Campaign Maps WIP Thread

2

Comments

  • arsheesh
    arsheesh
    Posts: 850
    Looking good Gaaran. I don't know of any dessert symbols off the top of my head, but I know that several people have uploaded symbol sets over at the Guild. Might search around in the Mapping Elements section... wait, I'm there now and I see you've left a post of your own. Guess you've probably already been through whatever the Guild has to offer. Well, you can always create your own. It's actually not too difficult. There are some tutorials on how to do it over at the Guild. Best of luck.

    Cheers,
    -Arsheesh
  • ChainsawXIV
    ChainsawXIV
    Posts: 530
    Nice work. For deserts, I've always just favored some stippled looking noise - grit kind of stuff. You should be able to get that out of the normal brush system in whatever software you use I imagine.
  • gaaran
    gaaran
    Posts: 740
    Good call chainsaw, I'll play around with it and see what I can come up with, but the problem I had with that, was the overlay texture to make it look like weathered parchment makes it hard to see the gritty noise... although I suppose i could just use a small solid brush and jack up the scattering. I'll try that :).

    How about the city icons? I'm not 100% sold on them, I like them, but I don't think they quite fit the style. Any suggestions?
  • DarkMagus
    DarkMagus
    Posts: 425
    Arsheesh I'm at a loss for words. That's a friggin awesome map!

    Also is anyone else here a fan of the tv show Arrested Development? I just thought of the time when Buster, who had taken a few thousand dollars in cartography lessons, picked up a map and said, "Well this blue stuff here must be the land..." hehehehe :)
  • gaaran
    gaaran
    Posts: 740
    Haha, DM, that show was fantastic!

    Okay, I'm trying to work out the icon scheme for my map, I'm terrible at drawing, but I want kind of unique hand-drawn style icons, so i've been trying to find some online and make them fit the scheme. Here are a bunch of different sets that I've come up with (I'm leaning towards 'F' and had I found those icons first, I probably would've just used them). "Icons":http://i.imgur.com/OAiER.jpg - the icons on the right are just come examples of "locations of interest" icons.

    I will be using them on the "Cormand and Barithani":http://i.imgur.com/ZUm5R.jpg map. What do you guys think? I always have the option of just using symbols, but I thought these would be more fun.
  • gaaran
    gaaran
    Posts: 740 edited May 2011
    Okay, so I put in the new icons, and I like the look of them, but something just doesn't seem quite right, and I can't put my finger on it. Any thoughts?

    "New Link":http://i.imgur.com/q744n.jpg
    Post edited by gaaran on
  • Poutine_Paladin
    Poutine_Paladin
    Posts: 285
    I can't put my finger on it, either, because it feels quite right, my friend. Quite.
  • ChainsawXIV
    ChainsawXIV
    Posts: 530
    I see what you're feeling there Gaaran, and I see two things that might be generating the dissonance. One thing is scale. I don't think anyone's expecting the icons to be presented to scale, but they do feel too big to my eye. The other, and harder to remedy, is perspective. Your terrain icons present one fixed perspective - almost directly side on to the feature, with a flat presentation of each element - and the towns and things use a different one - more of a three quarter view with a much greater sense of depth inside the element itself.
  • gaaran
    gaaran
    Posts: 740
    That's it chainsaw! Thanks, I had been staring at it too long to see it. I think I'll just have to go back to using symbols to represent the locations as I did on the other map. There was nothing wrong with it, I was just looking for something to spice it up a bit. But that disparity takes away from the over all look of the map. Thanks again for the input.
  • Poutine_Paladin
    Poutine_Paladin
    Posts: 285
    I kinda like both those aspects of that map, actually, because that's how someone might actually draw those elements...to each his own, I guess.
  • arsheesh
    arsheesh
    Posts: 850
    Started work on another map. This one is of "Lothgar":http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?14610-Lothgar-WIP&p=152638#post152638, a dessert Empire. In case some of you can't see the attachments over at the Guild, here is "pic":http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/3263/lothgarwip1.jpg by itself.
  • arsheesh
    arsheesh
    Posts: 850
    Just an update, I finished work on the Lothgar map. You can find a link to the final map either at my "Deviantart Gallery":http://arsheesh.deviantart.com/gallery/27909724#/d3i5uw3, or at the "Maps":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/age-of-legends/wikis/maps page of my site here at the Portal.

    Cheers,
    -Arsheesh
  • arsheesh
    arsheesh
    Posts: 850
    I just completed my first commissioned map. You can find a link to the final map at my "Deviantart Gallery":http://arsheesh.deviantart.com/#/d42xkzs

    Cheers,
    -Arsheesh
  • gaaran
    gaaran
    Posts: 740 edited August 2011
    Wow, congrats Sheesh, that's awesome! Did you find the client via the cartographer's guild?

    Also, check out the final version of my hand-drawn style map. I got it printed out 20"x30" and it came out great!
    "Link":http://gaaran.deviantart.com/#/d45m00y
    Post edited by gaaran on
  • GamingMegaverse
    GamingMegaverse
    Posts: 2,998
    Looks Awesome!!!
    killervp
    "A God...Rebuilt":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/a-god-rebuilt

    Just trying to help out.

