FNG could really use some help on this City

[mearrin69]

Can't be much use on the tablet. I have an Intuos 4 and it just stays pluged in and works with all applications in pretty much the same way (though it has some software that lets you change what the functions do for each application if you want)...basic pointing works no matter which software I'm using.

On textures I'll say that you'll never find on that's just the right scale and doesn't look too repetitive that you can just lay it across your entire map unbroken and have it look very good. I find the best way to use textures is to use several and "paint" with them. How you do this is application-specific but in Photoshop I can either use the Pattern Stamp brush (I rarely do this except for small tasks) or by filling a layer and then adding a layer mask to show the parts I want to show (in PS, this is an all-black mask that I paint into using white). In PS you can also fill a layer completely, apply a Pattern Overlay (which you can scale up or down as desired) and then apply a mask...this gives you some ability to change the scale of the texture, even after you've already started working with it. For my terrain I'll generally use a lot of layers of textures like this - mud, sand, dirt, grass, scrubby plants, etc. and never have a solid, contiguous area so that you can see the texture repeats. Maybe experiment with this a bit to see if you can get it down...I think you'll get a better result than just laying down a solid color or texture on your areas.
M

[RevGunn]

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/13307512/Chelesvaar.jpg

Re-did the buildings, and worked on the river banks. I was really looking for a river bed picture to steal a texture from, but wasn't successful. Getting closer to the look I want. Next, I'll add more colors to the roofs. The walls and Castles will be fixed up, and re-colored. I really want to avoid the "gray castle walls" look, since the local stone is dark brown. Then, re-do the forests and add more rocks and hills to the surrounding terrain. I'm still looking for another style idea to add vegetation with. I LOVE the look of the trees etc. on the Sanly Bowitz Map, and the Banja map. No idea how either was done. I'll still need to work on the bay and river, and figure out how to keep the rocks from just popping up. Then I'll add the aqueduct system that my players just added to the city...