Results 1 to 7 of 7

Thread: [Fantasy Town] Apala

  1. #1
    Guild Novice
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    New Orleans, LA
    Posts
    18

    Default [Fantasy Town] Apala

    Apala is a small town, which expanded rapidly from a small fishing village and market. Neighboring villages sent minerals and lumber down the river, and Apala became a natural trade hub for the area.

    On the technical side, this was somewhat quick-and-dirty. I sketched out the town's growth patterns and drew in roads, but was really loathing the idea of drawing all those buildings. To get it ready for a game, I selected all the space between roads, shrunk it, and converted it to a path. I then stroked the path with a square brush set to jitter the size and count, with the angle set to follow the direction. It made instant buildings following the curves of the roads. Repeat on new layers for roof details, and I was basically done.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  2. #2
    Guild Artisan LonewandererD's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    Australia, AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE!
    Posts
    814

    Default

    Hey nice, really likeing it, altohugh the light blue of the buildings does look a little odd. Will have to try that technique wiht making buildings, will be real time saver.

    -D-
    People come and people go. I walk amongst them, I see their faces; but none see mine. I pass them in the streets but nary a glance is spared my way, for what interest would they have in a Wanderer? Not of this world... Forever Alone... Forever Wandering... LoneWandererD...

    My DeviantART

    Finished Maps

    RIP Angel "Ingy" Yates - The first inspiration that guided me towards art. You will be missed...

  3. #3
    Community Leader Gandwarf's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Netherlands
    Posts
    3,012

    Default

    Very nice map. I like the buildings, they look very convincing. The light colors of the buildings to me suggest that the houses are built in an area with a warm climate. So the green terrain looks kind of weird, but that might just be me. Have some rep!
    Check out my City Designer 3 tutorials. See my fantasy (city) maps in this thread.

    Gandwarf has fallen into shadow...

  4. #4
    Guild Novice
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    New Orleans, LA
    Posts
    18

    Default

    Thanks for the feedback.

    I guess I hadn't thought about color discrepancy. The area borrows some inspiration from Turkey, so I grabbed colors from a satellite photo for the buildings. Had the other colors from a continent map though. Maybe they don't line up...

  5. #5

  6. #6
    Guild Novice
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    New Orleans, LA
    Posts
    18

    Default

    Thanks, Rob. I had just used Photoshop's drop shadow layer effect. Is there an easier way to achieve nice shadows without hand-drawing them?

  7. #7
    Community Leader Facebook Connected Ascension's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    St. Charles, Missouri, United States
    Posts
    8,392

    Default

    The method that most of us use nowadays is to duplicate the layer, fill it with solid black, duplicate, and move it 1 pixel down and 1 pixel right (this is for a sun in the top left) to create a 45 degree shadow angle. Do this 10 times or so (10 layers) then merge the layers. You can do a 30 degree by moving down 1 and right 2. If your buildings have a stroke on them don't forget to increase the size of the selection by the same amount as the stroke.
    If the radiance of a thousand suns was to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the Mighty One...I am become Death, the Shatterer of worlds.
    -J. Robert Oppenheimer (father of the atom bomb) alluding to The Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 11, Verse 32)


    My Maps ~ My Brushes ~ My Tutorials ~ My Challenge Maps

Posting Permissions

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