{WIP} The Realms of Jenerico - Campaignmapsets-

[Schwarzkreuz]

Hi Guild, this is the first map of the Jenerico-Campaignmapseries with hopefully some more to follow. Its a Mapset designed for sea travelling RPG campaigns and will explore many different locations, from the Wastelands of the first map here to tropical islands and frozen icebarriers. Whats interested me in tying this Maps, is what I can do with a source like old reliefmaps used also by -Max- in some awesome experimental maps (LINK). Its a bit like with the Galaxy map, when Vorro, Sapiento and I started to create galaxies from the same tutorial. For me the question is still, if I work with textures like this, where is my artistic involvement in it, where can I claim my own unique expression within the usage of such material? When people use predefined sets to create their Maps, like Diamond used to a lot in an excellent way, its determined by how the mapper used it.

Comment on the map or the topic welcome.

[vorropohaiah]

nice map and i like the points you raise - how can you make this your own, as you're using so much stock material? looking forward to seeing the end results

[Carbus]

Nice style! It's new, but still have your "touch" inside of it. I can look at it, and easily say it was made by you!

[Eilathen]

A cool new style from you, SK! I love it. Hope to see more maps with this style from you. If i can, i'll rep. you. Have a "like".

[Bogie]

Great map SK. One minor point ( that you were probably already planning on fixing ) is that the rivers all dead end before reaching the ocean.

As one of the mappers whose maps use a lot of objects and textures from other sources, my point of view is that the only thing that matters is the final product. Your artistic contribution is choosing the right components and how well you put it together. That is far more important than where the pieces come from. A map made entirely from scratch is no better or worse than one made from outside sources. The end result is all that matters.
Look at it from this viewpoint: Ferrari makes some great cars, automotive works of art, but they do not make all the parts, they get them from many other companies. The only thing anyone cares about is that it is a Ferrari.

[eViLe_eAgLe]

I've tried experimenting with the same relief you've used, it was satisfactory but nowhere near as polished as yours, and it all depends on how you do it, not what you use.

Cheers, and great map.

[Jalyha]

A few years back, my cousin and I had a brief, although harrowing, experience, on a "Friday the 13th" in October. It involved a home invader, tons of blood, a naughty kitty cat, a real-life escape through a window, and a crow.

This event had all the makings of a great horror story. When I tell it, it lasts about 20 minutes, people sit on the edge of their seats until I'm done, and women, children, and even some men usually scream at some point toward the end. It's a MASTERPIECE, made better because it is true.

My cousin tells the story, and people shrug and walk away.

We both have expansive vocabularies, we're the same age, we both went through the same event. We have the same *TOOLS*.

Yes, you need a good story. But only the story-teller can make it come alive.

It's the same with music. It's the same with art. It's the same with dance. It's the same with cartography.


(Ah, the point at last!)

If you already have your own distinctive style (and in viewing your work here, I believe you do) and you have the raw talent, and the skill (which you do) then you *will* be able to make anything yours... no matter the restrictions, and no matter the tools (whether those tools are programs, or sources, or textures).

I think the key is... don't worry about what anyone else has done. Don't look at their work while you're working, or compare your results and struggle to make it unique. Just... do your thing. Look at it as a new tool, a new source, and let it flow naturally.

If you aren't satisfied with the *result*, then you compare it to your own work, and see what this project is missing that your others are not.

And then you add your own stamp to the end result. That could be a bit of shading, or an amazing compass, or anything you like.



The map is aesthetically pleasing, and I can see your hand in it, but it doesn't shout your name at me... Perhaps because it is unfinished, or perhaps because you're overthinking it. I'd suggest a break, honestly, and coming back to it with fresh eyes, but I don't know your methods.

Just don't worry so much, and I'm sure it will be amazing

[feanaaro]

Cool map. "Jenerico" is a weird choice for a name though.

[Schwarzkreuz]

@Jalyha:
This style in itself was a break from my usual approach and an openended experiment. Some Mappers arround here have their own unique style, a visual you can identify from a mile away. But what I try to search for is to slowly expanding the range of what is possible to archieve. I see my learning curve as a kind of spiral, it goes on but touches certain topics again and again.

@D: Yep saw the border issue with the rivers, will be corrected later on

@feanaaro: first one to found the joke?

[Jalyha]

I've explained poorly. I don't think I was speaking of a "style" so much as a signature. I look at your portfolio, and I see a ton of different methods, and techniques, and styles. But I still see *you* in all of them.

I prefer pencil sketches. If I use pen and ink, or oils on canvas, or even *fingerpaints*, you can still tell my pictures from my father's. Both will be quality landscapes, but you can just tell. That's what I was referring to. You put a bit of yourself into the things you create. Most people do. If you focus on that, you won't lose your individuality in this medium, any more than you have in the others.