February Entry: Werthers Skull

[ravells]

My only suggestion is to have some elements which repeat throughout all the floors to tie them together - unless you want the feel of each floor being a world unto itself! That fractal rug is pretty funky! Looks like a portal into another world!

[Redrobes]

My only suggestion is to have some elements which repeat throughout all the floors to tie them together - unless you want the feel of each floor being a world unto itself! That fractal rug is pretty funky! Looks like a portal into another world!

Thats a good idea and its given me another. What I ought to do is finalize the maps and then render them as levels inside that 3D skull model where that is virtually transparent so that the 4 levels line up and are in scale then the spiral stairs can link the bottom layers together and the bone stairs link the top level on. It would be pretty trivial now that I have already done all the bits to make it.

I chose the floor patterns because I liked them but in hindsight I ought to have used the same texture for at least the top three levels and made the decor a little different. The checker does clash a bit. I figured that a wizard would be able to whoop up any kind of pattern he wanted but its not so easy on the eye.

The rug is a monster eh ? I want a real one like that ! It needs toning down a bit I think. Next time I do a portal tho, I'll know exactly what to do !

Got side tracked tonight again... sigh ! Got a few swords & axes but no armour - anyone got any 3D armour models ?

I have another question too ? Do you think that there should be people in the map or not ? Generally for VTT's GMs dont like stuff thats too 'ephemeral' to be on the map but some balk at even chairs and movable objects like that. I reckon that it would suit this particular map.

[ravells]

Now you're talking! Use a transparency map on the skull so it's transparent closest to the viewer but opaque at the back..nice bone texture on the visible bits!

As far as putting in people or furniture is concerned, it's your map...put people in if you want to. You can always take them out again if you want to use it for a VTT game. The competition is really a means to get people drawing maps against a deadline so that they have an incentive to finish the project. The prizes are really incidental.

[Redrobes]

Ok ill try that bone texture thing. My skull model was really rough but if its nearly transparent then it ought not to matter too much. It would be a good excuse to use it more effectively than just for getting some floor slices.

Ill put people in on the top down one but not for the 3D view mainly because I have some neat top down icons (which aren't mine I should add) and they wont render in 3D anyway.

[Redrobes]

Ok Im done. Just as a refresher, I took this image as a starting point :-

http://www.rodneymatthews.com/gfx/elric7.jpg

and the back story is basically above which is that in some out of time, out of place on the Astral plane the Githyanki were holding fort inside their converted deity skeleton battling some unknown high magic force when the whole thing was hit by multiple prismatic sprays sending the, unusually magic resistant, skeleton hurtling dimensionally across the aether landing buried in sandy rock on some distant and very inhospitable outer plane.

The party consisting of a few extra high level characters have discovered the skull as time has whittled the sand away leaving the hard bone skull. Still with some of its Gith interior apperel, the party have converted this as their hideaway and base.

On the top floor is stashed the mountain of gold pieces and other valuables. On the next level down is the warriors and clerics. The next is the powerful wizard (wearing red robes of course...) and then on the lower level is the continually full water pool.

The four levels are drawn top down scaled to fit, then there is the piece de resistance cutaway (which was a lot of fun to do).

[pyrandon]

Nice work, Redrobes. That 3D view is great; I'm glad it was fun to create, for it sure is fun to view! Good entry.

[ravells]

Very Cool cutaway!