May Entry: Shipwrecked

[torstan]

A little more progress.

### Latest WIP ###

[rpgmapmaker]

Thanks you for giving us a look into how you do this start-to-finish!

I like the Brigantine or Sloop size ship you have chosen for the wreck... (not sure if you are keeping two masts or droppings it to one)… anyway it is just the sort of smaller ship that might have had an inexperienced Captain at the helm... I like ship & sailing artwork but all too often it is the big and expensive "Galleons" that are on the rocks... (Less common but still did happen).

Keep the great art coming… it is a treat to see it form from the blank page.

-Chris

[torstan]

Thanks for the compliments. I needed it to be a smaller ship so that it would fit on the map without loosing too much detail! Any passing resemblance to a plan is entirely coincidental and bears no relation to any plan living or dead...

I've pretty much finished the line drawings now which gets me to here:

### Latest WIP ###

[torstan]

Now a bit of colour added in:

### Latest WIP ###

[meleeguy]

Choosing a winner...just got that much harder.

I love the sails trailing off into the depths...very spooky.

Is the drawing scanned in? If so can you recommend an entry level scanner for your fellow cartographers? Any other basic tips are most welcome in exploring your methods.

[torstan]

This is all done from scratch in Gimp with a Wacom Graphire4 tablet (I think they've been suplanted by the Banboo range now but should be cheap on ebay).

I do have a scanner that I use now and again and like a lot. It's a Canon and cost about £40 (~$80). I'm not at home so can't give you the exact details.

As for other tips, 'm keeeping a running log of screenshots so that I can write up the promised tutorial over on the other pages but as I am going to be cutting it tight to get this done on time, I'm certainly not going to get the tutorial written up before the deadline. However, any more questions - feel free to ask away!

[Redrobes]

This is progressing real well. Looking forward to more...

[dorpond]

Torstan, man, jaw dropping stuff - really. I love your work..

Couple things that worry me here though as far as the contest is concerned. This 'map' is becoming and will probably (knowing you) a visual masterpiece. What worries me though is playable gaming area. Because the ship is tilted sideways, treasure and boxes have probably fallen into the water. The surface of the ship really won't be walkable and this encounter map looks like it will probably send the players inside or under water to get the goodies under the ship. That being said, this doesn't remind me of a "map" but more like a picture showing the scene rather than something that is playable. In other words, what are we to do when the party says "let's go in and get us some treasure"? I could be wrong, maybe I am just not using my imagination enough here.

But I have to make something very clear - I love your work. My hat goes off to you my friend, you are a fantastic artist. I will be keeping a close eye on this one.