June/July Entry: Blyssful Garde

I am getting a hugely late start on this and I'm dreadfully slow to boot, but nothing ventured, nothing gained! I still have plenty of work to do on this entry, but here's a start-and-a-half:


In a distant place, in a distant age, the gods built their opulent homes in the sky. Sometimes, when the wind was just so and the sun was just right, a person could see the sun glinting on their polished marble walls. But as belief in the gods dwindled, they began to disappear. No one knows where they went, and the vicious little air sprites that took over residence of Blyssful Garde couldn't possibly care less. From their shining palace in the clouds they spy on those who live Below. It is the perfect vantage point for plotting all sorts of mischief -- fouling up the weather, stealing pretty baubles, kidnapping lovely girls and handsome lads, stirring up trouble between regions, cities, neighbors… Life is grand when you live at the top.

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Moving along...

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And with labels...


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This looks nice, one thing you may want to consider is darkening the land below - use a layer of dark blue set to low-opacity, helps give a sense of distance.

Good idea, thanks! I did that (Does it look better?) and added a statue in the Audience Hall. The statue and most of the other furniture/plant items came from the Dundjinni forums. They have lots and lots of awesome stuff over there, and I would be remiss if I didn't credit them!

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I think it looks better, I did something similar with my Magus Aerie map, and it made a huge difference.

The Dundjinni user forums are indeed a fine source.

Tidy Little Captives Quarters! :D I like this.

Looking great! Are you using gimp or PS? I ask because if you're using gimp, a small polar displace would give some swirly definition to your clouds.