I don't think the mist is overdone at all, it looks great to me. i love the water effect as a whole too, very nice. So far, without other effects in to *really* make elevations stand out, I'm definitely getting a sense of elevation change from the waterfalls alone.
Definitely on to something here!
My finished maps
"...sometimes the most efficient way to make something look drawn by hand is to simply draw it by hand..."
Nice work. I agree with coyotemax the water effects are great.
I am only new to CG so dont take my opinion too seriously but I am having a bit of trouble discerning the elevation of the top (Green) level. Depending on where I look it sometimes seems that it is lower than the mid section. Possibly due to the similarity in colour of the top and bottom level.
I also like the detail on your buildings. Keep it up!
Yeah, after I did it I thought that I should probably put warm colours at the top and cooler colours at the bottom to help create the illusion. Thanks for the feedback.
Good start. The biggest thing here will be the shadows and your attention to detail around them. Shadows on one side of a line typically mean the shadowed side is lower to most peoples eyes. But your top two builtings have a deep shadow in the northwest, while the house to the left of the water on the center section has it's deepest shadows due north. This lighting direction would mean that the cliff face would have very little shadow to it which will make the illusion much harder to portray. If possible, rotate your buildings or redo the shadows so that the light comes from either due north or NW and the shadows are on the opposite side. Then add shadows based on the relative height of the cliff face. In this case, some of the houses may not cast any shadows at all depending on their location relative to the cliff.
My Finished Maps
Works in Progress(or abandoned tests)
My Tutorials:
Explanation of Layer Masks in GIMP
How to create ISO Mountains in GIMP/PS using the Smudge tool
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Unless otherwise stated by me in the post, all work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.
Okay I will keep that in mind for my next effort. Does it matter that the city is situated on the southern coast of a continent in the northern hemisphere of my game world?
In theory, it could... depending on time of year (winter/summer), planetary tilt, etc. But quite frankly, I tend to always put map aesthetics and functional information conveyance above real life physics(when I know then.. which is rarely..lol)Originally Posted by Aval Penworth
My Finished Maps
Works in Progress(or abandoned tests)
My Tutorials:
Explanation of Layer Masks in GIMP
How to create ISO Mountains in GIMP/PS using the Smudge tool
----------------------------------------------------------
Unless otherwise stated by me in the post, all work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.
I agree, poetic license should prevail in this situation.
Latest update on my overly ambitious city project (me and my big mouth).
I started to add buildings in different styles to see what grabbed me, so far I’m not sure. I can’t decide how to lay out the city yet. Are ordered streets or rambling alleyways going to work better? Maybe some feedback from the community would give me the inspiration I need to move on with it.
To give you some idea of the background of the city here are some dot points.
•The city is very wealthy. It is the centre of magic in my world setting.
Alchemist, sorcerers, wizards, seers, sages, astrologers, great-merchants, artists, luminaries, and adventures are found here in greater concentration than anywhere else in the world.
•Almost all of the basic goods are imported from other parts of the country.
•Exports include enchanted items, clock-work items, fine clothes, perfumes, artworks and scupltures, herbal and magical medicines, furniture, glassware, fine metalwork, books.
•People visit from near and far for the unique services available here.
•The high-end red light district and its magically enhanced "service providers" is world famous.
•Many parts of the city are magically protected from scrying and detection spells, which attracts a seedy under current of powerful outlaws and criminals. There is an area of town known as “the warren” where these unsavoury types hang out. I thought maybe this might be obscured on the main map.
•Most of the regular city-dwellers live in 3-5 story apartment blocks.
•Wizards, merchants and the like dwell in huge, ostentatious mansions with gaudy facades and lofty minarets.
•Steam technology exists in this city and this powers great elevators which can be found throughout. You enter tunnels in the side of the cliffs and these lead to elevator shafts which emerge in domed plazas on the next level.
•There are no walls about the city but gryphon riding guards keep a lookout for trouble from 200’ watch towers.
•Art and entertainment is high on the agenda for citizens and visitors alike.
•The wharf area is separated from the rest of the city to keep out the riff-raff and is filled with shady bars and hostels.
Well, a high-magic city might have streets laid out so that the streets make occult symbols in various places. This could even be a vital element of city defenses.
That would be a great way of doing it! The very shape of the roads and buildings are what creates the protective wards etc
Brilliant.
My finished maps
"...sometimes the most efficient way to make something look drawn by hand is to simply draw it by hand..."
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