*** March Challenge VOTING - Mapping in Black and White ***

[Lukc]

I also call for peace but I only post my avatar kitty ...

Meow.

[Hai-Etlik]

I also call for peace but I only post my avatar kitty ...

Meow.

Maybe I should just give up on saying anything about other people's maps.

[torstan]

These are valid points, and everyone should feel free to make reasonable critiques of others work. However, always appreciate that whatever someone else posts has taken time, effort and lot of thought to put together. As with other forums, critique others as you would wish to be critiqued yourself.

For what it's worth, I personally judge 30% opaque black to be grey, and not to be within the remit of the challenge. However we do not normally disqualify entries to contests. The community tends not to vote for those entries in the end, which does a good job of policing different interpretations of the rules.

I'm happy for members to stretch the limits of what can be done, and this contest showed a range of different ways to interpret the restrictions. I'm very happy to see that creativity being stretched, rather than find people trying to guess what will and will not be allowed. One side effect is that some results will be out of line with what others believe to be the 'spirit' of the contest, including myself. I think this is a good thing.

So I hope people do not stop stretching the boundaries, and I also hope people will not stop calling them on it when they feel they cross the line. As long as it remains good natured and in the spirit of constructive and friendly competition, it'll only make us all better illustrators at the end of the day.

[EricPoehlsen]

I think that the challenge forums are the place for the most direct and harshest critique. Everyone posting something here should expect that. What is to be expected, are honest and true critiques with a reasoning. It does not have to be positive or even constructive but if someone says 'I do(n't) like it' I want to know why.

[Diamond]

I for one value any and all critique and criticism. I knew I had aliasing issues, but I had no idea how to fix them, despite several experiments. If other people point out problems that I knew existed, it reinforces that there were problems, and helps remind me to learn and fix 'em next time.

[rpgmapmaker]

March Challenge Entry - The Land of Danor by rpgmapmaker

I like it, although I have the same criticism about the outlined text as with Diamond's map. The coast outline has noticeable raster aliasing. Some of the symbols look like they were drawn at different scales and a few of them are rather noticeably repeated.

Thank you for the critique! I did all of those things! you have a good eye. Now that I have a drawing tablet I hope I can draw things in the computer all the same scale and not have several scans that are drawn and re-sized at different times to try and fit them together. The repeating was on purpose though. I have seen many maps from novels that have repeated elements. I may have done it too much... anyway thanks again for the honest and helpful critique. Don't stop giving your opinion.

I for one value any and all critique and criticism. I knew I had aliasing issues, but I had no idea how to fix them, despite several experiments. If other people point out problems that I knew existed, it reinforces that there were problems, and helps remind me to learn and fix 'em next time.

Here Here! Any and all critique and criticism are welcome.

I know how to get rid of gray pixels ... I did not do it on my map because it would have looked wired... yours holds up very well to the possess. for all who are wondering.

Save your files with the "Save For Web" (in PhotoShop not sure how in GIMP). This gives you the ability to save files with only the colors you want. This also greatly reduces the file size.



Here is my map and Diamond's map saved as .gif with only two colors (000000 and FFFFFF).



I hope this information helps someone.

-RPGMM

[jfrazierjr]

Here Here! Any and all critique and criticism are welcome.

Agreed. Personally, I feel quite dejected when no one takes the time to say anything about a map I have started and posted a WIP. I have way to much going on in my life, so anything anyone says to try to be helpful actually helps motivate me at a point when I need it. I wish I could crank out maps like many of you guys here, but I just get side tracked way to easily and without a driving motivator("hmm.. have you tried to do X? I think that would make it look better"), it's way to easy for me to let things slide. As an example, I have a region map in the WIP forums that I started over 3 years ago for my campaign. However, since my players are still underground(started there) and won't be going above ground for the next year or so, I have little motivation to do more on the map without some other external force at work....

[Diamond]

@RPGMM: Huh. That actually did hold up pretty well. A little scraggly but not too bad at all.

@jfrazierjr: I'm guilty of that. Sometimes I just don't know how to articulate what I want to say about a map, and so I say nothing at all. I'll try to work on that.

[Schwarzkreuz]

Critiques are one of the reasons I am here on this Board. Without it I would not have been so productive first in a long time. Well the written word can sometimes be harsh in different ways and I appraciate everyone who takes a moment of his/hers lifetime to comment on others work, but I guess sometimes things can get a bit hairy. Lets put our energy into the next competative fight of the Challenge.

[Jaxilon]

Sometimes it takes me a long time to craft my wording so others clearly understand what I am trying to say. I wouldn't waste my time picking at them for no reason. Knowing how quickly things can blow out of proportion over the Internet I seldom get into the details unless I have the time to try and do it right.

People who know me know I won't blow a hole in someone's boat just to be a jerk. I don't offend a lot of folks in life and I get along with others. If someone has an issue with me everyone is left scratching their heads as to how that happened. Of course, some people are just looking to be offended and for them, once I figure that out, I couldn't give a rats patoot. Having said that pretty much everyone here is helpful and well intentioned when they point out something in your work. I appreciate it even if it does make me redo something I just spent two hours on because it is going to make the piece better.

So I'm with you guys and love to get some feedback. I like to try and explain my thinking on how I vote but I don't always have the time and energy. :/

One final thought - I have in the past received comments as to why someone didn't like my entry and I would have loved to had that during the WIP process instead of after the lock-down. I think it can, especially if the one posting is also in the challenge, feel a bit like a low blow when it comes in after the fact. I mean, had they said something a week prior you could have a chance to change it. Still, you have to appreciate that someone was willing to even give your piece enough thought as to say something worthwhile about it. Understandably, if you are also in a challenge you could be busy right up to the cut off and not had any time to look at other's WIPs, much less critique them. As well, if you are not involved in the challenge you may only come through during the voting process and that is to be expected. In the end, any feedback is a favor.