  • gaaran
    gaaran
    Posts: 740
    Oh, also Sheesh, I was wondering, which tutorials from the Cartographers' Guild did you use to develop that style of map? I'm just curious, cause I'm looking to update my world map as a whole, and I love the look of your most recent maps. I know you've done a lot of work to make it your own, but a starting point would be nice :).
  • arsheesh
    arsheesh
    Posts: 850 edited August 2011
    Hey thanks Gaaran. Your map is looking really sweet as well! The background & sword were nice touches. As far as the client, yeah they saw my Veskar map and sent me a PM about the commission. As for tutorials, well, I began by messing around with Jezelf's PS "map tutorials":http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?2557-Award-Winner-Making-maps-in-Photoshop&highlight=jezelf, but honestly allot of the techniques I developed on my own through trial and error: I don't really know of any tutorial that discusses them. If there is enough interest perhaps I'll write up a tutorial (if I have time before I start my PhD). However, A2area has also put together a really good "tutorial":http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?14915-Fractal-Terrains-Wilbur-amp-Photoshop-Multi-Styles-Tutorial on working with PS, Fractal Terrains and Wilbur that you might find of some use.

    Cheers,
    -Arsheesh
    Post edited by arsheesh on
  • gaaran
    gaaran
    Posts: 740
    Thanks for the info Sheesh, I'll have to take a look at those other tutorials! In the meantime, I completed my second hand-drawn style continent map. The continent of Cormand, and the island nation of Barithani: "link":http://gaaran.deviantart.com/#/d461621 (Don't mind the nav lines that appear through the lakes and rivers, I noticed them... but I don't feel like fixing it right now). That's two down and three more to go.... jeez, that's gonna take a while. :)
  • arsheesh
    arsheesh
    Posts: 850
    I love the style of your maps Gaaran; they've really got that Tolkienesque quality about them. Also, the parchment looks great. Did you use a stock parchment texture for it?

    Cheers,
    -Arsheesh
  • gaaran
    gaaran
    Posts: 740
    Hey Sheesh, no, I didn't use a stock parchment per se.... I used a combination of brushes that I found, some grunge splatters and a brush that simulates paper folds, and then I erased the edges of the map to match the paper fold brush.

    I'm working on my third map now, but I'm having a dilemma, on one corner of the map, there is a cliff that is about 600 miles long, and I'm not sure how to represent it on the map. I can't draw well enough to make it look like the rest of the mountain brushes. Have you seen anything like that on any of the maps on the CG? Just a long ridge rather than actual mountains. Perhaps someone would let me appropriate it or I could copy the style. Thanks again!
  • gaaran
    gaaran
    Posts: 740
    I am on a crazy roll.... here's continent number 3, Algur. I've gone with a little bit different style for the text, and used a different set of brushes for the mountains, so I would love to hear which style looks better. I also added some flavor notes from Panzanzabon, the Adventutre's Guild master (the text in the scripty font) to give this map a personal touch. Let me know what you think works or doesn't work. Oh, also, you have to full view, or you won't be able to read any of the text :P.

    "Link":http://gaaran.deviantart.com/#/d464qir
  • arsheesh
    arsheesh
    Posts: 850
    Well I'm not aware of any ridge brushes but it looks like you figured out how to do them on your own. I think it turned out quite nicely! As for the mountain brushes, I'm indifferent: both are good as far as I'm concerned (although I've seen quite a few maps that make use of Rammah's mountain brushes so I'm slightly more partial to the previous brushes). The flavor text, and the font used for it, are both nice, but difficult to read, especially where it overlaps with other features of the map. I'd either try to place these in blank sections of the map, or use a darker color to help them to stand out more. As always though, this is a great map. Might I enquirer where you got the "creases" brushes at? I'd be interested in trying them out myself.

    Cheers,
    -Arsheesh
  • Morrinn
    Morrinn
    Posts: 166
    Damn, Gaaran, that map is sexy as hell.
    Well done dude.
  • arsheesh
    arsheesh
    Posts: 850
    Yup, pretty damn sexy alright. So I've finally decided to start working on a world size map of my homebrew world (up till now I've only done regional maps). I've got the basic terrain laid out so far in my "Eriond World Map WIP":http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?15452-Eriond-A-World-Map page over at the Cartographer's Guild in case anyone is interested in checking it out.

    Cheers,
    -Arsheesh
  • gaaran
    gaaran
    Posts: 740
    That's looking pretty amazing Sheesh, I love the look of your maps, I couldn't come up with a realistic method like that that I liked well enough to do an update to my main world map, but I've been quite happy with the hand-drawn style ones.

    Also, sorry, I forgot to tell you where I got those brushes, "here you go.":http://ubersuper.com/folded-paper-photoshop-brushes/
  • DarkMagus
    DarkMagus
    Posts: 425
    I wish I had something more constructive to keep saying on these updated maps, but, um, yeah, all I got is "DAAAAAAMMN!"

    Looking good Gaaran and Arsh!
  • arsheesh
    arsheesh
    Posts: 850
    Thanks DM & Gaaran. Gaaran, If I can find time to do so before I begin my PhD, I'll write a tutorial on the map-making techniques I'm using. Don't know how well it will transfer over to PS, but I'll bet it wouldn't be that difficult (perhaps it would be even easier) to replicate these in PS. Also, I am definitely snagging those brushes! Thanks for posting the link bro.

    Cheers,
    -Arsheesh
  • GamingMegaverse
    GamingMegaverse
    Posts: 2,998
    Sheesh, the improvement is striking!!!
    killervp
    "A God...Rebuilt":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/a-god-rebuilt

    Just trying to help out.

  • arsheesh
    arsheesh
    Posts: 850
    Thanks Killervp.
  • arsheesh
    arsheesh
    Posts: 850
    Just for fun, I made an orbital rotation map of my world map of Eriond. You can check out the pic at my "deviant art gallery":http://arsheesh.deviantart.com/#/d47cn8d.

    Cheers,
    -Arsheesh
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