Backlog Art #18- Super Mario World
Blend Modes can change the mood, even if you have a contrasting color palette.
This is the scene from Super Mario World, where Bowser's Rock rises up from the middle of the boulder circle, after completing the sunken ship level. I think this might be my favorite Super Mario Bros. piece yet.
I just had to give my take on the Bowser Rock, and I think I fucking nailed it. I'm only sad that his glowing eyes didn't seem to keep the glow part after adding the blend-mode gradients.
Speaking of, said gradients are the ones that helped me get this ominous feel to this picture. Using colors from the sprites originally gave me a bright scene, where all the colors are representing a happy, kid-friendly map, which obviously was their intention, even when Bowser Rock rose up. So, using a darker color I could find on the selection of the map I was using to pick colors from, I did two gradients applied to the screen. One was just applying a darkness over the edges, and the other was a reverse radial encompassing Mario. Both of their blend modes are Linear Burn, which has been a helpful blend mode to get some dark pieces.