me to get through it.) I found myself disgusted by Kai and frustrated that he was the protagonist, which made the twist all the more rewarding. Putting in the comedic one would have distracted me from that, and might end up taking away from the pay off of the twist. I'd say use the serious one, and count on word of mouth to get the reluctant people to play through it, because that twist was really captivating, and the comedic one only detracts from it. (That being said, I'm glad this isn't up to me, because I can see why this is a dilemma.)

Evilkniewel

My personal favorite is #3 Soft Light

Q-Riff

The prologue has a different feel to teh rest of the game, I think it's okay if it has different art, as it does have different music and everything.

Max E.

Number 4 would have my vote also I like the more comedic style for the prologue.

DankPotatoes

I am a personal fan of number 3 and 5. And definitly go for the comedic style in the intro. Kai's demise should be entertaining i think

Dudeguy

personally I like style 5 and the comedic for the prologue, but hey, thats just me

Stormy Weather

I personally like TLS style the most, followed by #3. And 100% would love comedic style for the prologue^_^ it would add so much to an already great transition to have it jump from that to the much more detailed art style of the rest of the game. It would also further highlight the difference in mood between the chosen prologue and Simon's weary and bleak return to his starving village.

Direwolf1618

I would say number 3 is my favorite.

Sower of Systems

I am torn between #2 and #3. I really think the TLS style provides consistency and would make the game fit in better with other games in its genre, but I think #3 looks gorgeous. My third and fourth picks would be #0 and #2. I appreciate the idea behind the comedic art for the intro, but I too worry about it giving away and otherwise great twist. Overall, I am extremely impressed with all of these! I think Anikath will do TLS justice with her art. The only thing worrying me now is attention to backgrounds (based on previous examples). I can't stress enough how distracting a background is if it doesn't match the foreground in style and quality.

AznBrownie

I like 3, 2 and 1 in that order :3

Argel_tal

#3 seems best to me, tho it may take too much work but it will be perfect to have 2 versions of game one with art and other text only.

Desertopa

I'd say I favor #3 out of these options, but it's a pretty close race and I don't have particularly strong preferences. For the prologue art, I think it might be good to strike a middle ground between these, with art that's not blatantly obviously comedic, but with Simon and Altina's reactions visible as a background gag for players who're paying attention.

Strafe

#3 looks the best IMO.

A1llas

I like 0 best then 3, I think comedy start is a bad idea it gives away that the start isn't the real deal.

Skjaldi

3, and please no comedy start... it was a nice suprise for me back when i played the game the first time

Belly97

I like all of them but in order of best to worst; 5, 0, 3, 2, 1, 4. I think #5 will work best with the game in its current state, however, I wish the colours were a bit more vibrant and distinct similar to #2. I definitely prefer the comedic style as it suits the prologue better, makes the difference between Simon and the chosen more obvious, doesn't spoil the twist and disappointed/upset Simon in the background is hilarious. Plus the first one is a bit boring and bland. In regards to Dari as others have said, the mouth is a bit off, her eyes feel very anime-y, the head just feels a little wrong, maybe it's too small and slim, not round enough and her left eye is a tiny bit too far from her nose. Also, I think the breasts are too droopy/low hanging and maybe a bit small?

Seil

I am not quite sure about shading, but probably in the order of preference 1, 5, 3, 0, 4, 2. I would definitely go for comedic sketch style for prologue, it's hilarious. But considering that it's very likely someone's first impression of the game, i am not so sure. P.S. Heart-shaped pupils are an abomination, that shouldn't even exist.

Lusty Loiterer

3 or 1 are my preference. The intro art style I say the second one

Lamsey

#0 - this is the one that feels most true to the faceset/portrait style to me. My only real criticism is that it's very bright, but I guess that's down to the succubi's pale skin tones. #1 - similar to #0 but looks a bit more three-dimensional, which is visually appealing but slightly less consistent with the facesets/portraits. #2 - I can see how the shading is more like the RPGM assets, but I think it's better to be consistent with the style without replicating it too closely. It's very bright and high-contrast, and the soft gradients on the areolae look out of place. #3 - Looks good for the most part, but the skin is far too shiny. It diverges a bit more from the art style - in particular, Nalili's hair looks more like Elsa's from Frozen. #4 - Also looks good, but it's like the inverse of #3 - the skin and hair tones are much better, but the softer contours are a noticeable departure from the faceset/portrait art style. #5 - This is pretty much #3 without the overly-shiny skin, and significantly better in that regard. I think my preference is for #0, purely for consistency with the current art, though #1 is pretty good on that front too. Of the others, I think #5 is probably the best. #2 is the only one that I'd say no to. I'm quite impressed that Annikath can turn her hand to so many styles, since I couldn't even manage one consistently... Unrelated to the shading, the picture looks great to me. The only criticisms I'd make are that Nalili's right nipple (our left) seems a bit too central (i.e. it should be a bit further over towards Esthera), and I think the arch of Esthera's back is a little too sharp. I'm also intrigued as to how Simon and Esthera are keeping their shards from clashing, given the way they reacted to a light brushing of fingers in the scene after Esthera returns from the Gathering... The Dari art is a bit unsettling, but I guess that's kinda the point, given it's her monstrous form. I think she needs more teeth - right now, it looks like she's had every second one knocked out. The heart-shaped pupils are a nope from me, it's too cartoony. Prologue: I think the first one is pretty good, but is perhaps well-drawn enough that people won't notice the difference compared to the real scenes later. The second is hilarious, but you'd really need to sell the fact that it's Kai-Vision to avoid provoking a WTF reaction since it's so over-the-top. I'm tempted to say that the right style might be somewhere between the two, but I'm not sure what that'd actually look like. I still think the anime-style approach which was suggested in the prior thread is worth exploring. It'd be visually distinctive, would work well with the "no, this isn't a typical harem JRPG" reveal at the end of the prologue, and it has the potential to be comedically overwrought, kinda like the Final Fantasy style but with the taking-itself-too-seriously turned up to eleven. Something else you could consider for the prologue, which would admittedly involve a bit of rewriting, would be multiple viewpoints. Kai could see himself as the typical angsty anime hero (or could be full-on crayon), Altina could see him as a glowing knight in Shining Armour, while Simon's viewpoint could be more boring and realistic. That would allow you a bit more latitude in playing with different styles and hinting to the player that all is not as it seems, but without having to telegraph how it'll be resolved. The main problem with this is that the prologue scenes are written in second person, which categorically doesn't lend itself to multiple viewpoints :-/

