WIP: Waterdeep (commission, for Leopardi)

[Chick]

People who can draw like this just amaze me

[Domino44]

How have I missed this thread!??! Great work so far!

[Wired]

Wow, this is incredibly impressive!

[Ilanthar]

It's gonna be really awesome when finished! Can't wait to see it.

[Leopardi]

Such a beautiful map, and such a monumental task to put it together - I'm amazed (and very glad) you dared to take the task on, THW!

The Petrified Forest looks great! A nice mix of columns and open space as I'd hoped. And the church adjacent to it, although I'm sure it's based on an Italian model or pure imagination, reminded me right away of St. Stephen's Basilica in Budapest (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Stephen%27s_Basilica), at least from the front, and it's definitely something I can work with.

I like the cluster of river gnome buildings, and at first was going to suggest a second grouping further upriver, but on second thought I think it would clash with the other plans on the east bank, so better to say that it's located on the west bank and hidden by the west arch (i.e no changes necessary to the map).

Do you have an idea as to the topography outside the city gates, alongside the river? I had envisioned something slightly hilly forming an embankment for the waterway, but it's only a vague notion at this point. If there's space for a prominent enough hill (not necessarily outside the gates, anywhere outside the walls would do), perhaps an observatory like Brahe's Uraniborg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uraniborg) might work? It's slightly anachronistic, but what a building!

I'm not sure yet about the dragon idea; I was thinking of something simpler, a smattering of water traffic, and I'm worried the dragon might draw too much attention from the city due to its size. But by the same token, having that expanse of water with just a few ships may seem too empty on its own. Could you hold off on laying anything down in ink in this area for now so I can mull it over?

All in all, some fantastic progress so far!

[Wingshaw]

Thanks guys, for those comments.

@Max and Lingon: I think getting consistent perspective is probably the hardest part of an isometric map, especially one with this level of detail. It is too late to rectify the areas that have been inked in on this map, but I am very open to suggestions about how to ensure perspective and scale remain consistent in future, particularly from such seasoned cartographers as yourselves!

@Leopardi: I am glad you like the progress so far. Regarding the points you raised:
--The church next to the Petrified Forest is actually more inspired by St Paul's in London than Italian churches, but I definitely see the resemblance to that Hungarian example, now that you point it out.
--I was a bit worried the gnome houses wouldn't seem numerous enough. I like your suggestion with them.
--Re. the northern suburbs, I was also thinking of high steep hills, with semi-dense settlement around, interspersed, perhaps, with patches of farmland and woodland etc. I think the observatory building could fit into that space north of the orcish quarter.
--The dragon is a rather extreme and silly idea. Happy to omit the dragon.

I'll try and update again soon.

THW

[tainotim]

Whoaw! I completely missed your last update: and must say, it looks superb. A very creative city map. I just wish that you had some better scans of the WIP images as well Perhaps I asked earlier in this thread, but do you plan on coloring this one? Personally, I would love to see a final BW version of this with a subtle texture, and some nice hand-drawn shadows, and perhaps some lore neatly scribbled in a corner or something.

Oh and, do you have any plans for the outskirts? With such a vast, detailed city it would probably benefit from some open field outside the walls – to make it easier for the eyes to take it all in

Keep up the good work!

Cheers,
Tainotim

[J.Edward]

Hey THW, any new progress with this beauty?
I hope to see it done at some point.

[Wingshaw]

Well, I've not been checking in on the Guild much lately, but I have been (very) slowly continuing work on this.

Here's the latest update. All that remains on the drawing is the underwater city area, windows/doors, and maybe hand-drawn shadows (as tainotim suggested).

Sorry for the really late reply and lack of activity. Thanks to everyone for the comments.

THW

[Barek333]

Wow this looks great! cant wait to see the finished product