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Thread: WIP:Blackross

  1. #21
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    Hello:
    I agree with the buildings fading away. It looks good. I like the index and the legend. It looks good. I also like that in the dense area of the town that the buildings are a different shaep and not cookie cutter. It does look too large for a town and should be a city. Then again that is an arbitrary size thing.

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  2. #22

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    It's definitely not an OS map, but I doesn't have to be, as you've taken it to a whole different level. There's a logic and a functionality that makes it stand on its own. I liked the checkboard border (with its fully-working coordinates to help the reader locate the streets you have listed below), though it might be worth exploring a grey-white version instead of the black-white, if you think it is too overpowering rather than removing it altogether. For the buildings, the black stripes really work well (though the grey stripes work too). The rail tracks could stand out better against the dashed grey boundary lines if you colored them black instead of grey, I think.
    When I look at your map with the details in the parks and the layout of the blocks and intersecting streets and all, it totally reminds of Nolli's famous map of Rome (interactive version here: The Interactive Nolli Map of Rome Website).
    Last edited by pionono; 05-01-2014 at 09:18 PM.

  3. #23
    Guild Artisan lostatsea's Avatar
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    WOW ! That looks like alot of work. Is it hand drawn or Digital hand drawn ?
    "Aye The skies be clear , the seas be calm and the winds be with us .....

    ARGH!! but the damn compass be broken!! "

    Capt. Noah Swalter Last voyage of the " Silver Crest"

  4. #24
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    ...As for the buildings, my personal preference would go for the "hatched ones", with an opacity between your grey and the full black...
    ...I agree with the buildings fading away...
    ...I liked the checkboard border (with its fully-working coordinates to help the reader locate the streets you have listed below), though it might be worth exploring a grey-white version instead of the black-white, if you think it is too overpowering rather than removing it altogether. For the buildings, the black stripes really work well (though the grey stripes work too). The rail tracks could stand out better against the dashed grey boundary lines if you colored them black instead of grey, I think...
    One of my weaknesses in design has always been an aversion to bold contrast, so I appreciate you guys not letting me retreat into my pleasantly drab and dreary world of gray. I will take this all into consideration moving forward.

    ...it totally reminds of Nolli's famous map of Rome...
    Interesting link, and a very interesting example of that bold, dense hatch! Certainly another source of inspiration now.

    WOW ! That looks like alot of work. Is it hand drawn or Digital hand drawn ?
    Thanks! I am drawing this digitally.

  5. #25

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    Awesomeness

  6. #26
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    Wip Done... and not Done

    Quote Originally Posted by hissa View Post
    Awesomeness
    Thanks!


    The client has opted to end with the original layout I have shown, so in one way Blackross is done.
    Click image for larger version. 

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    I feel a little bad for the other layouts explored though, so I have secured permission to pursue a few more 'finishes' for Blackross which will (eventually) be:

    1. The first style talked about in the thread, something like a surveyor's map with much less border (maybe even no border), distressed linework and matching distressed (maybe typewriter?) fonts. I remember Lingon (I think) capturing a little bit of that distressed/aged feel in an island map a few months ago.

    2. Cartouches! I liked how the empty space felt when I started adding cartouches, so I want to see where I can take the idea to help balance the layout.

    3. Maybe a fun direction, like color on a black background similar to the heatmap of building ages linked earlier in the thread. The question then is what information do I show? I am still not sure on that, but here is a rather garish proof-of-concept showing building use and that I can at least add color in a relatively quick fashion...
    Click image for larger version. 

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  7. #27

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    So, what is the total population of Blackross, would you estimate?

    Quote Originally Posted by RedKettle View Post
    3. Maybe a fun direction, like color on a black background similar to the heatmap of building ages linked earlier in the thread. The question then is what information do I show? I am still not sure on that, but here is a rather garish proof-of-concept showing building use and that I can at least add color in a relatively quick fashion...
    Click image for larger version. 

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    I really like the idea of a heatmap, Redkettle, though, if you are using the Netherlands map (linked to earlier), I think the colour red signified the oldest buildings and blue is the newest constructed.
    If you'd allow me to help with dates in terms of age of construction periods, the town center (and the Norman Keep on the island in the river) would be pre-1800's (colour Red), while the neighbourhood of Coldridge would be the next to be constructed (1800-1900, Orange), when the Victorians moved out to a new area (but still close to the town's conveniences) to build their fancy houses with large gardens, ornamental parks, cemeteries and Church to cater to their spiritual needs (a feature not possible in the cramped-for-space old town center).
    The neighbourhoods of Aughnacross and Padraig Hill would be next to be constructed (1900-1920, Light Orange), as these would be the new educated professionals moving into the town and setting up their businesses and establishments, like dentists and doctors surgeries, barbers, hardware stores, etc. etc.. The Train Station would also be built in the very early years of 1900.
    The Great Depression would have stopped construction completely and the rural town probably didn't expand until well into the 1940's after the Second World War. Places like Shannagh and Fairview would only have begun to be built after the war (1945-1965, Yellow). These would be the first housing estates, where each house is built exactly the same as its neighbour with equal sized yard or lawn (plus, with the invention and widespread ownership of the automobile, it means these houses all have driveways for parking a family car, a notable absence in former housing styles). The owners who have shops and businesses on Main Street and principal side streets, would move out to these new "modern" housing estates leaving the rooms and floors above their shops empty or used for storage purposes.
    The High School, Garda Station, Community Center and Sports Grounds, would be relatively late constructions (1965-1985, White), while the Business Park, Cinema, restaurants and park amenities, would be the most recent additions (1985-2000, Gray).
    The 2000's would see a boom in the economy and the old town center would be refitted with new store fronts for new shops like expensive clothes boutiques, novelty gift shops and small Fast Food joints. Apartments and rooms (above these refitted ground floor shops) would be modernized and let out for rent to the young new business people (2000-2008, Light Blue).
    New housing estates (like in Fairview) would be constructed on the fringes of town in plots of 10 or more houses before the economic "boom" collapsed and the estates left half or unfinished, where the construction firms went bust following the credit crunch (2008-14, Dark Blue).
    Hope this little history narrative helps you in creating your really awesome heatmap. Cheers!
    Last edited by pionono; 07-20-2014 at 04:00 PM.

  8. #28
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    Very nicely done. One concern i have is that the linework, especially the hatching, is too mechanical. Printing would cause some variation in the spacing and thickness in the line. Consider running hatching through photoshop for a minute amount of variation in a tile that can be reused in the original. Also, consider a less mechanical type for the street lettering: though very precise, it was hand drawn in the era being depicted.
    But: very cool. thanks for sharing.

  9. #29

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    The final product is really great looking!

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