The Great City of Askarion

[Sapiento]

I thought "Why not make something different from my usual regional/continental/world maps?". Well, here's the result. Or, better said, a part of it, as I'm still working on a painted , more natural looking version of this city, which will probably not become a map.

Enjoy!

Outlines drawn with free hand (fine liner 0,1 and 0,3 on white paper), scanned, coloured and textured in PS, labelled (and border deco) in Illustrator.

EDIT: added the painted version as comparison

[rdanhenry]

That's pretty darned awesome. The pyramid & wedge obsession in the building code makes this even more unusual than the angle alone would make it. Unlike a top-view map it gets city and environment in without scaling down the city, which is cool. You do have one fix to make in the key, where 14 repeats instead of going on to 15. For h and i, that's a non-standard spelling of "basin", right? Given the scale suggested by the trees and ships, I'm assuming magic is used in the construction of these buildings. I like the way the sunlight gets reflected and reddens various surfaces; it really gives a sense of the light source with fairly minimal shadows. The colors are convincing for a painted map. I like the border decorations, although the border's regularity gives away that the "creases" in the "paper" aren't real (if you look very closely). And in the key, in 8, it says "fo" instead of "of". There are no stairs or other visible connections between levels of the city, but with several buildings set into the cliffs, I would assume some sort of internal tunnels or stairs are used. Getting across that canyon is more of an issue. With no bridge, there needs to be some other simple way across - common teleportation, winged horses, airship ferries - or I'd call this a map showing three cities, rather than two. The additional distance to Lanag is less significant than the canyon itself. Then again, looking at the labels, perhaps the left side stays fairly isolated as an academic/religious center and the unity of the city exists as a legal fiction, with the two parts interacting only slightly. Repped and rated.

[Sapiento]

Thanks for the hints and the critique. I removed the creases.
I had indeed thought about a 'division' of the city, but more cultural than real. The left is for the powerful Order while on the right side the citizens, nobles and the royal house reside.
Travel is my magical levitated airships. Lanag is part of the city of Askarion, but with some historical autonomous rights (own mayor and city council, but subordinated to the Askarion).
Next time I think I post my map first in the WIP section to avoid typos and bad spelling. Thanks again.

[Sapiento]

I added a painted version in the first post as comparison.

[Gandwarf]

I like both versions, but the painted version definitely looks the coolest to me
Very nice!

[Sapiento]

Thanks Gandwarf! I'm constantly trying to improve my painting skills, and slowly these efforts show some effect.

[boognish]

Ohh...I really like this map. I has a really "old style" feel to it. Nice work

[the-golem]

Woooooaaaah nelly! That's pretty awesome. Thats kinda the style I'm looking for for one of my own town maps. Unfortunately I stink at this. This makes me drool so much, I'm givin ya some rep.

[Sapiento]

Thanks, golem, much appreciated.

[torstan]

Really nice work. I like the style you're developing here. Great stuff.