Thread: Map of Andalor

Okay, I've got an update already. I think the forests look a bit better now.

I've altered the colour and added a cloud texture aswell as a border for each bit of forest. Questions still stand though - what do you think of it? Better now?

[Edit] Woah, sorry there, IG; didn't notice you already answered. Thanks for your point of view and your kind advice! What do you think of the new version?


Regards,

~~Rongar

I like the forests a lot better, though I'm not sure about the black stroke. I still think they're a bit bright for this map, but overall it's looking better.


-IG

Time for an update, I think.

After I've come to the conclusion, that I'm not yet good enough to develop my own style in mapping, I ended up changing the overall style to a much more "hand drawn" one. I'd like to thank Ramah and others for their great brushes they've offered here.

As for the map; the labels are just place holders for now, knowing that some of them are a bit challenging to read (well, for most of you anyways ). Mountains, forests and rivers are also not finished yet, but I wanted to give you a sneak peek of the direction I'm heading to now.

Comments are welcome nonetheless though. Especially about the lakes in the very right of the map; like if they are realistic or if they would normally run dry and turn into separate rivers.

I wouldn't jump to conclusions, you're style was perfectly fine but just needed some refinement is all. Your forests had a drop shadow that didn't mesh with the mountains, the stroke around the forests was a bit thick, and the mountains were also a bit thick. If I were you I would stay with it and tweak and tweak and tweak until you get it just how you want it. I can't get to every post in a timely fashion so sorry that I didn't respond earlier. It's a nice start so just keep refining it and see where it takes you.

I like both your previous style and this one as well. Though for me the dirty/grungy look is a bit overwhelming.

Agreed, they both look great. You definitely shouldn't give up on your own style though. As Ascension said, there was nothing wrong with it... it just needed a little refinement. Hell, we could all use a little refinement here and there!


-IG

Originally Posted by Ascension

I wouldn't jump to conclusions, you're style was perfectly fine but just needed some refinement is all. Your forests had a drop shadow that didn't mesh with the mountains, the stroke around the forests was a bit thick, and the mountains were also a bit thick. If I were you I would stay with it and tweak and tweak and tweak until you get it just how you want it.

It's not like I wouldn't want to pick up the style attempt anymore, but at the moment I don't yet feel like I'm ready to tweak and tweak until it looks the way I want it. It's just too frustrating as I'm not a pro using GIMP. Your advice is really good and will definitely be kept in mind, but for now I'd like to stick with the current style. After I've finished the map I may return to the old one and tweak it.

I can't get to every post in a timely fashion so sorry that I didn't respond earlier. It's a nice start so just keep refining it and see where it takes you.

That's not a problem. I mean, I'm thankful for comments, really, but I wholeheartedly understand that it's difficult to imposible to take care of every thread around here.

Originally Posted by Steel General

I like both your previous style and this one as well. Though for me the dirty/grungy look is a bit overwhelming.

Thanks, I'll go and alleviate the grungy layer a bit.

Originally Posted by industrygothica

Agreed, they both look great. You definitely shouldn't give up on your own style though. As Ascension said, there was nothing wrong with it... it just needed a little refinement. Hell, we could all use a little refinement here and there!


-IG

That's probably true, but like I just said, I am going to give the previous style another shot as soon as I got more experience. Nothing is lost, I still have the original .xcf and will work on it later on.


Thanks for all your comments! Really appreciate it.


Regards,

~~Rongar

I like it when people use the brushes that Vhailor made and I'm biased but I think people can really make some nice ranges with them. I have to admit though that the tree brushes don't always look great. They need some manipulation to work cohesively as a forest and I think the ones on your map are just too randomly placed and sized to work well together. It may be that they are just a lot bigger than they were originally created to be seen at and so I can see too much of the detail (or lack of) on them.
Your forests on your previous map I really like though. They are a very bold style and it seems a shame to lose them. I like them enough that I think it's worth building an entire style around them.

But whatever you decide to do I'm looking forward to seeing your progress.

A minor update:

- changed the background
- did some colour tweaks
- did partially labelling
- took away the forests (and currently freak out about how to do them)
- re-did some of the rivers
- added a slight drop shadow to the landmass (of which I'm not sure if I want to keep it)

Yeah, I think that's it.

@Ramah: Thank you for your reply. Yes, the forests really weren't all that great in the latest WIP. And now I actually don't really know how to do them. I've tried so many different brushes (since I can't draw them myself), but whatever I tried, they didn't happen to look like I wanted them to be. As for the old (bold) style: I might pick that one up again when I make some regional maps. I think that'd look quite nice after some tweaking.