I really like this map, very clean look, and easy to understand.
I really like this map, very clean look, and easy to understand.
That's a great map. Very clean and clear, and wonderfully executed. Congratulations. I'm not totally sold on the border, but that's a minor thing. I love the subtle colouring of the sea and the way that works with the underlying paper texture. Great stuff.
My sites: http://www.facebook.com --- http://www.stormring.com --- http://www.fantasymaps.net --- http://www.megatongames.com --- http://www.darktowershop.com
My finished maps: here
My issues with the border are that it's a ver different style to the map itself. The saturation is substantially higher in the gold strip. Also, the texture is quite heavy, especially compared to the compass rose that looks like it should be in a similar style (both have a stone texture). The darks are darker than any shadows elsewhere in the map - by a lot. All of these together - but particularly the sharp darks and heavy texture - make it stand out from the map as a very different beast. That has the effect of drawing the eye to the edge of the map, whereas I'd rather a border dat quietly on the edge of the image and didn't distract the eye away from the focus - the map itself.
I guess the point is that the eye tends to be drawn to the area with the largest difference between the highlights and shadows - in everyday life that's the foreground. Things desturate and tend to occupy a thinner value range the further away they are. If the border is the region with the largest value range and most texture and detail then the eye will be drawn to the edge.
Those are my thoughts off the top of my head as to why it niggled. Hope they're useful?
My sites: http://www.facebook.com --- http://www.stormring.com --- http://www.fantasymaps.net --- http://www.megatongames.com --- http://www.darktowershop.com
My finished maps: here