I think you should probably reduce the compass rose some. I opened and closed the map several times over 15 or so minutes then had my wife look at it. We came to the same opinion, the compass rose draws the eye to much away from the rest of the map.
It is a nice compass rose though
My Finished Maps | My Challenge Maps | Still poking around occasionally...
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Steel, thanks for all your feedback on my map!
Here is the newest revision of my map. Again, a few touch-ups, and another iteration of completion. This now has (I think) all of the details I want, with names for all the major geography and a fully detailed compass and scale. The only major change I might make is to add a frame to the map, but if I don't get time to do it I consider this one acceptably complete.
This is my first pass at the frame. I don't think it has all the detail I want and I am not sure I am going to settle for it. I made an unfortunate mistake when I resized the image--apparently GIMP will change the resolution if you update the canvas size incorrectly. So... I lost a little resolution and added some very minor scaling artifacts, and I can't recover it in my gimp file. Live and learn.
In any case, all feedback on the frame is welcome!
I must have missed this thread somehow...
I like the map, especially the forests. The Blasted Sands also look very cool.
The frame is fitting (the gold and the moons) but does seem to be a bit on the large side. It attracts too much attention I think. Another thing I noticed: the compass, moons and labelling seem to lack proper antialiasing. They are suffering of jaggies.
Check out my City Designer 3 tutorials. See my fantasy (city) maps in this thread.
Gandwarf has fallen into shadow...
I also like the frame, but agree with Gandwarf that you might consider shrinking it down some.
My Finished Maps | My Challenge Maps | Still poking around occasionally...
Unless otherwise stated by me in the post, all work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.
Thanks again for the feedback!
I was going to make the frame smaller, but I went with bigger so I could fit more detail into it. Now that I have a mock-up in place, I think I agree with the consensus--its too big. I don't know what I would fill it in with, and I think its just too much. I think I will drop it down to half its width, and add a few more elements that overlap the map (like the moons in the current version. We'll see how that works out.
Re: antialiasing
I knowUnfortunately, I did a lot of coloring and re-coloring using the bucket and cut tools, which pretty much immediately got rid of the anti-aliasing on all those items. Now that I know how to save selections to a channel and how to color using the hue adjustment filters, I will do it differently. But to fix it on this map I have to redo everything, which I am not willing to do. Live and learn, I'm afraid!
Exactly!Originally Posted by msa
On the frame, if you have the time think about distressing it. You could add a lot of character to it by drawing in chips and scratches, a tip broken off one of the moons etc.
Also if its possible I would see how the "Golden Sands" title looked with the blue in the recessed parts. In an actual engraving the enamel is recessed to protect it from wear.
Anyhow, I think you have a wonderful map. For whatever reason Gimp frustrates me to no end when I try and use it. Whenever anyone uses Gimp to produce something like this I'm impressed.
What if you changed the color from that yellowy green to something brown and then used gold for thin lines/moons/text like it was gold-leafed? The main problem that I see is that the color scheme of the frame is the same as the map...the frame should frame the map and not look like part of the map. I'm fine with a fat frame because then you can put in some runes or Arabic script in the recessed areas to give it a bit of mysticism or use an old egg and dart type carved look.
Last edited by Ascension; 05-31-2009 at 10:02 PM.
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
Well, I just get so excited when I get feedback with new ideas it gets me in an update spam mood. Thanks all!
Here is my completed version of my original vision for the wide frame. Asc's idea helped me a lot--I was grappling with the fact that the frame blended too much with the map. I did the following things to fix it:
- Replaced the depressed sections of the frame with a wood grain to help differentiate the color
- Created a more dramatic bevel between the frame and the map
- Added a shadow to the map underneath the frame, to help prevent the lighter map colors from blending with the gold
I also added decorations to the copious empty space in the frame. It may well be too busy now, but its certainly dramatic. I love it, even if I decide to go with a more minimal look for my final submission. Only time and experimentation will tell.
PS. Hieroglyph fonts courtesy of the AutoRealms installer!
Edit:
I started using the gimper maybe a decade ago... I've been a linux geek and a student for a long time, so it was my best option. No matter how bad it is now, it was far, far, FAR worse then. This is probably why I am so patient with it. It may still be a turd, but its a turd with a sweet sound system, dope rims, and leather interior in comparison.Anyhow, I think you have a wonderful map. For whatever reason Gimp frustrates me to no end when I try and use it. Whenever anyone uses Gimp to produce something like this I'm impressed.
Last edited by msa; 06-01-2009 at 11:32 AM.
The Hieroglyphics is a nice touch I think...do they actually say anything or is it just random characters?
My Finished Maps | My Challenge Maps | Still poking around occasionally...
Unless otherwise stated by me in the post, all work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.
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