Parallaxing in Bulk?

[Carduus]

I'm having the familiar quantity-vs-quality argument with myself over my grid. On one hand, I'd really like to have a very open map with enough rooms to get lost in. On the other hand, I would really like to be able to parallax most if not all of my maps, because it looks so much better. But parallaxing makes building a 'room' take like 10x as long as it would to just build it in RPG Maker. So during this mental tug-of-war, I had a glimmer of hope: maybe there's a way to either quickly parallax, or do many similar rooms in bulk. Do those of you who do a lot of parallaxing use the same filters on the same settings for some of the work? Or are there other tricks of the trade that would increase my productivity to better match my artistic desires?

 

[Wookiee420]

In my opinion, parallax is great for OUTDOORS, but inside i in use tiles....Again, IMO, outdoors you have a need to have multiple odd things on multiple layers for walking around it, indoors the tiles are smart enough to tell what goes where. i know that Fallen Lorelei and Echo607 have some tutes that show a mix of both, like some of their tutes start in Maker and then go to PS, maybe you can do that? Do everything in Maker that is quick then put those special touches on it in PS then bring it back.

Having said this, I am just guessing, I am not a pro yet, but this is what I am doing for indoors if i need anything parallaxed inside

 

[mlogan]

I personally prefer to use the editor with a well-constructed tileset. I use very specific tilesets for most maps - a rich interior, a poor interior, etc. This can allow you to customize the tilesets and add more things usable for that setting. You can even get a more parralax feel by clumping objects together or re-positioning them so it breaks up the grid look a bit. If you have a lot of maps to do, I would recommend this. Yes, it takes more time upfront to set up the tilesets, but once you do, it saves a lot of time in mapping. Then, if you wanted to use filters, you could map them in the editor, screenshot them and use filters in your editing program. A bit of a compromise if you will.

 

[Ossra]

Yeah, I have to agree with @mlogan. Create a custom tileset and use the map editor. I used to spend countless hours creating parallax maps and while I was pleased with the end result, I have learned that I can create something very similar with a tileset and some planning. The only images I use now are lighting overlays.