Marauder's Isles - Small Test Map

[Vernon]

Looks good, but it's hard to tell at this resolution though. Perhaps you can make a higher res version with more pixels and export to jpg to upload when time permits.

Ah I would but that's as big and res'd as it gets. This would just be a small island so the resolution is right on. It's just a small portion so that I could test out a style without overwhelming myself. Two small, populated, forested islands with a bit of mountains.

[Midgardsormr]

I like the style quite a bit, especially the look of the mountains. There is a disparity, though, between the detail level of the mountains and everything else. The mountains are excessively blurry in comparison to, say, the forests or the coastal lines.

Also, there is a definite texture to the water that makes it look painted on canvas, but the land doesn't have that texture. I think it would be more persuasive if either the texture was applied to the entire image or the land was given a very slight bevel, to make it look like the paint is thicker there. I'm not sure how well that latter idea would work, but it would be an interesting experiment.

I like the town icons, and most of your labels are very easy to read. Daleray should probably be moved off of the mountains--it doesn't contrast very well there, and I had to lean forward to read it.

[Vernon]

I like the style quite a bit, especially the look of the mountains. There is a disparity, though, between the detail level of the mountains and everything else. The mountains are excessively blurry in comparison to, say, the forests or the coastal lines.

Also, there is a definite texture to the water that makes it look painted on canvas, but the land doesn't have that texture. I think it would be more persuasive if either the texture was applied to the entire image or the land was given a very slight bevel, to make it look like the paint is thicker there. I'm not sure how well that latter idea would work, but it would be an interesting experiment.

I like the town icons, and most of your labels are very easy to read. Daleray should probably be moved off of the mountains--it doesn't contrast very well there, and I had to lean forward to read it.

You're right about the mountains. They're the newest thing for me and I hadn't really practiced any before. I still don't have a method down perfect. I tried making them a bit sharper in this, but I think it'll come down to the actual pointedness I draw them with pre-effects rather.

I applied the sea texture to the land. I hadn't intended for it to look like it were on canvas, but I guess that's what I ended up with. See if you all can notice that it flows across the land now, too.

C&C please.

[Midgardsormr]

That's a big improvement to my eye. I'm not sure about the white stroke on your labels. It improves Daleroy (I now know that that's an 'o' and not an 'a', for instance), but the other labels have had their legibility reduced slightly. In this instance, I think it's appropriate to sacrifice some unity for the sake of legibility. That's just one opinion, though. I'd like to hear what some of the others have to say, especially those with better artistic sensibilities than mine.

Are you using Photoshop for this?