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Thread: The Western Baronies

  1. #1

    Wip The Western Baronies

    Well it's been a couple of months since my first attempt at a map and I finally managed to carve out enough time to experiment with a second. This map of the Western Baronies is an experiment of sorts. To begin with, this is a scaled territorial section of the original larger regional map of Eriond, though how accurately I have managed to scale it is somewhat dubious. Secondly, I wanted to experiment with different techniques for doing (semi) photo-realistic maps. I tried several different methods for creating mountains and forests before I landed on the current look. Much of this map has been trial and error for me, and I don't know if I will keep the current look or play around with it some more, but anyway, here is what I've got so far. As always, advice, critiques and comments are much appreciated.

    Cheers,
    -Arsheesh.

    EDIT: Well looks like my attachments have gone missing, but I have managed to download the current WIP version of this map onto the third page.
    Last edited by arsheesh; 05-08-2010 at 02:22 PM.

  2. #2
    Guild Adept Facebook Connected Daelin's Avatar
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    The mountains look pretty good, though the contrast between the light and shadow sides might be a bit steep. The forests also look nice, though it could use a drop shadow, especially in the sparse regions, to help it blend better with the ground.
    Nice work!

  3. #3
    Community Leader Facebook Connected Steel General's Avatar
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    Daelin covered pretty much everything I was going to comment on, this is a good start.
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    Unless otherwise stated by me in the post, all work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.



  4. #4
    Guild Artisan LonewandererD's Avatar
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    I personally like the alternative forest type to the sparser type, it just feels more "foresty". Great start.

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  5. #5
    Community Leader Facebook Connected Ascension's Avatar
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    The right one seems to look more foresty in that it has some fluffiness to the canopy...tho the fluffs might be too large. It makes the forests itself seem out of scale with the mtns. I think it might be too dark, opinion, but the main thing killing that for me is the beveled edge on water. The mtns look great, tho.
    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.
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  6. #6
    Administrator Facebook Connected Diamond's Avatar
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    I like the look of the forests in the right-hand pic, but yeah, they seem to dominate the rest of the landscape too much and overwhelm the mountains. If I had to choose one or the other based on what you've got right now, I'd have to go with the pic on the left.

  7. #7

    Default A Quick Update

    Thanks for all the constructive feedback guys, many of you voiced the same thoughts that had been running through my head. OK, so here is a quick update. I have lightened the contrast on the mountains somewhat and have created smaller tree copses (along with their drop shadows) to replace the the larger monstrosities of the earlier map. I may tinker with the color some more, but this is the current state of the map. I will also likely attempt to tinker with the texture and color of the surrounding land as well.

    Cheers,
    -Arsheesh

  8. #8
    Community Leader Facebook Connected Ascension's Avatar
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    Now that's a freakin forest, wow. All I can suggest is a new layer of tan (or orange) and green clouds on top of the forest to give some variation to the color.
    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

  9. #9
    Community Leader Jaxilon's Avatar
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    This is looking great. You might want to smooth a few of the river turns as you have a couple that are close to 90 degrees and unless it's man made or a rock wall I don't think it's what you would find in nature. I'm looking forward to seeing more of this. It's very pretty so far....kind of serene, makes me want to take a nap..so peaceful. I can almost hear the breeze through the trees.
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  10. #10

    Default Another Quick Update

    I decided that the base landscape was altogether too flat, so I decided to try to give it the appearance of a bit more depth. Here's what I've come up with so far. By the way, I'm open to suggestions if anyone knows of a good way to simulate hills in GIMP. Ascension, I've tried to vary the look of the forests a few times and haven't been satisfied with the results yet, but I'll keep plugging away at it. Jax, you're probably right about the rivers, but I'm not sure how to fix them at this point without having to create a whole new set of forests (since I cut the shape of the river into the forests themselves). I might toy around with it though. Thanks both of you for your advice.

    Cheers,
    -Arsheesh
    Last edited by arsheesh; 05-04-2010 at 01:48 AM.

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