WIP - Wystern Ath
Wystern Ath is a world I am creating to maybe one day introduce to my players. I used FT3 to generate the land mass and then adjusted the oceans. I really like the geography. I think it has a lot of political potential, especially with the straights and peninsulas.
I got my start on using FT3 with HandsomeRob's Tutorial
I used height map brushes and adjusted them with bevel/emboss effects. (I am trying to track down the source where I got them.)
Other brushes are from JoshStolarz
The color palette is inspired by Kellerica's Slumbering Ocean
Still lots of work. The rivers are more draft, with a bit of a ratty brush, but I kind of like it.Any advice/input would be appreciated.
What I also like is that nearly all of my work is inspired by and the result of what others have contributed here at CG.
Looks like an excellent start overall! I agree that the geography is quite compelling, with lots of potential for worldbuilding. If I had a critique, it might be that the mountains don't look quite right- partly that they seem to rise rather abruptly from the lowlands, and also (and this is probably less of a concern for a fantasy map) seem a bit randomly scattered on, rather than following a noticeable pattern of ridges and river valleys. But overall it's great and aesthetically pleasing!
Thanks Tiluchi. I see what you mean by the mountains. I put some lower relief around the edges but I guess its not coming through as hill country. There is a randomness to it, likely secondary to the brushes. I am going to see if I can shape out the ridges a little more, especially around the beginning of the rivers.Originally Posted by Tiluchi
Looks nice so far! Honoured to be listed as an inspiration
The transition between even and mountainous terrain could maybe be a tad smoother, but then again I suspect you probably are not done with the elevation yet. Certainly off to a nice start here.
Thanks Kellerica. I've put some more elevation work around the mountaints. I still need to work on some creating some more ridgeline to it. I redid the rivers with a slightly different brush. Had a bit of a hard lesson on my layers and mask work which I figured out. The upper right of the map will be more of a desert region so I am leaving that clear of water for now.
I put this aside and have come back to it. I've decided to rework it entirely. I love the land mass and the layout, but I felt like I was not so much drawing as manipulating software to create the map. I wasn't really liking the final product. So I am going back to drawing. I did one pass on mountains and placed rivers and a few lakes, but then scrapped the mountains. I kept the rivers, and I'm reworking the mountain ranges. But I'll probably re do the rivers so they are nestled up and coming out of the new ranges....Taking a lot of inspiration from Ilanthar's style.
Shaded the mountains, I reworked the rivers, and started to add some lakes, I staked out some real estate for a compass and title. I've worked a little forest into the upper right, to try it out. I don't know if that's the style I'll go with. I like it, but it takes FOREVER. I am looking at a bunch of other maps and styles to see if there is something maybe a little different, but I don't know.
Love those mountains. The feel of the new version is much better imo.
Thanks Formal Abu!
I tried several different versions of forests. Because of the size of the map, I am trying to keep the detail less. After a bunch of hand drawing, I decided to create some more abstract brushes to flesh out the forests. I will probably put some hand detail on the edges. I will also probably dial down the opacity. I think, by using 4 different brushes, it's broken up enough so it doesn't look repetitive. Any comments or suggestions are always appreciated.
Here is some more line work done. I like how it is coming together. I wanted to add some canyon features and worked with some different styles. I am thinking that will be sort of an arctic version of The Badlands. I am not sure what I will do with the north east open space. At first I was going to do more canyons there, but I am thinking maybe a sort of 10,000 lakes/marsh.....probably should have planned ahead, lol. Any ideas from the group, always appreciated.
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