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It would also be helpful to know exactly what it is you want from the water and how you arrived at what you currently have.
The answer to some of those questions depends on how you have been making the map...is it all flat, like a painting, or is it on layers? (And what is the program you are using again? I thought you posted that but seemed to not see it in the thread, now...)
-Rob A>
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It would also be helpful to know exactly what it is you want from the water and how you arrived at what you currently have.
Bryan Ray, visual effects artist
http://www.bryanray.name
Ok answer time...
No, everything is in layers. I'm a freak when it comes to organizing my layers... So I have alot of leway in what I can do to change what I have already done.
And for the program I'm using, Fireworks.
and as far as the water is concerned... Theres a bottom layer base with a solid color and a half opacity texture on top. On top of that, is a highlight section, with a couple of effects thrown in.
What I want out of the water is a nice ripple effect that shows the water is running downstream. If I removed the top layer and took away the texture i'd be left with a solid light blue color, so thats a good starting point to go after then I'd assume.
Do those answers help your ability to help me? O_o
The pen is truly mightier then the sword, for with one quick stroke, a pen can kill your drawing; but the sword takes a couple hits before you drop it into negitive HP.
Well, if everything is in layers, the obvious suggestions would be bevel effects (on the stone walls), drop shadows (on everything tall) and outer glow (black shadows) on low objects, like the docks, to separate them from the terrain beneath.
-Rob A>
My GIMP Scripts: Rotating Brush ~ Gradient from Image ~ Mosaic Tile Helper ~ Random Density Map ~ Subterranean Map Prettier ~ Tapered Stroke Path ~ Random Rotate Floating Layer ~ Batch Image to Pattern ~ Better Seamless Tiles ~ Tile Shuffle ~ Scale Pattern ~ Grid of Guides ~ Fractalize path ~ Label Points
My Maps: Finished Maps ~ Challenge Entries ~ My Portfolio: www.cartocopia.com
Alright, obviously you've got a color that works nicely, and if I'm interpreting the image correctly, I think the texture is good. That leaves the highlights layer, which is where that radial pattern comes in. It's working pretty well in the downstream area, but the roundness starts to become obvious near the docks.
Incidentally, would it be reasonable to assume that this river's flow is fairly slow? If not, there should be a breakwater of some kind upstream of the docks so that boats can disembark more easily.
That's beside the point, though. What you need is highlights that you can blend in that don't show that circular pattern. I don't have Fireworks available to me at the moment (at work), so I'm not sure how to go about it, but you might be able to find a watery texture, bump the contrast way up, then make the dark areas transparent, allowing you to lay the resulting highlights on your water. The trick is to find one that doesn't suggest the circular ripples your current image shows.
Bryan Ray, visual effects artist
http://www.bryanray.name
I did some doodling this morning, just to see how I'd approach water in Fireworks.
Here's a quick tutorial:
I started a new image with dimensions 800 X 600 (a bit small for a map, but this was just an experiment). You could probably do this right in your existing image, but I didn't have access to your layers, so I didn't bother with that.
A new Fireworks document starts with one layer, and I knew I'd be using that one for the textured grass, so I started by making a new layer. Using the lasso tool, I drew the banks of my river--since this is a relatively small-scale map, I wasn't too concerned with getting the banks precisely parallel. Using the fill tool, I filled the river selection with a solid light blue color. This becomes the base color of the river.
With the river selection still active, I clicked "Add Mask," which created a mask of that selection in the current layer. I made a new layer and dragged the mask to it. The new layer is all white, and the mask is white, so now might be a good time to drop a texture into that first layer. I selected Layer 1 (the bottommost one that I left empty) and imported a random greenish texture I had lying around. Back up to layer 3, I use the magic wand to select the new white area.
Now things start get fun. I hit delete to get rid of the white and let the blue base color show through. I select the Fill tool, but now I change it from "solid" to "pattern."
Where you would normally select a color, the box now shows the different patterns you can select. "Blue Wave" seems promising, given that we're making water, I so choose that one, knock the transparency slider down to about 40%, and click in the selected area. I now have some nice watery ripples, but they're not terribly overpowering. Putting the transparency low allows me to change the tint of the water to match the rest of the map by changing the color of the underlying layer. Here it is with a dark magenta instead of blue:
If I had a tablet, I might be inclined to add another layer and put in some highlights with a small brush. It's rather difficult to do that with a mouse, though, so I didn't try it.
Hope that helps a bit!
Bryan Ray, visual effects artist
http://www.bryanray.name
I don't use fireworks so can't give you any help on that front, but here's a tileable water texture that you are welcome to if it is useful:
It's transparent, so it's not as light as that when you use it.
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