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So I ended up finishing all of the forests much sooner than I had expected to; i.e. today. Sadly, I do not have my tablet with me, so I cannot draw the crop patterns yet. Once all these icons have been placed, I will tidy up the continent, and then get to work on transforming the image into something that looks like paper.
@Schwarzkreuz; Thanks, it's good to be back!
Fantastic work!
Looking forward to the finished version. You have something really good here.
Reputationified!
More progress! This time, I've finally added a paper texture to the background, and begun colouring the map. The green of the grassy plains, the white of the snow covered north, and the red rocky mountains are complete. The coastline's gradient is a placeholder for now, and in the end will look more like the transition between the desert and the grass plains, except with a different colour. I am in the process of colouring the trees, so the colour of those that have been shaded (to the north east) is also a placeholder, and will likely be somewhat lighter than it appears currently (it's dark so I can easily see the trees that I've done).
I am aiming at an overall appearance of ink, dyes, and watercolour paints on parchment in a world whose people do not have easy access to vibrantly colourful materials. Do you think this map is close to my intended medium?
Any thoughts or comments on the work so far are appreciated.
Looking good!
However, I do suspect that the effect around the coast would be very difficult, if not impossible, to achieve with the tools you are assuming.
blur your brushes, there are too defined of splatter patterns where your grass and terrain colors shift. other then that uber boss
Thanks!Quote:
Originally Posted by rdanhenry
By tools, do you mean the tools that I am assuming the map makers have access to? If this is the case; what sort of coastline would be more appropriate for such map makers?
I will test blurring the edges of the dyed areas and see if it looks better. I'm glad you like the rest so far!Quote:
Originally Posted by Pryme8
Yes. That smooth blur effect looks very computer-generated. There's a number of coastal styles that can be inked, but I'm thinking a blue "watercolor" about as intense as the forest green could look good. Not over the whole ocean, but around the coast; it could fade out as you move away from the coast, but not in the regular way that the current blur does. You'd probably have to "paint" it in yourself rather than apply a command to the whole coast, although someone with better knowledge of technique might be able to contradict that. The rest of the map has a nice hand-drawn look to it, so the coastal blur really stands out now as a digital element.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tetrajak
The next preview image (50% zoom, cropped) is attached. I've finally finished colouring all the trees (I now have a new found respect for maps with coloured trees), as well as completing the coastline and altering the grass shading as recommended (blurred).
Next I will likely work on a compass rose and a border, then I will likely move on to place names and then a key/legend.
I am debating whether to also mark marshes and farmlands on the map. Neither of these are likely to be relevant for the use of the map (for similar reasons I have only marked major rivers, large mountain ranges, steep hills, dense forests, and important or populous settlements). What do you think, should I add them anyway?
I like it!
Rather than busy the useful part of the map with irrelevant features, it is more likely the cartographer would embellish the non-functional areas of the map (the sea, in this case) with ornamentation or possibly information that he expected might be useful to the user.
Don't forget a scale.
truly awesome map.. love the style of brushes you made also.. cant wait to try them out..