New Blogger background + Overhaul!

Last week we reviewed each others blogs around the class giving advice on what people could do to improve. One review that stood out to me was my background and overall layout, I hadn't noticed until that point that the overall blog looked really low quality.

I have made a new background that looks much better than the previous, here are the steps I went through to get the outcome.

1: I really want a retro style background, something that looks like an old arcade game but with a sharper look, I'm going to use Spelunky as a reference.

I like the how the walls and background are both detailed, but there is a clear border of what is playable and what is not. Since Blogger uses a central column design, I will make two walls either side with an orange brick texture, while the centre will be grey with some gems shining through.

2: I've used a resolution 10x smaller than Blogger's recommended size so I can design it all with a pixel art-esque style. I will then upscale it to the correct resolution.

I simply used the pencil tool to draw lines and bricks into either side then used a bolder colour to fill in the bricks. I used the pencil tool again on a gradient of 40% to make the shadows.

3: I used the same techniques on the centre of the image as well, using a black pencil with 40% opacity below the gems, and a white pencil with 50% opacity for the shine off the gems. Other than that I just drew straight horizontal lines and a mineshaft entry point.

And that's my new background! I also used Blogger's own template system to make the entire page look more professional and just appealing to everyone.