Pangea for Storied Myth (commission)

[Chick]

Hello Everyone,

This map was done for a commission from Storied Myth, and is a new style for me, although not particularly complex. The mountains are hand drawn and shaded, but I used a slightly different shading method than I have used before, with colors to indicate ridges rather than lines. It's a style I saw on a map similar to this one. I also did the trees by hand, including drawing them and coloring them various shades, then clone stamping them into the map.

The map is to be used for an online game designed for students, and will contain puzzles to solve as they travel through the world in teams, so the detailed map content is deliberately minimal and is provided by the game setup and the puzzles.

I really enjoyed doing this map, it's always fun to do something new, rather than rehash a style that you've done before. Comments are welcome

Cheers,
Cornelia




Special credit to Ramah for his beautiful brushes that I used and colored for the towns.

[Wingshaw]

Nice work, Chick. This mountain style works well.

What a coincidence that both this map and this one have places called Laurentia!

THW

[Chashio]

Nice work, chick! I especially like those mountains, but there's a rightness? to all the different land elements and water details as well as the lack of a coast line and the color combinations that just works really well.

[Chick]

Nice work, Chick. This mountain style works well.

What a coincidence that both this map and this one have places called Laurentia!

THW

Yep, but I didn't invent the name, it came with the job

Thank you, Chashio and THW, I like how it came out, even though in some ways it seems simplistic. Delighted that you like it as well

[Deadshade]

Ah I must say that these labels are something !
Perhaps they could have been a little desaturated in order to not to overwhelm the map. Actually I have the impression that the map is just an excuse to display the perfect labels
Personnally I prefer mountain features that are both outlined and shaded - the reason is that handdrawn lines convey realistic information about the slope, mass and ruggedness what (simple) shades don't. But experimenting is always good.

[arsheesh]

Congrats on the commission, it turned out very nicely. I really like the town/city icons, and the trees and mountains are very nice as well. Some constructive criticism; the labels, while nice seem a little incongruous with the map. I think it is both the bevel-emboss and the high contrast that is the issue. For a hand drawn map such as this I'd recommend going with a solid color (and perhaps lowering the opacity) with an outline. Also, it seems to me that since the trees and mountains have been outlined, the coasts and rivers ought likewise to have an outline that demarcates the land from the sea. Great work though!

Cheers,
-Arsheesh

[Ilanthar]

Pretty map with good colors!
My two cents of personnal taste : I would have put a coastline and no effect on the labels. Other than that, good work and I really dig the Whale Lake (excellent shape!).

By THW
What a coincidence that both this map and this one have places called Laurentia!

If I recall well, Laurentia was one of the past continent of Earth (Like the Pangea or Gondwana).

[Chick]

Thank you all for the excellent comments. Sometimes things like the coastline just aren't as obvious to me, thinking that the shading was doing the job, so I really appreciate all the constructive criticism a lot!