Ditto

#5 Grayshading, though a poll to tally these up would save you from sifting through the comments. Embracing the comedic aspect works well for any comic relief characters. So chosen and some random encounters but that's more of all work and no play makes Simon a dull guy so having a laugh at a throwaway character sounds fun.

androidK

i would go with either #2 or #4, both felt very consistent with the portraits and the feel of the game. as for the prologue scenes I find the comedic style of drawing hilarious and it would really set the tone for the rest of the adventure.

Vorthod Wiler

Ugh, I can't decide between 0, 1, and 5. So I'm not exactly being super helpful. As for the prologue scenes, the reveal that the Chosen isn't the main character was a nice bit of subversion, so going 100% comedy might undermine that a bit, as hilarious as I do find that image to be. I think taking them too seriously like the first image would also be the wrong choice though. If we're seeing this from the perspective of an oblivious alpha-male, I would expect to see slightly more exaggerated expressions in use. I say keep the background character reactions and facial expressions of the comedy image, but with an art style that wouldn't necessarily give away that it's not meant to be taken seriously. Having simon and altina in the background like that also helps characterize them better in a pretty memorable way which also lets us see a nice contrast once Simon's scenes start that can really set the tone for the rest of the game. Also, don't forget we have the plant scene right after we meet Aka. I think it would be kind of a weird shift to have ridiculous scenes followed by one nice simon scene and then jump straight back into picturebook territory if there's too big of a gulf in image quality.

Innocuous

Number 4 is my favorite. I think it has the best vibrancy of colors, without the hard outlines around the characters in #2. Also if #4 is a style blend particular to the artist, it might be most distinctive to TLS. Please don't use comedy images in the prologue. The hard jarring pivot of learning Kai is not the protagonist is still a favorite of mine, and what helped draw me in to the game in the first place. I don't want to lose that by turning the opening moments of the game into a joke. Also, I think a comedy moment there would juxtapose too hard with the tone being set by the actions and setting. The world of TLS does not seem as bleak and dark for Simon if the game opens with him in chibi-form being annoyed at Kai's antics.

smurf

#1 is my favorite! Also I like #3, am indifferent to #0 and #5, and actively dislike #2 and #4. #1 strikes a nice balance between the extremes of the other styles, with good skin tones, detailed highlights and shadows, and nice solid lines. It's definitely my top pick! #3 has great skin tones and shadows, even better than #1, but there's too much detail lost in the hair and face, the lines are too soft, and the pronounced highlights make everything look a bit plastic-y. Still my second favorite by a pretty wide margin though. #0 lacks detail and looks flat. The shadows are too heavy in #5, and the gray shading detracts from the vibrancy of the colors. I understand the intent behind #2, but the solid blocks of color are unappealing and it looks even more flat than #0. The color blending is too smooth in #4 and the lines are much too soft, it's easily my least favorite of the bunch. As for the prologue art, I vastly prefer the crayon art style. The example picture above is pretty much perfect as far as I'm concerned!

James

I believe the comedic approach will tell players there is more to the game, especially if some of Simon's scenes are used in the marketing of TLS. Reviews praising the later scenes will also indicate that there is more than is immediately apparent. Also people who appreciate depth, humor and storytelling in your game will appreciate these scenes, even if more sexually focused players might lose interest. This is a choice about core audience appeal vs mass appeal. The disapproval of Simon and companions of the Chosen's ... proclivities will also soften any accusation of your game glorifying sexual violence/non consent, as your characters are clearly displaying disapproval at his actions. Art: Need to see more, but not a fan of #1 and #2, they just seem plasticy to me.

No Escaping Destiny

#4 and #5 are my favorite and I think the cartoon style is the way to go. Its perfect for a indication that something is off.

werewindle

#1, #4 and #0 look good to me, roughly in that order of preference. I dislike the porcelain doll shine of #3. Comedic prologue all the way.

Hell Satan

#0 and #2 for me. Comedic prologe

Darthjake

roflmao, I like the 2nd chosen pic!