Thanks for posting this, and for the series of in-progress images. I'll take a good look through this thread tonight.
Thanks for posting this, and for the series of in-progress images. I'll take a good look through this thread tonight.
Not a problem. I hope you get some use out of the thread, although I suspect that it will be more helpful to me than to anyone else.Originally Posted by GM's Apprentice
One thing I did with the last map that I'd like to expand with this one is that I created two underlying land layers, rather than the one "grass" layer in RobA's tutorial. I expanded that two three layers this time - a Grass layer, a Desert layer, and a transition layer between the two.
I created a separate mask for each of the three land types, as well as an over all mask of the coastline. This is what it looks like before applying any textures or bump maps or blurs or whatnot.
The next step was to go through the texture --> bump map --> bump layers for each of the three. I pretty much followed RobA's directions on this one, except that for the desert bump map I used "Plasma" clouds rather than "solid noise." This gives the desert a nice stippled look. I think this is a serviceable alternative to giving the layer HSV noise and then bump maping it to itself, like Rob did with the dirt layer in his tutorial.
After going through the texturing and mapping process for each of the three layers, I made a copy of each and merged the three copies together. Then I applied a Gaussian blur to the merged layer, and to the masks for each of the texture and bump layers. I think the combined effect blended the three layers together nicely.
My final post for the evening shows the dirt layer applied to the map. I followed Rob's instructions to the T for this one. I really like how the dirt helps to blend the different terrains together. Tomorrow I'll spend some time with black and white brushes to get the dirt where I want it.
One thing I'm concerned about is my colors for the transition layer. I'm wavering between the yellow look I've gone with so far, and a more muted pallet of brown and green. Fortunately, since I've kept the original underlying color layers separate, and only merged copies, it won't be too taxing to go back and change later if I decide I want to.
DanChops - Really cool to see what you're doing here. It helps make Rob's tut more accessible. Also shows some alternatives to how he does business. Keep it up.
Nice variation on the technique! I like what you are doing here.
-Rob A>
My tutorials: Using GIMP to Create an Artistic Regional Map ~ All My Tutorials
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