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This is a work in progress for a Dungeons and Dragons campaign I'm running. It is intended to look like a photo realistic relief map that would be in the study of a ruler of the Isle of Cith (a.k.a. why there is more flourish on the map there). It is supposed to be about fifty years old, and some of the names etched on it will be out of date. The map's purpose is less that of being accurate and to scale and more about being pleasing to look at and noting important land marks and features of the land.

The peninsula is called the Jaws of Ophion as it looks like the ocean is trying to swallow it.

Most of the region is uncivilized. Ba'kon (known as Beacon by those that live there now) and H'raz are the only permanent settlements on the mainland. The rest is controlled by numerous nomadic tribes.

I'm currently working on adding icons, in the classic style of mercator maps, and figuring out how to make some additional names look right. Its amazing how long I have to spend to make just a simple name fit the style of the map, be legible, and look photo realistic. Its sort of a two steps forward, one step back process.

All work is done in Photoshop. Extensive use of the bevel and emboss blending options, inner and outer glows, and drop shadows. Textures are images I've found on various texture sites.

The mountain ranges were hand painted on, using bevel and emboss, and a pressure sensitive art tablet. It was pretty fun to do.