City of Caermôr

[QED42]

Hi everyone, I have been lurking around these excellent forums you have for a few weeks checking out different tutorials and things. I decided it was time to actually post something I made. This is a city map I made using GIMP and starting from a random city map generator.

[XCali]

Decent first try. And welcome to the guild! Whoop!

Now, the buildings are quite interesting. I immediately imagined a place where all the buildings had some type of dome shape for a roof. And under roof markets.

Why don't you post this on the WIP project section under Town and City mapping. I have to admit the AMOUNT I learned from having people feedback my maps on there is astounding. And so many good suggestions pop up there until you arrive at a point where you feel your map is nice and finished. Give it a go. Mapmaking Discussion & Philosophy (WIP/Critique)

Things I would try on this map is:

Using the magic wand in GIMP to select the grass and put it on its own layer and then add a texture to it. It does wonders. So give it a go if you like Then with the sea, the selection grow technique is fine, but try having them fade into each layer. It's just a suggestion, though it does look nice.

The layer layout at the start can be this,

- Buildings Main -TOP
-Shadows and shading
-Colors and land textures Main
-LAND Main
-Sea Main -BOTTOM


The buildings, I like the idea. There are, however, parts where it looks strange. Like the bigger section JUST south of the white building. Maybe add a courtyard. When you think of buildings in real life, then people like having easy access to the place where they live. They don't walk through other peoples' houses to get to theirs. It is something to think about.

Hehe, but keep going. With enough suggestions and tips, map making opens up into something grand. It's having the patience to chip away at something until a sculpture pops out, that makes it so awesome.

[QED42]

Thank you for taking the time to comment and give feedback!

This isn't a true first effort, just the first effort I'm willing to share publicly. I'll certainly be looking to add some of your suggestions if I make another map. One thing I want for sure is a bit more variety in the types of buildings so I think I will probably won't just fill in as many areas with small housing as I did this time. It also means I won't end up with big clumps like the one you have pointed out hopefully.

[XCali]

Thank you for taking the time to comment and give feedback!

This isn't a true first effort, just the first effort I'm willing to share publicly. I'll certainly be looking to add some of your suggestions if I make another map. One thing I want for sure is a bit more variety in the types of buildings so I think I will probably won't just fill in as many areas with small housing as I did this time. It also means I won't end up with big clumps like the one you have pointed out hopefully.

Pleasure!

Well, I have learned that you can use basic things to make a map that much better. It adds up, the small things.

Oh, and try one without beveling the buildings. You'd be surprised how good basic line-art for buildings works. (Again, just a suggestion. This site is a lot about brainstorming together.)(And finding your own unique style that comes naturally for you. ) Good luck and have fun.

Have a lovely day.

[Kellerica]

A very nice introduction, welcome to the Guild! I'm sure you'll like it here

I'll second XCali on the buildings, they certainly have a unique look to them and I think they look great. In fact, I'd be interested to know how you got them to look like that.

However, the map as a whole does look a tad unfinished to me, if I'm honest. The coastlines, the land and the ocean could still use a lot polishing (maybe some texture, a hill here and there, fields, forest, maybe a river, that kind of thing). All that empty space on the top-left quarter could very much use a legend box, hm?

In any case, you are certainly on the right path, keep it up!

[QED42]

A very nice introduction, welcome to the Guild! I'm sure you'll like it here

I'll second XCali on the buildings, they certainly have a unique look to them and I think they look great. In fact, I'd be interested to know how you got them to look like that.

Thanks for the comments!

For the buildings I used Torstan's tutorial from this forum. The steps I followed were basically as in the tutorial (make a colour layer using some difference clouds and the browns gradient then the mosaic filter on top of that), then using the layer effects script to give them a black outline, bevel them and finally a drop shadow. I quite like how they look too and it's a fairly easy way to fill out big portions of the map quickly, the downside being how uniform it a makes the map look. In the future I think I'd use this method more in moderation on a city map.

A legend box would be a really good addition, labelling and things like that are the next thing I need to work out how to add to maps. If you have any good tutorials that I'd love to be pointed in the right direction! I have no idea what's in the city as it was more making for the sake of making then just giving it a name to post it.

I think part of the problem with the map is that it got caught between two styles, a cleaner "flat" style the landscape tends to have and a more textured style the buildings have. Maybe next time I'll have a clear plan from the start rather than just throwing whatever takes my fancy at the page!