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Thread: The Planar Gates Region

  1. #1

    Map The Planar Gates Region

    I'm making a map for a D&D game I'm running. I more or less followed RobA's excellent tutorial and am just about done (except for some labeling), but I want to see if anyone has any comments or critiques.

    I'm eager to hear any suggestions for improvement you may have, but in particular, I'm wondering if it's clear that the swamp/marsh in the northwest corner is a swamp/marsh and if there's any way to make the labels more legible.
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  2. #2
    Community Leader NeonKnight's Avatar
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    Can't think of anything negative to say, or critique wise. Looks really cool!
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    Professional Artist Facebook Connected Coyotemax's Avatar
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    I think the labels are just fine.

    To be honest I think deciduous forest when I see that shade of green, maybe give it a bit of a bluish/brownish tinge?

    (edit - omg, i see the swamp in the middle of the forest now, you may beat me with a stick of you like, heh)
    Last edited by Coyotemax; 07-29-2009 at 04:04 AM.

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    Community Leader Facebook Connected Steel General's Avatar
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    Have to say that this is one of the best interpretations of RobA's tutorial that I've seen.

    Now that being said I have to agree with Coyotemax, that color green makes me think more of trees than swamp, though it works for the jungle in the southeast.

    Personally I would go with a more grayish-green to identify the swamps, but that's just my personal preference.

    Keep up the nice work!
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    I'm not sure the gray works, in this case, particularly well for the swamp. The transition between the bright green forest and the dull gray swamp is just really harsh.

    Only other crit: I'm not sure the coastal brown dirt layer works well when interacting with the desert sands color (great color choice for desert sands, by the way). I might try to find a way of masking those out a little, or decreasing their opacity.

    Otherwise, very nice map overall.
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  6. #6

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    Thanks for the feedback everyone. I'm very glad that everyone seems to like it overall.

    Karro, good suggestion on reducing the opacity of the dirt. I made multiple passes over the edges of the dirt mask with a 20% opacity brush, and I'm quite happy with how it blends with the sand.

    I'm still not entirely certain what to do about the swamp. It does seem to have a problem with being unnoticeable against the neighboring jungle, but I don't want to up the brightness or saturation unless I have to -- I think dark and gray is a big part of the feel of being a swamp. I did try slightly yellowing and desaturating the neighboring jungle to reduce the contrast, and I do think the jungle itself looks a bit better that way. I'm not sure if it helped much with the swamp though, so any comments in that area would be especially appreciated.

    (Oh, and please excuse the uncolored labels, those are in progress.)
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  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by LamilLerran View Post
    Thanks for the feedback everyone. I'm very glad that everyone seems to like it overall.

    Karro, good suggestion on reducing the opacity of the dirt. I made multiple passes over the edges of the dirt mask with a 20% opacity brush, and I'm quite happy with how it blends with the sand.

    I'm still not entirely certain what to do about the swamp. It does seem to have a problem with being unnoticeable against the neighboring jungle, but I don't want to up the brightness or saturation unless I have to -- I think dark and gray is a big part of the feel of being a swamp. I did try slightly yellowing and desaturating the neighboring jungle to reduce the contrast, and I do think the jungle itself looks a bit better that way. I'm not sure if it helped much with the swamp though, so any comments in that area would be especially appreciated.

    (Oh, and please excuse the uncolored labels, those are in progress.)
    Dirt & Sand looks much better, now. So does the Jungle/Swamp. One other thought: have a slight blend of colors along the border region between jungle and swamp. Good job.
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  8. #8
    Professional Artist Facebook Connected Coyotemax's Avatar
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    Yes, the swamp definitely pops out a bit more now. /agree with the transition comment though

    I finally figured out what it is i like about this map (and others in a similar style) - the fonts. I'm so used to seeing fantasy looking fonts, it's a nice change to see something a bit more plain!

  9. #9
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    Nice map. Is that a lava flow to the southeast?
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  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by Karro View Post
    One other thought: have a slight blend of colors along the border region between jungle and swamp.
    Ooo, intriguing idea. I'll definitely give that a try.

    Quote Originally Posted by Gandwarf View Post
    Nice map. Is that a lava flow to the southeast?
    That is lava flow. One of the mysteries of this part of the world is how such a large and permanent lava flow could exist. Kol'Korat is known as being isolated, magical, and evil, so there are some pretty obvious hypotheses, but no one in the outside world knows what specifically is happening there.

    Actually, that reminds me, one of my earlier ideas that I'd put aside was to add a steam cloud where the lava enters the ocean. I should try that.

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