Tandalorn

[Caenwyr]

Hi all,

Another commission I just started working on. The idea is basically to turn a hex map for some AD&D 5e modules into a hand drawn version. I believe this is going to be a very interesting job!

This is the map I'm starting from:


And this is my very early, very first WIP:


(yes yes, again those horrible watermarks. I hate 'em too!)

I'm probably gonna twist and knead the southern continent a bit more to make it less rectangularish, seeing how it now fits within the map boundaries a bit too nicely. So keep your eyes open for the next update!

[Caenwyr]

Hi all, I did some more work on this map. I feel it's slowly starting to look like a map instead of a random (and overly squarish) set of white blobs

You'll notice the following changes:

• changed the SE corner of the map (opened up a nice patch of sea where I can put the title etc)
• did the coastline and the terrain for the second island (with a nice little volcano in the southern mountains)
• added rivers to both islands (they look dark now, but that will change once I get to colouring)

So! Let me know what you think!

[Eilathen]

Another good start! I like the new southern continent a lot better now. Looks a lot more natural than before, so good job.

And while i really like your mountains per se, i have to admit that they are, overall, a bit pointy. Very thin to the top and therefore pointy (like a needle). Maybe some variation in how you finish up the top of your mountains would help in giving the mountain-chains a more diverse look? It's "complaining" on a very high level though...those mountains still look awesome, no question.

Looking forward to more...

[Caenwyr]

Another good start! I like the new southern continent a lot better now. Looks a lot more natural than before, so good job.

And while i really like your mountains per se, i have to admit that they are, overall, a bit pointy. Very thin to the top and therefore pointy (like a needle). Maybe some variation in how you finish up the top of your mountains would help in giving the mountain-chains a more diverse look? It's "complaining" on a very high level though...those mountains still look awesome, no question.

Looking forward to more...

Heh you're right, they DO look kinda pointy! That shouldn't be a huge problem though, I think I can fix that without too much trouble. Thanks for pointing that out Eilathen!

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[Ilanthar]

Looks like a very good start, which is not really surprising. The "corrected" land shape is very nice.

[Eld]

I also aprecciate the new landscape.
On the pointy mountains: I think you need to consider what you are showing. From an artistic perspective you could alternate more between pointy and round mountain tops.
From a geographic perspective I would read pointy mountains as rough, windy, edgy things bare of vegetation. Round mountain tops seem to be overgrown by plants and have gone through some lenghty process of erosion in the past. So I would relate the type of depiction to the type of mountains you want to show. Just mixing them up within the same mountain range wouldn't make much sense from this perspective. Rather find out, what type each mountain range is and depict it the corresponding way. But that's just how I would do it if I was able to draw such beautiful mountains. I also like the way your rivers go, reminds me of the rivers on the Middle Earth map.

[Caenwyr]

Looks like a very good start, which is not really surprising. The "corrected" land shape is very nice.

Thanks Ilanthar!

I also aprecciate the new landscape.
On the pointy mountains: I think you need to consider what you are showing. From an artistic perspective you could alternate more between pointy and round mountain tops.
From a geographic perspective I would read pointy mountains as rough, windy, edgy things bare of vegetation. Round mountain tops seem to be overgrown by plants and have gone through some lenghty process of erosion in the past. So I would relate the type of depiction to the type of mountains you want to show. Just mixing them up within the same mountain range wouldn't make much sense from this perspective. Rather find out, what type each mountain range is and depict it the corresponding way. But that's just how I would do it if I was able to draw such beautiful mountains. I also like the way your rivers go, reminds me of the rivers on the Middle Earth map.

You're absolutely right Eld! And I guess, since this is a hand-drawn version of an RPG map rather than a map going for absolute realism, I have a bit more freedom in choosing the type of mountain that fits the story

[Caenwyr]

And to top off my comment above, I have half an update for you guys. Or rather, an update showing half an island's worth of progress. The idea was to have a massive mountainous region in the middle of the long island effectively blocking any traffic between west and east. Originally the client was thinking of a mountain range perpendicular to the islands main axis, but we decided to go for something a little more realistic instead: a massive bundle of mountain ridges along the longitudinal axis.

It looks like the mountains are abruptly coming to an end, but that's just temporary. We're currently talking about how exactly we're going to fill in the eastern half. I must say, it's a really fun process, bouncing ideas back and forth with the client! I'm used to working on my little island, but I'm having a ton of fun with this one.

[Eld]

I like the style of this, keep on the work!

[Caenwyr]

I like the style of this, keep on the work!

Thanks Eld!

Below you'll find my next update. Finished the mountains in the eastern half of the island, and drew in rivers.



Thoughts?