Focused Critique - First Map - CAUTION LOAD MAY BE SLOW!

[Nickadimos]

Ok here is a slight update to my Shoreline and Sea. Still working on the rivers...

[ravells]

Hi Nickadimos. You can actually upload your maps to the site rather than linking. This comes with the added benefit of producing a clickable thumbnail (you may have noticed I have edited your original post in this way). It's helpful for all as people reading the thread don't have to wait for large images to load.

To upload an image to the site, click on 'go advanced' below the message box, and 'add attachments'. Browse to the attachment on your pc and upload. That will automatically produce a clickable thumbnail. Why don't you try it with your map in the previous post by clicking the 'edit' button.

Nice map by the way! My only comment is that you might want to give the forest a different texture. At the moment the texture looks like it's the same as the mountains except in green.

best

Ravs

[Sigurd]

Can't comment without scale.

Rivers form from collected rainwater. A small region collects too little rainwater.

Depending on your scale the outer islands might have no rivers and the inner one very few. Is the ocean area salt water? Natural fresh water on islands is very often scarce.


Sigurd

[Ascension]

Your coastal bits and ocean look excellent, A+.

[Nickadimos]

Hey Everyone!

In case your wondering, i havent given up. I have completely started the map over again. By the time I got to where I was at b4. I had not made enough backup layers to save the stuff where I came from, and I had applied a bunch of masks that I couldnt undo. So im making the map over again with these things in mind..

This one so far is WAY better, with better mountains and more little Islands.

The Area size is around 60 x 60 kM.

I am still using GIMP.

And I am having a BLAST doing this stuff.

Thanks
Terry

p.s. Update coming VERY soon!

[Karro]

@karro - what advanced techniques are you talking about? Cause thats exactly what im going for, the forests to kinda overshadow the rivers going through them. Can you explain how to do this in GIMP or PS, i can pretty much translate anythign from PS into GIMP.


Ill be posting an update as soon as I complete it..

Terry

Good luck with working this out!

I use GIMP also, and so do a lot of other folks on these boards. A lot of the advanced techniques are detailed out in a lot of old WIP posts and tutorials. Do some searches of the forums for some stuff done by DanChops, jfrazierjr, and especially RobA (he seems to be especially good at this stuff... which is why his rep is astronomically high.

Ordinarily, I'd do the searches through the forums myself and post for you a list of links, but today I don't really have time

[jfrazierjr]

Good luck with working this out!

I use GIMP also, and so do a lot of other folks on these boards. A lot of the advanced techniques are detailed out in a lot of old WIP posts and tutorials. Do some searches of the forums for some stuff done by DanChops, jfrazierjr, and especially RobA (he seems to be especially good at this stuff... which is why his rep is astronomically high.

Ordinarily, I'd do the searches through the forums myself and post for you a list of links, but today I don't really have time

Here is the one I always reference, not to self promote, but I just love the mountains I created that darn much. And this one (ignore all the garbage at the beginning as it's totally utter trash and since it's my work, I am qualified to say so. Go down to about post 36 for the decent stuff.) And this one for forests by DanChops around post 18 or so. FYI, in the first and second links , my mountains toward the latter posts are a direct rip off of RobA's mountain video tutorial for the beginning steps and I just add some extra stuff (quite a bit of extra work timewise, but I think it's worth it for the effect you get.) I am still trying to find a holy grail for making some excellent forests though... I have come close to making something I really like, but nothing so far is really "perfect".

Also, before you finish up your land layers, take a look at these by RobA as they make better random coastlines than his Regional tutorial do(actually, they just do in one step what the tutorial does at a later stage IIRC):

http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=1397
http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=875
http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=874

And this one http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=3011 for creating tapered rivers in GIMP.

[Nickadimos]

Ok guys, got the tablet working in GIMP. I installed the trial version of adobe photoshop CS4 to test and see if the problem was with my tablet or not.... and awesomely the tablet started working in GIMP! Miracles? Im thinking the driver database for adobe overrode the drivers for the tablet or something and made everyone get along!!

So without further a due.

I have 2 updates..

The first one had the rivers over top the Forest. And the second one has them kinda shaded in with the forest.. I cant decide on which one I like better.. Any suggestions?

I also updated the forest with a new texture that turned out greatly!

Your critique is welcomed!

Terry

[Pandora]

The map has made really nice progress and its looking a lot more realistic now, including the rivers. I really love those mountains ...

I foresee one slight problem though: The map is too dark / color intensive to add symbols and text easily. A few of those might be ok, but you would have to add a light glow to icons to make them stand out in the dark and that could disturb the look of the map. You could add icons in light colors, but that might seem a little odd depending on the icon and text would be a problem since you do have some light areas too and text tends to go over larger areas ...

A nice definition of Contrast for transmission electron microscopy (and why looking at a negative makes sense):
Three filled seats in an empty theatre are easier to see than three empty seats in a full theatre.

[Nickadimos]

Thank you very much for your comments..

Do you think the rivers are better under the forest or over the forest?

And what do you think fo the forest?

LOL

Terry

I think Ill try to lighten it up a little.. I sorta agree..