Wolves Fall Castle

[jtougas]

Chief architect Maran Lolln was nearly trampled by a pair of donkeys straining to pull the weight of a wagon loaded with supplies. He jumped out of the way and took a observation position just under the overhanging roof of the stables. The upper courtyard of the castle was a bustling mass of people and animals as war horses were led into the stables and draft horses and stubborn donkeys pulled wagons groaning under the weight of supplies of all manner. Soldiers moved to and from and a steady stream of them were entering the keep to ready the barracks. Smoke rose from the smithy as well as the kitchens and already the smells were beginning to intermingle. Lolln caught a glimpse of the Lord General, the castles ruler and ranking soldier. He had taken a position atop the bailey wall and was watching it all with a hawk's eye. His wife and two children would arrive in a few days and Lolln was sure he wanted the castle ready when they did. Lolln would officially hand over the castle to the Lord General during a ceremony scheduled to happen in a week. His next assignment was the design and construction of FarMere Castle the next in the Wolf's Fall Line. He found himself looking forward to winter......

I have to second anomiecoalition, the layout you settled on looks very convincing, I like it. The whole project seems very interesting. I like the bits of "in character" text you put into some of your posts. It really gives you the idea what the setting is like. I always love to hear the backstory of the maps people are making. What bothers me on your map are the shadows. The castle looks as if the source of light were on each side of it... Are the shadows just a placeholder, or is there some other explanation?

Thanks for the kind words. I always try to map a "story" and in this case the story is very important. Thanks for the feedback about the shadows they were just an experiment that I actually forgot about until someone mentioned it.

Looking good JTougas, but you have the shadows from the turrets going in 4 different directions, they should all point the same way.

Thanks Bogie. I Think I have the shadows sorted now

Just realized that you replaced the NE tower with the keep (which looks great). But now, the fort is vulnerable on that side. Any though to creating a smaller tower in that corner that is part of keep (so its a little smaller than the others, but also at a higher elevation?) Might make strategic sense and be artistically pleasing?

Another good idea. I followed your suggestion and actually added 2 more towers (I just liked the look of it) Thanks for all your feedback

Today's update: More detailing and fixing of errant shadows I also followed anomiecoalition's suggestion about adding a tower to the keep. I like the way they turned out. I also adjusted the scale on all the objects (they were all too big). As you can see I tried again with the hill. I've lost all my objectivity with that damn hill so I'll need some feedback to let me know if I'm heading in the right direction or not.