newbie catrographer
Hey y'all!
I've been making simple maps for my RPGs for a long time, but they've been functional over pretty. I recently decided to improve my skills and I've been hunting around looking for mapmaking info. This board has amazing references and a lot of great work, so I thought I'd show my appreciation by participating and sharing.
Here are my two new maps that I've been working on based on what teh internets have taught me. They are simple still, and largely incomplete. I personally think the styles are all over the place--on the outdoor map I feel like the water is very illustrative while the woods are trying to be textured, for example. But hey... I'm still learning!
Looking forward to feedback... especially on the outdoor map. Once I get a draft done, I'll start a WIP thread to really hone it down. Dungeons are fun, but I feel like they are a little more straightforward. My skills on the outdoor stuff are lacking.
PS. I'm working mostly in gimp, although I *might* be open to new tools
Last edited by msa; 05-04-2009 at 12:50 PM.
Welcome to the guild!
And have some rep for posting your first maps.
The outdoor map certainly isn't bad, although I agree the styles of the water and forest are not an ideal mix. And I guess the dark areas are ruins of a tower and wall?
As for the dungeon, I like the look. It's old school and I am digging it. What is the middle room supposed to represent? I mean the room with the blue vortex.
Check out my City Designer 3 tutorials. See my fantasy (city) maps in this thread.
Gandwarf has fallen into shadow...
Yay rep!
On the outdoor map, the dark areas are a ruin of a tower and a wall. I'm not super satisfied with them, but I like them OK. I was experimenting with noise and thresholds to give them something of an organic feel.
The tomb is based roughly off an old dungeon map, but the swirly pool and round room weren't there. Really, that map was more to experiment with and showcase the highlight effects that frame the map.
But feel free to devise a dark purpose for the swirly pool. In the original game, that room had a series of wards added after the burial to keep the dead spirit in--the owner didn't intend to stay fully dead, but many decent, upstanding people preferred that he did.
I was thinking about the forest after I posted and I whipped up an alternate style similar to the water. It may be *too* similar, and it may not look like forest at all. Any thoughts?
I would have to see the forest in the map, but I think it would look better. It's obvious it's a forest, so you got that covered
Check out my City Designer 3 tutorials. See my fantasy (city) maps in this thread.
Gandwarf has fallen into shadow...
Here is the updated version with the new forest style. I'm not sure it looks great, but that might just be because I rushed it a bit. Its definitely more consistent with the water style, and I think with some more tweaking I will probably like it.Originally Posted by Gandwarf
I would have to see the forest in the map, but I think it would look better. It's obvious it's a forest, so you got that covered
PS. Someone let me know if I'm posting too many images!
Yeah, I think it does fit in better!
Check out my City Designer 3 tutorials. See my fantasy (city) maps in this thread.
Gandwarf has fallen into shadow...
Welcome Aboard!
...and for showing us some of your work in your intro post have some more 'rep' *bonk*
My Finished Maps | My Challenge Maps | Ghoraja Juun, my largely stagnated campaign setting.
Unless otherwise stated by me in the post, all work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.
Hugs!
I'll move the ruined tower map over to the WIP thread since it looks like I'm going to keep working on it. Where is the appropriate place? Regional + world maps?
Welcome to the Guild!
Daniel the Neon Knight: Campaign Cartographer User
Never use a big word when a diminutive one will suffice!
Any questions on CC3? Post them with CC3 in the Subject Line!
MY 'FAMOUS' CC3 MAPS: Thunderspire; Pyramid of Shadows; King of the Trollhaunt Warrens; Demon Queen's Enclave
Have some more rep!
I really like the way you are approaching this. You're saying things in your first post that it took me years to learn through trial and error (e.g. mixing illustrative with textures). Everything about what you're posting and what you say tells me that you have 'the eye' by which I mean you've groked the right way of approach. Damn, I wish I had it!
On your colour map, I can't say I'm mad keen about the contour lines but they may be just there for construction and later development.
Does Gimp support photoshop filters? There are some good ones out there.
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