Making a couple of tilesets, need feedback.

I've been working on these tilesets on and off for a couple of days now, and for the first time I feel like I don't know what to do with them. I'm not entirely happy with how they look at the moment either. So I'm looking for feedback and tips on how to expand them.

In "Rocky forest" the tall trees are going to be removed, they were a part of an idea that I later removed. So I'm looking for ways to expand that tileset as well. I'm very uncertain about the leaves, I really don't know how to make good trees.

Attached tilesets and testscreens.

Great tileset!   I'm not very good at making tilesets, but You can make even more enviroment. You know, rocks or clouds  .

How about adding some crystal formations to the cave tileset, or maybe some stalagmites/stalactites in the foreground.

As for the leaves in the other tileset, I think they look pretty awesome! Certainly that's a novel way to do them.

Interesting tilesets! To me they look closer to typical pixel art style than typical Knytt style. The shading to black on the rocks in particular is a videogame staple, and you've pulled it off well. I like the trees too (some of the trunk patterns look like they're straight out of Fez) so I'm sad to hear they'll be eliminated. Maybe you could feel happier about the look by focusing on pixel art techniques (such as eliminating jaggies and banding, and adding smoother colour ramps and manual anti-aliasing).

Some ideas:

• The way the cliff tops jut out in Rocky Forest looks a bit odd, and I can't imagine them working well with the Knytt Stories engine. I also find the rock/dirt/grass transition somewhat strange-looking. Perhaps these could be altered to be more naturalistic?
• Some of the green/brown/grey shades you've used are similar to the point where it's hurting the ability to distinguish between blocks of pixels (for example, the tree roots). More contrast could be beneficial.
• You could add some grass (or other shape variance) to the diagonal background tiles.
• On the rock wall corner tiles, you could try rounding out the edges by ~3 pixels.
• Maybe some long ceiling vines?

Very good thoughts and ideas!

Great tileset!   I'm not very good at making tilesets, but You can make even more enviroment. You know, rocks or clouds  .

Thank you! Rocks are a definite possibility, but if I were to make clouds I don't see how I could pull it off with the limited space I have left. If I were to make some sister tileset to that one (which I'm considering) then I'll definetily go for clouds.

How about adding some crystal formations to the cave tileset, or maybe some stalagmites/stalactites in the foreground.

As for the leaves in the other tileset, I think they look pretty awesome! Certainly that's a novel way to do them.

The problem I feel with the leaves are the style of them. Comparing to the rest of the tileset they don't have much detail, but I can't really think of good ways to improve that. The crystals are a very good idea, I think I'll start with them. Thanks!

Interesting tilesets! To me they look closer to typical pixel art style than typical Knytt style.
...
Maybe you could feel happier about the look by focusing on pixel art techniques (such as eliminating jaggies and banding, and adding smoother colour ramps and manual anti-aliasing).

This is exactly what I'm going for. I'm trying to practice this style and maybe make a level with it. Just as an experiment. As I'm practicing I will try some of those techniques out.

I like the trees too (some of the trunk patterns look like they're straight out of Fez) so I'm sad to hear they'll be eliminated.

Not all the trees will be eliminated. But I've tried making those smaller trees work and have failed so far. I'm thinking that I should probably make a sister tileset to this one that has them instead of giving up on the idea.

The way the cliff tops jut out in Rocky Forest looks a bit odd, and I can't imagine them working well with the Knytt Stories engine. I also find the rock/dirt/grass transition somewhat strange-looking. Perhaps these could be altered to be more naturalistic?

• Some of the green/brown/grey shades you've used are similar to the point where it's hurting the ability to distinguish between blocks of pixels (for example, the tree roots). More contrast could be beneficial.
• On the rock wall corner tiles, you could try rounding out the edges by ~3 pixels.

Agreed, I will try and tinker with this untill it looks good.

• You could add some grass (or other shape variance) to the diagonal background tiles.
• Maybe some long ceiling vines?

Also very good ideas. Thank you!

Now I've got some work to do ^^

I think your main problems are the varying levels of detail. The rocks are highly detailed but most other parts aren't. For example, the tree trunks have no depth. They need lighting and shading too. Even the grass could benefit from tiny lights and shadows.

Try applying your rock making method to the tree leaves. Put highly defined leaves at the edges, and blend to the solid color block at the middle. You wont want to highlight them on the underside, but the edge should be as well defined as the topside.

The overhangs don't look right. You used is your brightest color, but it's on the underside of a ledge. I suggest drawing one long stone jutting out to support the outcropping. Other than the size, it should be no different from any other stone.

A much darker, almost black, soil might remedy you root contrast problem.

@ego:
That all makes so much sense

Thank you so much for the feedback. I am actually thinking about skipping the overhangs all together, I'll see how it looks with just the one rock first though.  

EDIT:
detailed the leaves, shaded tree trunks and grass. I also edited the overhangs, but I'm wondering wether or not I should keep them. Attached both versions, what do you think?

You're making fantastic process! The trees look great, but the highlights stop too suddenly for my taste. I can see you don't have a lot of room to work with, but a little diffusion could make a big difference. It's easier to show you than explain, so I took the liberty of diffusing the top of one tree trunk (see Figure 1.) My tweaks are on the left.

The outcroppings do look much better. Though the few bright pixels on the underside really stand out. You can probably remove them without hindering the players perception of what is solid. Overhangs are an unusual feature for a KS tileset, so it's hard to guess how useful they'd be. When jumping across gaps in KS, it can go from too easy to too hard when extending the distance an exact 24 pixels. These outcroppings are slightly less than full-width which could make for better or worse gap jumping.

I've never done dithering before, so it was good training. But man, was that hard
I personally think it looks much better, so thank you, was it something like this you meant?

Right, I had the wrong word. It's dither not diffuse. Anyway, my nitpick was only about the line where the highlights stop as they meet the shade of the canopies. Dithering could soften that line without the use of more colors.

The last two versions are both good. I think you've mainly changed the art style of the trunks rather than the quality, and both styles work well with the rest of the tileset. It's up to you to decide which style fits the look you're aiming for.

Dude, I'm impressed!  Very nice!  Good trees are hard to do, but your pulling some nice ones off!  I think my only complaint is the lightish brown color between the rock and the grass.  It seems cartoony to me; way too light to be how dirt would look in that situation.  If it were me, I would probably have the leaf clumps be at more of a 45 degree angle than square shaped.  Either that, or make them more cedar looking:

Dude, I'm impressed!  Very nice!  Good trees are hard to do, but your pulling some nice ones off!  I think my only complaint is the lightish brown color between the rock and the grass.  It seems cartoony to me; way too light to be how dirt would look in that situation.  If it were me, I would probably have the leaf clumps be at more of a 45 degree angle than square shaped.  Either that, or make them more cedar looking:

Thanks! I'm making a sister tileset for this one, and that's a good idea for something to include

Attaching the updated version of the tileset, I'm very happy about it now so I will start working on that sister tileset.

Nice improvements Bulbapuck! That bridge in the distance is neat. The layout looks user friendly. The middle-distant vegetation looks good with the highlights. It's a solid tileset with a unique look.

Now, you should enhance the cave tileset to match it. I've felt from the start that stalactites in the cave could use some depth. Now, that you've highlighted the mid-distant vegetation, I think you should add shaded mid-distant cave structures. *cracks a whip*