Atlas Elyden

[vorropohaiah]

So, I’ve got some more work done on the Atlas entries as well as some tweaks and minor adjustments that no-one other than myself is likely to even notice and I’m getting closer to finding a style I’m happy with (though I’m still torn about the mountains, though i'll keep that for another day...

Of these new maps the most complex, by far is the one detailing twin nations of Ahrishen and Virahan. This is largely due to the many lakes, the relatively small scale (compare this map with the one of Ezasuth, for instance), and the fact that the regions to the west, south-east and east had already been mapped (Vârr, the Haréshk and Nakhé, respectively) so there was a lot of back and forth between this map and the older ones to make sure that everything (borders, coastlines, graticules) lined up and scaled together correctly.



I think I done a decent job (though it’s far from done…), though I realise that the maps are nothing much to look at at the moment and wont exactly be arty maps when they're done - they're political maps, detailing resources, roads, trade routes and such things and are functional rather than pretty,though I hope the Atlas can be seen as a work of art in some respects once its done. Also, the more maps I get done the more time-consuming the task gets. Also, the more maps I get done means the farther away from my comfort zone (Inner Sea) I get, which means more terra incognita: the lands around Korachan are very familiar as I’ve been working on them for coming up to a year now, though the farther afield I move the more unexplored certain regions become.

[vorropohaiah]

Of the maps I've worked on so far I think my favourites have to be Khamid, Venthir and Tzallrach since they represent neighbouring regions and the distinctive coastlines can be recognised from map to map, despite the differences in scale and orientation

[Raptori]

I'm a big fan of that map actually and i was considering that style of mountqain ut its actually a lot more work than the marching caterpillars, which can be achieved relatively easily by stroking a line with a wedge shape (in theory). these dinotopia ones are much more attractive though far more time consuming to get done. A dilemma, for sure!

Ahh fair enough, I've never tried either. I wonder if there's a way to get that effect in Photoshop using layer styles.. it might be possible to create parallel lines radiating down a gradient, but then you'd have to go back and add some more detailing to emphasise the slope. Might not be worth it even if it's possible, but I might give it a go at some point. I do think it'd be a perfect fit with the rest of the map style though!

Here's another idea for the mountains:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...arine-1851.jpg

It probably shows much more mountain detail than you need in these maps, but I think a similar style could work if you only draw the relevant ranges.

That's lovely... how people had the patience I'll never know.

[vorropohaiah]

yeah that map really is detailed - I shudder to think on how long it must have taken to make, and if not, the talent needed! beyond my attention span, that's for sure

[Raptori]

I really want to use that mountain style at some point, but I'm lazy and want a short cut. I messed around in Illustrator for 10 minutes and came up with this (with a little texture added in Photoshop to make it look like it's been inked):



Obviously it could do with some variation in the length and shape of the lines, but that's dead simple. Getting the end points of the ranges to look right might be a bit fiddly though. I'll have to play around some more and see whether I can get it to work. What do you think could make it closer to that style? If I can get it right I'd be happy to post a tutorial so you can use it in these maps

[Llannagh]

I actually just spent yesterdy (the whole of it) trying to recreate the style from the dino-map. I almost lost my mind. My template was this and this.

No matter what I did, it always looked crappy and was way too much work. What I came up with was that, dunno if that would work for you:



The ridgeline in the middle is just for guidance, in this case I just forgot to put it on an extra layer, that's why it's still there...
I used a soft brush with a fine texture and low opacity and flow. Maybe that's something to work off.

[Diamond]

I think I may have already mentioned this to you, vorro, but a member here, Bill Hooks, put together some pretty convincing caterpillar-style brushes: http://www.cartographersguild.com/ma...n-brushes.html. I've used them on a couple of different maps, and with some minor tweaking, they look pretty great.

[vorropohaiah]

I really want to use that mountain style at some point, but I'm lazy and want a short cut. I messed around in Illustrator for 10 minutes and came up with this (with a little texture added in Photoshop to make it look like it's been inked):

Obviously it could do with some variation in the length and shape of the lines, but that's dead simple. Getting the end points of the ranges to look right might be a bit fiddly though. I'll have to play around some more and see whether I can get it to work. What do you think could make it closer to that style? If I can get it right I'd be happy to post a tutorial so you can use it in these maps

thats pretty good! shame i dont know illustrator (considering the map style im going for id probably be saving a lot of time using netscape or illustrator)

I think I may have already mentioned this to you, vorro, but a member here, Bill Hooks, put together some pretty convincing caterpillar-style brushes: http://www.cartographersguild.com/ma...n-brushes.html. I've used them on a couple of different maps, and with some minor tweaking, they look pretty great.

i had seen these. though theyre good as theyre not that flexible and will involve a lot of editing and copy/pasting - though still easier than makin them all from scratch. als theres a matter of licencing - i might publish the atlas at some point and want to make sure im using oppen resources like fonts and brushes

[Raptori]

thats pretty good! shame i dont know illustrator (considering the map style im going for id probably be saving a lot of time using netscape or illustrator)

Funny, I'd have guessed you were using Illustrator since those maps look very vector-like.

That technique wouldn't require any knowledge of illustrator really, it's basically just use pen tool + apply a brush then adjust the width of the line, so dead simple. Making it look more hand drawn seems to be a little more difficult... I wish it would be possible to have the brush resize at random like you can with Photoshop :/

[Eilathen]

[heartfelt plea]
Oh please please no caterpillar mountains! There are so many nice suggestions from Lingon, Raptori and others that look sooo much better than those non-mountains that are the caterpillars.
[/heartfelt plea]