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Thread: The White Isles

  1. #1
    Administrator Facebook Connected Diamond's Avatar
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    Wip The White Isles

    Trying something a bit different (for me, anyway) here. I've got the land 'climate bands' colors and look the way I want them, but I'm not altogether happy with the look of the oceans. Any suggestions or good ocean patterns people want to offer me are more than welcome.

    Also, what's a good method for making mountains in PS that would look good on a map like this? I don't want to use icons, and frankly, I don't know where to start looking through the tutorials here to find what I need. Help!
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  2. #2
    Community Leader Gandwarf's Avatar
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    You could try Pasis his mountain style:
    http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=4405
    Check out my City Designer 3 tutorials. See my fantasy (city) maps in this thread.

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    Community Leader Facebook Connected Steel General's Avatar
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    Pasis' tutorial is a good choice, a bunch of folks have had incredible results with it.
    I also have a short tutorial in there some where that uses stacked, pattern-filled layers.

    As far as your water goes, I don't think it's so much the pattern as maybe the colors. It looks more like clouds and sky than water. You might try some darker blues.
    My Finished Maps | My Challenge Maps | Still poking around occasionally...

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    Community Leader Facebook Connected Ascension's Avatar
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    What I see is that the lighter water doesn't follow the landmasses...it's arbitrary. I would suggest using a low opacity airbrush to lighten the water around the coasts and darkening the water that is nowhere near the coasts before using the filter.
    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

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    Guild Apprentice sarandosil's Avatar
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    Pasis's technique is good, but it requires a little more skill than others I think. It can be rather frustrating trying to get the layers to blend nicely if you're not used to doing much hand-painting.

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    Administrator Facebook Connected Diamond's Avatar
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    Thanks for the tips, guys. I think I'm going to try out Pasis's tut and see what I can do... If the results look halfway decent I'll post 'em here.

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    Administrator Facebook Connected Diamond's Avatar
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    Well, that tutorial, while AWESOME! was not exactly what I was looking for. It did give me some ideas though, and I eventually opted for something a bit simpler. I also changed up the patterning on the land and sea to something a bit more uniform; just a hint of wasteland in the north.

    Next up is rivers. Think I'll hand draw those with my shiny new tablet.
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    Community Leader Gandwarf's Avatar
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    These mountains will certainly do as well.
    Check out my City Designer 3 tutorials. See my fantasy (city) maps in this thread.

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    Administrator Facebook Connected Diamond's Avatar
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    What do you think about the new sea texture? Better? Worse? Meh?

  10. #10
    Guild Artisan töff's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Diamond View Post
    What do you think about the new sea texture? Better? Worse? Meh?
    I like the previous one better because it has more contrast and therefore more character. But they both need to be way darker, I think. They look like cloudy blue skies with that powder blue dominating. In a satellite-photo style, I think you want satellite-photo seas. Pale blue seas is for National Geo maps and old globes.

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