Khorvador (World of Calidar)

[Thorf]

This is a close-up hack of the main Great Caldera map, which I posted about last year.



It was done in great haste for a blog post, so it really is just a hack — especially where the text is concerned, as I only had time to give it minimal tweaks to fit the new resolution. But at the same time it shows the detail inherent in the full resolution of the main map. As a provincial map it's really pretty lacking, since it has no extra settlements or even labels. That will come in time, when the author decides to develop the area further. (Talking of which, the article for this map is located here.)

Any thoughts? I'd love some input on this style. You can find an overview of how I made it in the link above, if it helps.

[arsheesh]

I really like the mountains.

Cheers,
-Arsheesh

[CaptainJohnHawk]

I agree with Arsheesh, the mountains are great! I think the text is a little too big and makes it a little confusing and cluttered. Also I am unsure the difference between the dotted line and the whole line. I think the full line divides countries and the dotted divides regions, but not sure.
The style is great though, and I really enjoy the artistic style you chose.

[Thorf]

Thanks for the comments! The mountains were created in Photoshop, then sculpted in Wilbur using my own recipe.

I agree, the text is way off. Some other elements are off scale too, such as the national and provincial borders (the black and black dotted lines). I will fix all of this when we eventually come to creating the final map for publication. This one really is a hack created as quickly as possible for the blog.

What do you think about the forests? I'm not sure they work very well, especially at this scale. I've had a bit of trouble coming up with a way of doing forests that fits with the rest of the style.

[CaptainJohnHawk]

I actually couldn't tell there were any forests on the map, until I read the text. I think the color for the forest is good, and wouldn't change that. I would add some texture to the forest. When you have mountains that look that textured and strong, you expect to see forests to match the style.
I think I great way to improve the forests is just to add some depth to them. It could be slight. Just add some sort of tree top feel to the area. Or consider darkening the green to create an edge.
I would just take some time digging around the Regional/World Mapping section of the forum and getting some inspiration/ideas.

Hope that helps

Cheers!
Capt.JH