Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 14

Thread: The Greater Therbani River Valley

  1. #1
    Guild Novice
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    14

    Map The Greater Therbani River Valley

    Hi all!

    Long-time lurker and tutorial peruser . . . This is my first map!

    This map was first drawn up by hand and then brought the rest of the way in GiMP. I was hoping to convey the sense that it was hand-drawn on parchment by some person living in the area.

    The mountains are mostly hand-drawn in. I added a bump-map and gradient overlay, intended to make the map look weathered, and constantly folded and re-folded. Originally the water was the same color as the land, but I added in a fill with an additional bump map - it's supposed to look like the drawer inked it in with long straight horizontal strokes.

    Seeking constructive criticism or tips for future mapping.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version. 

Name:	GTRV.jpg 
Views:	308 
Size:	358.4 KB 
ID:	15013  
    Last edited by hnc3313; 07-22-2009 at 10:20 AM. Reason: Edited in an attempt to conform to the "READ ME FIRST" sticky

  2. #2

    Default

    Nice map I like the contrast of the water & continent. What's the name of the font you have used in the ocean area for example? If you want some criticism, then I'd say that your mountain areas are almost the same wideness on every spot.. might want to look in to that on your next map.

  3. #3
    Guild Artisan Facebook Connected
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Atlanta, Georgia, United States
    Posts
    928

    Post

    I think you succeeded, predominantly, on the water effect. It looks like what happens when you draw in a block of black color using a sharpie.

    Constructive crit: the edges of the map are a little... not quite what I think you're going for. Not being an expert on producing this style, however, I'm not sure how to fix it.
    I think, therefore I am a nerd.
    Cogito, ergo sum nerdem.

    Check out my blog: "The Undiscovered Author"
    It's the story of a writer... follow me in my simple quest to get published, and share your own writing stories, adventures and writerly tips.

    Pimping my worldmap here. Still WIP... long way to go, but I'm pretty proud of what I've done so far...

  4. #4
    Guild Novice
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    14

    Post Thanks!

    Thanks so much for the feedback!

    Jykke: The font I used for the large labels was Scriptina -- I got it from 1001fonts.com, I think. I'm really glad you pointed out the mountain issue --- I had actually never thought about that before! I'll have to work on that for my next map.

    Karro: It's true, I'm not completely satisfied with the edges. I once made a map on real paper and burnt/extinguished the edges. I was hoping for the same look here, but it didn't completely work out. I tried lay a darker color around the edges to give that impression, but any pointers on shape/coloration for this kind of effect would be much appreciated.

    Retrospectively, I wish I had done this in a WIP thread, but unfortunately, I can't mess with this one anymore, since the campaign starts tomorrow and my players already have the map!!

    I'll be sure to do a WIP on my next one!

    Thanks again!

  5. #5
    Community Leader Gandwarf's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Netherlands
    Posts
    3,012

    Default

    Have some rep for posting your first map. It's looking pretty good also and all the rivers are in order.

    Some criticism/suggestions:

    - The large, handwritten font is beautiful, but it doesn't mix with the other fonts too well I think. You might want to experiment with some other fonts.
    - The mountain range is really thin all over the place, you might want to broaden it at some places to give it a more natural feel.
    - More a question: I am confused about some of the red lines, why do they run into the ocean?
    Check out my City Designer 3 tutorials. See my fantasy (city) maps in this thread.

    Gandwarf has fallen into shadow...

  6. #6
    Guild Artisan Facebook Connected
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Atlanta, Georgia, United States
    Posts
    928

    Post

    Quote Originally Posted by Gandwarf View Post
    More a question: I am confused about some of the red lines, why do they run into the ocean?
    Obviously I'm not the mapmaker, but my interpretation is that they mark borders, and where they overlap the ocean they represent territorial waters.
    I think, therefore I am a nerd.
    Cogito, ergo sum nerdem.

    Check out my blog: "The Undiscovered Author"
    It's the story of a writer... follow me in my simple quest to get published, and share your own writing stories, adventures and writerly tips.

    Pimping my worldmap here. Still WIP... long way to go, but I'm pretty proud of what I've done so far...

  7. #7
    Guild Novice
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    14

    Post

    Quote Originally Posted by Karro View Post
    . . . they mark borders, and where they overlap the ocean they represent territorial waters.
    Indeed they do! I wonder if/how that could be made clearer on a future map. . .

    Gandwarf, thanks for the suggestions! I need work on my mountains, but I just found a tutorial on the site here that seems perfect and really helpful! This place is great! I'm practicing my mountains for my next map this morning. Your suggestion about the font is well noted! I should use a more consistent look to my fonts next time.

    Thanks for all the help everybody!

    Edit by Gandwarf: sorry, I was trying to quote this post and I wrecked it. Seems like I do have powers
    Edit by Arcana: fixed it for ya
    Last edited by Robbie; 07-23-2009 at 03:09 PM. Reason: Fixing newbie CL's mistakes...bwahaha

  8. #8
    Community Leader Gandwarf's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Netherlands
    Posts
    3,012

    Default

    Yeah, I was guessing they were borders. Still, I haven't seen many (fantasy) maps where the borders extend into the sea.
    Check out my City Designer 3 tutorials. See my fantasy (city) maps in this thread.

    Gandwarf has fallen into shadow...

  9. #9
    Community Leader Immolate's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Central Florida
    Posts
    986
    Blog Entries
    6

    Default

    I like a lot about your map. You have skill and I think you'll be quite competent if you continue your studies here. I'm not a fan of that mountain style, but I'm not a fan of any mountain style I've come up with either, so don't feel bad. Mountains are my bete noir. My advise, for what it's worth, is keep working at it, and avoid sticking to a single style.

  10. #10
    Professional Artist Facebook Connected Coyotemax's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    Canada
    Posts
    1,945

    Post

    Quote Originally Posted by hnc3313 View Post
    Karro: It's true, I'm not completely satisfied with the edges. I once made a map on real paper and burnt/extinguished the edges. I was hoping for the same look here, but it didn't completely work out. I tried lay a darker color around the edges to give that impression, but any pointers on shape/coloration for this kind of effect would be much appreciated.
    Here's what I used on my Dannasis map for the burnt edges:

    Layer Effects: Inner Shadow

    Blend mode = Color Burn
    Color = 150E01 (dark brown, almost black)
    Distance = 0
    Choke = 34%
    Size = 54px
    Contour = Custom, sloping up to the right. Specific settings in the thumbnail.

    (Assuming you use photoshop, if you use something else perhaps someone could help translate this across if needed)

    (ack, i just noticed you listed Gimp as your editor.. ermm..)

    Of course, you would likely want to tweak these settings around for your own map since your parchment is a different hue, but it should give a decent starting point. It's about as close as I could get to the pieces I burned for examples to test

    And i like the penciled in lines under the rivers - it does add to the effect of someone local having drawn it up
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version. 

Name:	charrededeffect.jpg 
Views:	59 
Size:	20.4 KB 
ID:	15079  
    Last edited by Coyotemax; 07-24-2009 at 02:09 AM.

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •