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Thread: January Entry: Dead and Still Standing

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  1. #1

    Wip January Entry: Dead and Still Standing

    Well here I go, my first time on one of these challenges.

    I'm going to be doing a miniature scale (1 inch to 5 feet) battlemap for a Post Apocaliptic Zombie scenerio (well stick to what i know) portraying a city aid station in the early stages of the rising. Expect alot of blood, gore and destruction.

    As the challenge was for a 36 x 24 inch map I've started by laying down a grid layer (I'm not sure if I will leave this on when finished). I originally started at 300dpi, but after memory issue's I dropped back to 150dpi.

    Please note that all these map images are at 50% scale to fit within the forum restrictions on image size.

    Next step lay down some asphalt. The quickest way to do this was flood fill a road layer with an asphalt texture again at 150dpi and 1 inch by 1 inch. Then I just cut away the area's where I am going to have the buildings.

    With roads we need pavements, another layer and a nice light grey concrete texture with curb stones for edging. I have also drop shadowed this to bring it out from the road.

    Finally, road markings and drains. Using a textured yellow fill. I always find road marking difficult. Being British we have white lines, but alot of the textures I see are yellow. In the end I figure yellow looks nicer and adds some colour to an otherwise bland black surface.

    I've also included a thumbnail of the WIP sans gridlines.

    Next step fill in those missing blanks a bit.

    Until next time.

    John Milner
    UKG Publishing.
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  2. #2

    Post REP for not being a lurker anymore!

    Well I'm glad to see another lurker turned mapper! Have some REP for posting a map with your first post and a challenge map at that!

    Looking forward to see some zombie action!

    GP
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  3. #3
    Community Leader jfrazierjr's Avatar
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    Nice start. I would probably round off the corners of your sidewalks and perhaps do some random rounding off of the dashed lane lines also. I would also think about reducing the number of drains. Of course, I am going by my own experiences here in the US, so it may be totally different where your from. For the dashed lines, how did you make them? They have a repeating pattern which is quite distracting when you look at them as a whole.
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  4. #4

    Post

    Welcome, John! I like someone with the guts to throw down in the challenge with their first post. Don't forget to take some time to introduce yourself and your company in the Member Introductions forum.
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  5. #5
    Administrator Redrobes's Avatar
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    Welcome. Its de rigeur for me to rep every first poster who starts a challenge entry. We like that kind of thing

    I'll get this up on the thumbnails page in a mo.

  6. #6

    Wip

    Hi Everyone and thanks for the welcome and advice.

    Here's the latest state of play.

    Following reading some of the comments I have rounded off the corners on the pavement and also flipped and rotated some of the yellow line to break up the uniform pattern (the yellow lines are just a textured fill in yellow). I've also removed half of the drains (I got carried away ) I also added the concrete for the warehouse (requisitioned for use as an aid station 12 hours into the rising) loading yard.

    With that sort I then started on the floor textures for the buildings. I always like to build these things literally from the ground up. I have used a variety of textures here ranging from carpet for the offices in the warehouse, and adult book shop (small brown carpeted building), clean white tiles for the local deli, dirty concrete for the mechanics shop, cleaner concrete for the warehouse with dirty white and black tiles for the canteen and toilets.

    Finally, I have added the walls to the map. These are currently simple black wall (I find nothing says wall better than a thick black line ) but I may replace this with a wall texture.

    The whole is brought together in the final thumbnail without gridlines.

    Now to do the intro bit in the other forum lol.

    More later.

    John

    ### Latest WIP ###
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  7. #7
    Community Leader Facebook Connected Ascension's Avatar
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    After seeing the intro maps, you've set the bar quite high so I'm very interested in seeing this progress.
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  8. #8
    Community Leader RPMiller's Avatar
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    Couple suggestions:
    You may want to scale up your textures or build some new ones that are larger so that the repeating patterns aren't so prominent.
    The maintenance pits probably shouldn't have walls that are sloping that much. I'm pretty sure they are just vertical so a drop shadow might serve you better than a bevel.

    I think it is coming together swimmingly though, and will be watching its progress closely. When it is done, I'm likely to snag it for my own uses as well.
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  9. #9

    Wip

    Thanks for the suggestions, I have changed the autoshop floor as that one had far too much repeat. The other areas where there is repeat i am hopeing will be busy enough to mask it, but I'll cross that bridge when i get there.

    I've also change the pits to a drop shadow and added warning stripes and a ladders. I've added a work bench and some machine tools, a few wheels (although i may add some more as some bits are still a bit empty) and on the bench a selection of tools, manuals and spray cans. I've also added bars to the windows and put a car in for service

    More as is comes.

    ### Latest WIP ###
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  10. #10
    Community Leader Facebook Connected Ascension's Avatar
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    Man, that detailing kicks...also why I can never do this kind of map (I'd go bonkers). Nice job so far.
    If the radiance of a thousand suns was to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the Mighty One...I am become Death, the Shatterer of worlds.
    -J. Robert Oppenheimer (father of the atom bomb) alluding to The Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 11, Verse 32)


    My Maps ~ My Brushes ~ My Tutorials ~ My Challenge Maps

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