Plagued by the notion that the shadows on my frame were detracting from an otherwise attractive feature, I decided today to deal with it. Now the frame itself got merged at some point in the past with some lighting effects blended in, and that was the crux of the problem. I could not remove what was no longer a property of the layer but rather a part of it--or rather I could but not without more pain than it would take to recreate it, and then some.
So I decided to scrap it. My redesign did several things: first, it kept the same basic premise - dark frame with fancy patterns. Second, it used a different pattern that was more easily extensible so that I wouldn't be faced with the prospect of trying to stretch or contract a complex graphic as I did on the last one. Third, I loved the idea of runes around the frame from MSA's entry so much, I decided to have a go at an interpretation myself.
The runic border was created using a font called Ancient Geek which I got from dafont.com. The words are sayings. For example, "Perfer et obdura; dolor hic tibi proderit olim" means: "Be patient and tough; some day this pain will be useful to you."
All of the words are ideas that express a philosophy, presumably of the individual to whom the cartographer is giving the map. This reinforced the notion that the creator is presenting his work to someone of royal or noble blood. It also re-emphasizes the martial nature of the land of Faldanore.
I have learned some things about creating a world without a particular purpose as I have this one. I do not intend to use it beyond the contest, yet I've invested many hours into it. In that time, it has grown with each decision that I had to make, one by one, until it has taken on a life of its own. It has been a pleasure seeing this thing happen independent of my will, and at the same time strange.
My work has benefited greatly from commentary from a number of you, and I appreciate that help. I welcome additional criticism as we go down the home stretch.
Looks pretty good man. The only thing I really see that needs tweaking is the apple green/rust nameplate...I did a tut on making a brass nameplate just because of this. I'd hate to think that there is any one part that I could have helped someone on but didn't so that's why I did the tut. Don't take offense I'm trying to be "teacher-guy"Otherwise this rocks man.
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
As I seem to have chosen you as my mentor, it would seem ungrateful for me to take offense. In any case, I'd found your new tutorial and had already gone through it once before I saw your reply. I loved the level of detail that you put into it (so much more than the video I'd watched) and enjoyed the process almost as much as the product.
However, the result was too bright and did not look good when compared to the original. Still, I knew that your methods were the better approach, so I proceeded to try a variety of things, finally settling on this:
I adjusted the courseness of the random gradient down significantly, as I wanted the wavy reflection on the plaque rather than the splintery one. It gives it a warmer look. I also changed the gloss pattern to the U-shaped one because it significantly darkened the effect. I clicked on that and both my wife and I said "ohhhh".
Of course I also took liberties with shapes and bevels. The text still isn't as dark as I'd like it, but here's the results at this point.
Oh and Ascension, thank you so much for all of the help you've given me over the last couple of weeks beginning with my first day when i stumbled on your continent tutorial. I've learned a lot from a lot of people, but none more than you.
This is a beautiful map, Imm. It definitely has my vote coming up. I like the new version of the frame, although for the record I liked the old one a lot too. In some ways more, and in some ways less, and I think you could use it again on another map and it would be beautiful.
I definitely agree that the world pictured becomes more vivid as you dedicate attention to the map.
Coming from you, the praise means a lot to me msa. I'm glad you didn't poke me for stealing your idea.
Well, to be fair it was hardly original when I did it either!Originally Posted by Immolate
The more I look at my rose, the more it bugs me. Perhaps it grates on the cartouche or maybe I've been looking at my map too long and have started to see things that aren't really there. What do ya'll think? Is the compass a keeper or should I come up with something more stylistically attuned to the cartouche?
I think something more gray/green like the cartouche would be more fitting color wise...as it is currently it ties in more with the frame. Stylistically, I think something more illustrative, like the cartouche, would fit better as well. Or maybe you could just put something in place instead of the stars on the cartouche itself.
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 can honestly say that this map gets my vote. Just gorgeous, even though the style is based on familiar ones we've seen before. The border is just amazing. Well done.
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