September/October 2014 Lite Challenge: Howling Wolf Lake

[Wingshaw]

G'day mates. I've not been very active around these forums lately, but an idle doodle I made a few days ago has inspired me to compete for this month's loud huzzah.

I don't know much about this map, yet, except the following:
--it is called Howling Wolf Lake, or Wolfcry Lake, or something like that. I'm still playin' around with the name.
--it is surrounded by high mountains, with many steep valleys, glaciers, and caves.
--it is populated by fairytale creatures of all sorts, including dwarves, talking trees, ogres, trolls, werewolves, goblins, evil witches, vampires, and, of course, wolves. Lots and lots of wolves.
--possibly the story will relate to an expedition that went missing, and this map is that of the search party sent to find them.

Any and all comments welcome.

THW

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[waldronate]

Darn. I was going to do a tarn. Wait, it's not in a cirque, nor is it populated by a mutated elongated solar fish (I was considering Tarn-X in the Cirque du Sol-Eel).

[Wingshaw]

You know what they say, Waldronate: the early bird gets the tarn. But don't worry, every cirque has a silver lining.

An update on this map, and some more information about it:
--there is no precise scale, but I imagine it probably takes about three to four days to sail across this lake.
--so far the area is divided into three main regions: Manlands, in the southwest; Ogrelands, in the mountains to the northwest; and Wolflands, in the east.
--the various fairytale elements all have a bit of a twist, as though the land of folktales has grown up by a few centuries. Hence, a few speculative ideas so far:
----the dwarves have disappeared, probably from digging too deep and simply cannot find their way back;
----the goblin tribes are becoming nationalistic, and forming workers unions;
----a clan of ogres at war with their neighbours is willing to exchange safe passage for muskets;
----werewolves are kept in internment camps;
----gold has been found in the mountains, leading to a gold rush in Manlands, and the construction of a railway;
----the witches are fighting a guerilla war against the encroaching settlers, and so have given up their castles.

Comments, suggestions, critiques are not only welcome, they are warmly invited in, given cigars and a glass of cognac, and offered a seat beside the fire.

THW

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[SJS]

Comments, suggestions, critiques are not only welcome, they are warmly invited in, given cigars and a glass of cognac, and offered a seat beside the fire.

THW

Oooh, cognac, my favorite!

Love the mountains and love the background. To my eyes though the lake looks more like sky. I can't escape the feeling that instead of looking down at a lake I'm looking up thorough the hole in the roof of a cave toward the sky. Could be just me!

[Wingshaw]

Another update, the last for today.

Main points:
--resolved the issue with the water; thanks SJS for pointing that out. I had thought of adding painted waves around the shore, but the result wasn't worth the effort.
--played around with adding a paper texture, and not displeased with the results. Makes the map look a bit mouldy, I think
--haven't figured out how I am going to indicate all the different places on the map (or what all those places are gonna be, either)

Don't know what I'll do next, so it may be a while for the next update while I figure it out. This map isn't in my usual style, so it's all a bit harder than I expected. Good thing there's plenty of time.

THW

### Latest WIP ###

[waldronate]

It looks like your height map for the lake area is upside-down; the lighting in that area appears backwards relative to the mountains, anyhow, which makes the center of the lake look like a raised plateau instead of a basin. Using Invert on the height map for the lake area should be a quick resolve for the problem.

[SJS]

I think also there's a slight drop shadow effect at the border of the lake which also makes the lake look elevated (or maybe this is a side effect of the lighting issue waldronate refers to). Or maybe it is just a "crispness" at the border that makes the blend just a touch off.

[Wingshaw]

Another update. I've decided at this stage that this map is going to be a canvas for experimenting with styles and techniques. I'll still try and get it finished on time, but it won't matter too much if I fail.

The issue with the water was easily fixed. As a bevel/emboss layer style, I simply needed to reverse the direction. Solved. Thanks Waldronate and SJS for pointing that out.

As for the edge of the lake being too crisp or elevated, that was actually an attempt to make the lake stand out a bit better, because I was worried it had too little contrast with the surrounds, and, frankly looked silly. I'll take another look at this element, though, and see if I can resolve it. Thanks SJS for that one; let us symbolically raise our cups, and enjoy the theoretical cognac sitting in our virtual glasses.

[Speech slightly slurred] Since last time, then [hic]:
--dealt with the water, as mentioned above.
--started adding place markers. At this stage, they are just place-holders.
--started adding roads. Likewise, place-holders. [hic]
--experimented with a method of indicating farmland. Very keen to hear what people think of it.

It's getting cold out there [hic], so you'd better get those suggestions inside and by the fire quickly. The brandy is starting to run out, but I'm sure we can provide some mulled wine, and perhaps [hic] even a bit of moonshine, to give those comments the warm glow they need.

THW

### Latest WIP ###

[Greason Wolfe]

Well, with "wolf" in the name, how could I not take a look? I really like that canvas/cloth texture you are using. Not sure if it gives the map a moldy feel or not, but it definitely gives it a different feel of some sort. Did notice, just a little north and east of those two northern islands, it looks like you have a bit of a tiling gap issue going on. Not sure if that was intentional or if there is anything you can do to resolve it. Doesn't really hurt the map at all, but it is noticeable.

GW

[Wingshaw]

Thanks for the comment Greason. The 'gap issue' is actually part of the paper texture. If you look closely, the paper has a bunch of holes with that cross-shape around them, and the one you pointed out is just the biggest. I wouldn't say it is intentional, but at the same time, I'm not too bothered by it. Good eye, though: it's almost like you have the eye of a predator!

Here's another update. Changes since last time:
--added some place names (not my strong point, coming up with names, and a couple of the sillier ones will be changed). Also put a couple of captions in. One of the issues is that the text just looks so different stylistically to the rest of the map, but that is a matter of balancing style and readability. Suggestions, anyone?
--started experimenting with different icons. I have also created a small set of map icons that, hopefully, have a rustic, simple look to them (only a couple present so far, but the rest will appear in due course).
--started adding rivers.
--removed the farmland. It just wasn't working, so I'll probably keep the map farm-free.
--experimented with a method for depicting the lands of the different ogre tribes. In reality, tribes don't tend to have clearly defined borders like these, so I'll probably end up making them look a bit blurrier.

Keep those comments coming. There's plenty of room in here, and no chance we'll run out of grog any time soon. The cellar's been needing a clean-out for months.

THW

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