Results 1 to 10 of 10

Thread: Ogre Cave

  1. #1

    Map Ogre Cave

    I made this for someone's game. They'd been asking me to make this for a while and I finally got around to doing it tonight. I tried out a couple of new techniques, tried a few more hand-drawn bits. I think it worked out well.

    It's a cave buried into a hill. Was totally at a loss how to do the actual hill though, so it looks a bit suck on that front. Any advice is welcome.

  2. #2

    Post

    Thanks for the map.

    Since the wall of the cave is at some height (chest height or whatever) you might also continue the line out to the front of the cave along the hill on either side.

    Was the cave dug into the hill? That would explain its shape. Seems sort of like a garage or storage space.


    .


    Dollhouse Syndrome = The temptation to turn a map into a picture, obscuring the goal of the image with the appeal of cute, or simply available, parts. Maps have clarity through simplification.

    --- Sigurd

  3. #3

    Post

    Nice map,

    The cave looks a bit blocky for my taste. I would be interested in the backstory to see how it came about. I think the rocks and the straw look really nice, they add alot to look.

  4. #4
    Community Leader Gandwarf's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Netherlands
    Posts
    3,012

    Default

    Nice little map indeed. Perfect for an encounter! I like the rocks as well.
    Check out my City Designer 3 tutorials. See my fantasy (city) maps in this thread.

    Gandwarf has fallen into shadow...

  5. #5
    Professional Artist Facebook Connected Coyotemax's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    Canada
    Posts
    1,945

    Default

    It took me a minite to figure out the urn, I was sitting here wondering if it was some kind of landsquid at first.. then i zommed in for a close look lol

    I think it's pretty evocative of a cave. I understood that it was supposed to be in a hill, even at first glance of the thumbnail before I read the post.

    If you wanted to make it more obvious.. I don't know really. maybe place a grid over the hill that shows the squares distorted to follow the slope? that might be too busy though, I really do think it's great the way it is.

    My finished maps
    "...sometimes the most efficient way to make something look drawn by hand is to simply draw it by hand..."

  6. #6
    Community Leader Facebook Connected Ascension's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    St. Charles, Missouri, United States
    Posts
    8,392

    Post

    Land squid...awesome. Always nice to start the day laughing.
    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

  7. #7

    Post

    I didn't really have much time to make many changes to it. The person who needed it sorta wanted to use it right away. I've attached the final version though.

    The backstory and the reason for its shape I have no clue about. I have a friend who runs a 4e campaign using maptool and he occasionally asks for maps. Me often being bored and liking any practice I can get, I just ask for the details of what he wants and then try to make it.
    He asked for a 8x12 cave inhabitated by an ogre, with a firepit, straw bed and box. And a jar of red spice. The cave was in the side of a hill. I tried to make the straight edges look a little more random, and I did the rocky edges of the cave just to try it out.

    The straw was just done on a seperate layer. Well two. I just used yellow lines drawn randomly, and they were stroked with brown using a style layer. I did two layers of it to make it look piled.
    The rocks were just grey lumps with a stroke style layer and an outer glow (well, more like an outer shadow). Then I just used a low opacity brush to draw in the highlights and shadows.

    Basically, I'm trying to introduce more hand drawn elements into these kinda maps.

    Quote Originally Posted by Coyotemax View Post
    If you wanted to make it more obvious.. I don't know really. maybe place a grid over the hill that shows the squares distorted to follow the slope? that might be too busy though, I really do think it's great the way it is.
    That is a really good idea, I think I'll try playing with that for next time.

  8. #8
    Professional Artist Facebook Connected Coyotemax's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    Canada
    Posts
    1,945

    Default

    Well, the hand drawn effects were very well done. I love the rocks, and the straw was perfect.

    The inner cave walls really did benefit from the additional treatment, good decision there.

    and re the land squid.. I'm glad it gave someone a chuckle

    My finished maps
    "...sometimes the most efficient way to make something look drawn by hand is to simply draw it by hand..."

  9. #9

    Post

    Quote Originally Posted by Larb View Post
    I didn't really have much time to make many changes to it. The person who needed it sorta wanted to use it right away. I've attached the final version though.

    The backstory and the reason for its shape I have no clue about. I have a friend who runs a 4e campaign using maptool and he occasionally asks for maps. Me often being bored and liking any practice I can get, I just ask for the details of what he wants and then try to make it.
    He asked for a 8x12 cave inhabitated by an ogre, with a firepit, straw bed and box. And a jar of red spice. The cave was in the side of a hill. I tried to make the straight edges look a little more random, and I did the rocky edges of the cave just to try it out.

    The straw was just done on a seperate layer. Well two. I just used yellow lines drawn randomly, and they were stroked with brown using a style layer. I did two layers of it to make it look piled.
    The rocks were just grey lumps with a stroke style layer and an outer glow (well, more like an outer shadow). Then I just used a low opacity brush to draw in the highlights and shadows.

    Basically, I'm trying to introduce more hand drawn elements into these kinda maps.



    That is a really good idea, I think I'll try playing with that for next time.
    How did you layout the stone work along the edge of the cave wall... also, how did you create the stone work... and one more question, how did you create the grid? I guess this was photoshop?

  10. #10

    Post

    Yeah, this is all done in photoshop.

    I did the basic shape for the cave wall (the brown bit) on its own layer. Added a slight texture, then stroked it. Added some drop shadow and an outer glow. Then on a layer above with, only the stuff on that layer selected, just drew in the outlines of rocks by hand with my tablet. Then I coloured them in on a layer underneath, and added a bit of shading.

    The grid I make by just creating a new image (with transparent background), stroking the image with black and defining it as a pattern. So if I want a 50x50px square grid, I just make a 50x50px image and stroke it.

    Then I create a pattern layer on my main map using the newly defined pattern and adjust the opacity to suit.

Posting Permissions

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