Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 17

Thread: Dark Sun - Village of Arla

  1. #1
    Guild Novice Razor767's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Colorado Springs, CO
    Posts
    24

    Post Dark Sun - Village of Arla

    Hi all. This is my first actual try at making a map, using strictly photoshop. This village is set in Athas, a desolate land that... blah, blah, blah...

    You might notice that instead of water it looks like sand. Well, that's the "silt sea". Fine powdery junk. It's supposed to blow about and drift and that is something I have yet to depict in the map.

    Another thing is this village is a reclaimed ruins. Five buildings have been refubished but the rest of the 250 or so people living there are in tents. Not sure how to depict that. I'll probably need what looks like upwards of 70 tents if I'm interested in making it look accurate.

    Also, there is going to be a single house overlooking the ville and I haven't any ideas for that as of yet.

    What's been troubling me the most is how blurry the coast line is. I know it has to be some setting but every time I try to change it, ie get a harder line, the fill still gives it that radiant edge. If I weren't so concerned about ruining my drop dead gorgeous looks, I'd have pulled all of my hair out by now

    There's two maps... one without notes, one with. Opinions are hoped for, advice is prayed for.

    Thanks for your time.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  2. #2
    Community Leader RPMiller's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    Watching you from in here
    Posts
    3,226

    Post

    Have you checked out the Dundjinni forums? You will find a veritable treasure trove of just the sort of things you are looking for. I know there are at least two different types of tents, but there are probably more that I haven't looked for. Use their search feature at the top and type in tents.

    As for the coast line, you said you are using a fill? Have you tried changing the angle of the fill? If you are using a blend mode, you can try turning off the eye in the left column to find which blend mode is causing the effect. Also, you could try adjusting the scale of the fill.

    Since I'm not entirely sure what you are doing to achieve the effect I can't give you any more guidance than that.
    Bill Stickers is innocent! It isn't Bill's fault that he was hanging out in the wrong place.

    Please make an effort to tag all threads. This will greatly enhance the usability of the forums.



  3. #3
    Guild Novice Razor767's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Colorado Springs, CO
    Posts
    24

    Post

    Well, the Dundjinni forums should feel like a shameless little hussy. Cause I just used the heck out of it! Mwah ha ha ha ha!

    Anywho. I think I may have it pretty close here. Coast line still isn't fixed and the "silt drifting" is no where near where I want it. On the coastline, I may have mispoken. I used the word "fill". What I mean is I'm using the paint bucket. I didn't see anything on that tool for scale, angle or blend mode. Unless you mean the layer blend mode but that doesn't click here.

    Aside from that, I'd like to get general opinions. Thanks.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  4. #4
    Guild Novice Razor767's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Colorado Springs, CO
    Posts
    24

    Post

    Ok, I can't honestly say what I did... I forget. But I got the coastline a bit more to my liking.

    There are parts... like the lightest land mass layer with the cracked earth texture that almost look plastic.

    Any suggestions?
    Attached Images Attached Images

  5. #5
    Guild Novice Razor767's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Colorado Springs, CO
    Posts
    24

    Post

    Ok. This is Arla in all her glory. Started to post it in "finished maps" but I guess it goes here first.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  6. #6
    Administrator Facebook Connected Robbie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Dayton, OH
    Posts
    3,877
    Blog Entries
    6

    Post

    Looks good! I'm digging it, and its great to see something very different too as far as atmosphere.

    If you want to get rid of the plastic look, change the way the lighting on the texture is...you could also apply some monochromatic noise to the plastic layer...I would definitely apply some noise to the silt sea.
    Fantaseum (https://www.fantaseum.com)

    Robbie Powell - Site Admin

  7. #7
    Guild Novice Razor767's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Colorado Springs, CO
    Posts
    24

    Post

    Thanks for the input! I made the changes you suggested and I lightened it up too. I know it's a minor thing but the pattern on the dock wasn't showing. Looked fine in photoshop but once I saved as a jpg and loaded it up here, it was very dark.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  8. #8
    Community Leader RPMiller's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    Watching you from in here
    Posts
    3,226

    Post

    That is why it is generally better to use a lossless format. PNG is far superior to JPG unless you are dealing with actual photos and even then, it is debatable. Try using a PNG and see if the result looks better to you.

    I like how this turned out and I'm glad Dundjinni proved to be a useful resource.
    Bill Stickers is innocent! It isn't Bill's fault that he was hanging out in the wrong place.

    Please make an effort to tag all threads. This will greatly enhance the usability of the forums.



  9. #9
    Guild Apprentice Revivalofhonor's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    College Station, TX
    Posts
    40

    Post

    indeed, i try to use PNG 24 as much as possible when exporting my maps, not only is it a lossless format like RPMiller stated, but it also handles transparencies significantly better

  10. #10
    Guild Novice Razor767's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Colorado Springs, CO
    Posts
    24

    Post

    So...

    ehm...

    No commentary on the map itself?

    I'm posting a PNG now for when/if it gets moved to the "finished maps" thread.
    Attached Images Attached Images

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •