[WIP] Arál Draván - using the "Pasis" method

[cereth]

Ok, river labels have all been added in this version. I also made the city/river labels a little easier to read by adding a subtle outline around them in addition to the glow. The swamp/heath textures have also been added. I ended up using the forest texture actually for the swamp...just made it transparent and layered it on. I think it looks good and isn't even recognizable. I just "browned up" the regions south of the mountains that are supposed to be heath.

Just got another to-do list from Gary this morning, so the next update should have quite a few more additions.

[cereth]

Boundaries for the individual Prefectures of Arál Draván have been added and the capitals of these have been capitalized. This seemed like the best solution as to how to represent these capitals as opposed to messing with the symbols. Also, used smaller dots for the prefecture boundaries to differentiate them from the international borders.

Also made a number of smaller modifications too numerous to name.

[Ascension]

I like it all very much except for the forests...they seem too dark against the land. The lil tree shapes are cool and everything else is cool just the dark color of them.

[cereth]

I knocked the opacity of the forest layer down to 80%...does this help or just wash out the texture? Thanks for the comment, as always.

[Ascension]

Looks much better but maybe try a little more (my opinion). Is the green a color overlay or is it in the pattern itself? If it's just a color overlay I'd try a color halfway between the land and the trees and leave the original settings. If it's in the pattern itself then add a color overlay but set the blend of the color overlay to "color" and then turn down the opacity of the color overlay if it's too weird-looking. But, like I said, looks much better.

[rdanhenry]

I think both versions look good, but give a different feel to the map. The dark forests look dangerous and mysterious. The lighter forests are more appropriate if the lands are sufficiently settled and tamed that the forests are simply a resource, rather than a wilderness.

[Midgardsormr]

That is gorgeous! I think the lighter trees are better, since it deemphasizes the individual trees, which are completely out of scale for the rest of the map. The way they are now, I can't see anything I could pick out as being a single tree.

You might try adding just the tiniest bit of blur to the mountain bump. The spots with high contrast look a little bit low-res, and I think it's due to the sharp transition from dark to light. The snow-caps are particularly troubling to me, since they're the brightest part of the image, and therefore the place where the eye goes first.

Also, on your title, tone down the stroke on the smaller text. It's overwhelming the letterforms. If you stroke your text, you should make it proportional to the size of the font. In fact, I'd even go so far as to say that the stroke on the large text is too strong.

[Steel General]

This has turned out quite nicely.

About the only thing I can suggest (that hasn't already been covered), would be to reduce the opacity of the rhumb lines a bit. They seem a bit 'stark' (at least to me).

[cereth]

Hopefully this will be the final version, pending Gary's approval.

You might try adding just the tiniest bit of blur to the mountain bump. The spots with high contrast look a little bit low-res, and I think it's due to the sharp transition from dark to light. The snow-caps are particularly troubling to me, since they're the brightest part of the image, and therefore the place where the eye goes first.

I softened all of the mountain bump layers by 1 pixel. Thanks for the tip...I hadn't even noticed that.

Also, on your title, tone down the stroke on the smaller text. It's overwhelming the letterforms. If you stroke your text, you should make it proportional to the size of the font. In fact, I'd even go so far as to say that the stroke on the large text is too strong.

Reduced the stroke and added a subtle glow.

If it's in the pattern itself then add a color overlay but set the blend of the color overlay to "color" and then turn down the opacity of the color overlay if it's too weird-looking.

I tried the color overlay and played around with it for awhile, but to be honest I didn't like the results. I felt it emphasized the individual trees even more than before...like what Midgardsormr pointed out. In the end I decided to leave it be.

About the only thing I can suggest (that hasn't already been covered), would be to reduce the opacity of the rhumb lines a bit. They seem a bit 'stark' (at least to me).

Reduced the opacity of the rhumb lines by 10%. They are on the same layer as the compass, so I didn't want to lighten them any more than that because I want the compass and the lines to match.

Thanks very much for all the tips!

[landorl]

This has come together perfectly! I like everything about it, and was pleased to watch the progression. Looking forward to more work from you!