New map - Kingdom of Grierland

[landorl]

This is one of the latest maps that I am working on. I haven't got a scale on it, but just for reference, the distance from Alor(capitol), and Dun Lennoth is about 15 miles.

The kingdom itself is almost a high plateau situated between two mountain ranges. Deep river valleys cut through the higher plains, and these valleys are where most of the civilization is centered. Outside of the valleys in the higher plains, there are scattered minor settlements, but the high plains are harsh in the winter, because in the winter, this land sees bitterly cold weather, and an almost constantly blowing wind from the east. In the valleys the wind is somewhat less severe.

The map is almost complete. I still have to name some areas, and I want to include a scale bar, but the general appearance is pretty much complete.

[ravells]

That's a very nice map - I like the mountain style you've used and the hills....could you tell us what software you used to make it with and the process you used?

[RPMiller]

That looks like Terraficta to me.

[landorl]

Yes it was Terraficta for Photoshop. I did a little of my own things in there such as some of the background shading and the way I marked cities and towns, but most of the paint tools are directly from the tool.

Also, just to give you a feeling for where my maps are located, I am placing a WIP of the regional map that I am working on. This is a very early work from CC3 and has a long ways to go still. The brown shaded areas are to be mountains/highlands. Grierland is in the middle of the map. One of the earlier maps that I had posted is Calahorn which is on the western central part of the map.

[NeonKnight]

Ahhh, the Sarah Wroot style, my personal favorite for CC3.

The big white LINE in the lower portion of the map is caused by having an incomplete polygon for your landmass. Perhaps isolate the layer for your coast (hide everything else), and maybe explode it and search the coastline at a closer magnification near the Mountain Range you have already finished. I would not be surprised if there was either a gap or a pair of crossing lines that form the coast.

[pyrandon]

Nice area map of Grierland, landorl! Unlike the others, I must admit I do not like the moutnain styles--unless they are meant to be giant hills vs. mountains, they are not jagged enough to depict the collision of tectonic plates, etc., for my tastes. Otherwise, I like the style and color of the map--and your addition of the city details to the Terraficta style are nice!

Can I ask if there's a reason why every major settlement is on a river? It is true that medieval cities often formed on waterways, but not without numerous exceptions. Just wondering.

Nice work!!

[landorl]

As you start to get away from the rivers the ground is more broken and less fertile. There are smaller settlements(villages) there, but they are not mapped because I only want to show the slightly larger towns on the maps.

[landorl]

Here is an updated map of The Kingdoms. It is much further along now. The mountains have all been placed, and the outlines for some of the forests are in. I am not happy with the look of the forest though, and I think that I will experiment with other looks.

[Ishmayl]

Can you explain to me about Terra Ficta? I went to their site, but since I'm not a PhotoShop user (I use Corel), I didn't understand a lot of what they were talking about. However, I would love to be able to do close-up maps in that style.

[NeonKnight]

I find with certain aspects of the Sarah Wroot style, a LESS is MORE approach is needed. Here are a few examples of some maps I have done with her style.

See. the areas you did around the Free States, they have a much nicer look, and the trees are spread about more, and don't take that cluttered feel/look to them, while the area for Elindol, has so many trees, they almost look black.