Page 1 of 5 12345 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 43

Thread: Planet Eben

  1. #1
    Guild Member ManOfSteel's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    San Francisco, CA
    Posts
    86

    Map Planet Eben

    Long ago, when I was very ill and in a daze, and my recovery not so certain, a story came to me. When I recovered, it took on a life of its own. The clarity of vision and the ability to draw was one of the good things that happened when I was ill, but those faded with time. But not the wish to see the places I’d envisioned. It became a lifelong quest, first with paper and pencil, and finally computer art programs.

    This is the planet Eben, a near twin of Earth, and the home now of, not one, but many races of alien beings who choose a young man from Earth to further a noble and remarkable cause. Like many other places, much of Eben’s history is dictated by geology and astronomy. The cradle of Ebenese civilization lies in what is now the desert country of Kemesh. Walled in by the mighty Androgon Mountains, the inhabitants who lived there thousands of years ago had no choice but to fight, explore, and expand to the east. However, one day, a party of refugees did manage to cross the mountains, and from there an empire grew. After thousands of years, the resulting 135 countries of Eben merged into the 36 of today with each country preserving some of its language and ways while at the same time joining the global and interplanetary order. Each country’s capital city took the name of the country itself. One country has a particular tie to Earth.

    My first attempt at a map was done years ago by using Photoshop to cut apart a map of the world and reassemble it to make a few pictures of one side of their globe and the continent which surrounds the inland sea. Only one image survives. Sadly, the master Photoshop document is gone. And so, upon discovering this site, I was inspired to start again, this time aiming to do the entire planet and, with the help of the 3D computer art program, Bryce 7, to take advantage of the new ability to project the map onto shapes and, for the first time, see the planet and its moons from all sides…outside of my mind.

    I’m not really looking to change much. The challenge was to construct it as I saw it with a modicum of scientific accuracy while at the same time purposely allowing room for the unexpected. A handful of the names I borrowed from science fiction novels/movies that just sound wonderful to me.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version. 

Name:	TitlePage.jpg 
Views:	994 
Size:	196.0 KB 
ID:	48588   Click image for larger version. 

Name:	PoliticalMap.jpg 
Views:	7666 
Size:	1.57 MB 
ID:	48589   Click image for larger version. 

Name:	ContinentsOceans.jpg 
Views:	909 
Size:	400.0 KB 
ID:	48590   Click image for larger version. 

Name:	TectonicPlates.jpg 
Views:	637 
Size:	655.6 KB 
ID:	48605   Click image for larger version. 

Name:	Bathymetric.jpg 
Views:	779 
Size:	626.0 KB 
ID:	48606  

    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	ClimateMap.jpg 
Views:	784 
Size:	386.4 KB 
ID:	48607   Click image for larger version. 

Name:	RiverSystems.jpg 
Views:	667 
Size:	326.8 KB 
ID:	48633   Click image for larger version. 

Name:	HeightMap.jpg 
Views:	4501 
Size:	222.1 KB 
ID:	48634   Click image for larger version. 

Name:	height-map-Bryce.jpg 
Views:	2408 
Size:	399.1 KB 
ID:	48635  
    Last edited by ManOfSteel; 10-06-2012 at 02:21 PM.

  2. #2
    Guild Master Facebook Connected jtougas's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    Wales Massachusetts
    Posts
    2,813
    Blog Entries
    27

    Default

    This is great !! What a great story and some great looking maps !! repped.
    I am the breath of Dragons...The Song of Mountains...The Stories of Rivers....The Heart of Cities.... I am A Cartographer....

    Finished Maps
    Kingdom Of Shendenflar Campaign Setting (WIP)

    Everything I post is free for use and redistribution under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 licence, except where noted otherwise in the thread.

  3. #3
    Guild Adept Facebook Connected Mateus090985's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Curitiba (PR/Brazil)
    Posts
    380

    Default

    Excelent work. I am really impressed.

  4. #4
    Guild Member ManOfSteel's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    San Francisco, CA
    Posts
    86

    Default

    Thank you very much. Tomorrow I will post the tectonic plates, bathymetric, and climate zone maps.

  5. #5
    Guild Adept Facebook Connected Carbus's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
    Posts
    269

    Default

    Those are great maps. I really love the planet an the cleanliness of the second map. Fantastic map.
    ps: How have you made the planet and the atmosphere with the clouds? Its perfect.

  6. #6
    Guild Member ManOfSteel's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    San Francisco, CA
    Posts
    86

    Default

    The planet (and moon) models were made in Bryce. Eben consists of 10 spheres, each one a tiny, tiny bit bigger than the one within it. The innermost sphere is nothing but the oceans. Then, in order to minimize distortion, each continent was centered onto its own map, projected onto its own sphere and rolled into place. The outer four spheres make up the atmosphere. They consist of a cloud map and a storm map with hurricanes. Both of those I found online. Finally a bluish haze sphere went over everything and the outermost sphere is the atmosphere. I used Bryce's material adjustments to make it soft, fuzzy, and slightly glowing.

  7. #7
    Guild Member ManOfSteel's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    San Francisco, CA
    Posts
    86

    Default

    I added the tectonic plates, bathymetric, and climate zone maps today. I did my best with the climate zones but would like to know if you see any glaring errors. Tomorrow I'll upload the final maps: the river systems, the height map, and a 3D mesh image based on the height map done in Bryce.

  8. #8

    Default

    Really wonderful job ManOfSteel! You have really nailed the photo-realistic look.

    Cheers,
    -Arsheesh

  9. #9
    Guild Member ManOfSteel's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    San Francisco, CA
    Posts
    86

    Default

    The final maps for Planet Eben are a map of its river systems, a black and white height map, and a 3D terrain generated by the height map. I hope you all enjoy them.

  10. #10
    Guild Journeyer randigpanzrall's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Hanover, Lower Saxony, Germany
    Posts
    234

    Default

    impressive and solid work, you did a great job. The only thing are the continents which are spreaded a little too "draggy" on the planet and which are too similar in dimension and form in my oppinion, but this doesn´t reduce the good work and your excellent skills. Especially the political map and the satellite map are georgous.

Page 1 of 5 12345 LastLast

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •