Ostwyc, the Lion City

[HughVoodoo]

This looks very promising. If you don't mind me asking, what programs are you using to complete these maps? Also, I looked through your portfolio on your website - beautiful work in there! Question, how do you create the buildings like in your Granador work? Do you draw them individually? Thanks!

[Caenwyr]

This looks very promising. If you don't mind me asking, what programs are you using to complete these maps? Also, I looked through your portfolio on your website - beautiful work in there! Question, how do you create the buildings like in your Granador work? Do you draw them individually? Thanks!

Hi there Hugh! Thanks for asking! And I'm glad you like my work! I usually use Photoshop exclusively for my mapping endeavours, and draw everything in there by hand, although I do play with a ton of masks, and make quite extensive use of shading and beveling "layer styles", as Photoshop calls them. If I recall correctly from my GIMP days, GIMP does not have these functions natively, but there are external scripts you can download to have similar effects - you should really try those out if you feel like mapping but don't like the idea of spending the dough on Photoshop.

So the buildings in my Ganador map were entirely handdrawn, but I gave them that 3D-ish look by using some drop shadow and bevel-and-emboss effects. Be sure to check out the WIP to get a detailed view of the process!

[Caenwyr]

Alright! And in the meantime I also have an update for you guys on the terrain front. So I went about and kept adding layers to the terrain, gradually climbing to the tops of the highest mountains. Never in my wildest imagination had I thought it would be such a crazy painstaking process!

I'm too fond of details to just do a half-assed job, but I do definitely realize how horribly I'm getting side tracked here. This is supposed to be about a city, and all I've done over the past 6 hours (only counting time actually spent on the map!) is add 5 more levels of silly detail, that will probably be blurred out again!

But still, it's a labour of love I guess. Because no matter how long it takes, I actually enjoy shaping and kneading those mountains just the way I want them.

So here's my progress! The greyscale DEM, currently counting 23 levels (I estimate I'll need at least 3 more to clear the highest peaks):
Ostwyc_BUMP_6.png
and two quick-n-dirty bump renders, one sharp and one blurred to oblivion:
Ostwyc_BUMP_lighted_sharp_3.png Ostwyc_BUMP_lighted_x_blurred_3.png
Still some weird flatlands visible in the highest reaches... and still not a single house in sight

What I'm currently struggling with is, when I finally begin adding houses, whether I should actually add each individual house to the DEM itself as a tiny rectangle (with a greyscale level equivalent to say 5 meters and the layer set to "add"), which would cause houses on a slope to look slanted... or forget about that and just draw them in and bevel-and-emboss them like a maniac...

The first approach is by far the most consistent one, but man I hate consistency sometimes

[Diamond]

But still, it's a labour of love I guess. Because no matter how long it takes, I actually enjoy shaping and kneading those mountains just the way I want them.

Well, that's it right there, isn't it? I think ultimately we all do this because we love creating. Sure, if you get some cash from a commission, that's cool, and it's also an ego stroke to get praise from the Guildies, but ultimately you're satisfying your own creative itch before anything else.

Speaking of ego-stroking - that is looking fantastic. If you follow through with the same level of detail throughout the whole map, this will be a stunner.

[Caenwyr]

Very interesting approach. It also sounds super intensive

Hah, I guess it is huh? But man I enjoy every geeky minute of it. Glad to have arrived at the actual city-ing though!

Well, that's it right there, isn't it? I think ultimately we all do this because we love creating. Sure, if you get some cash from a commission, that's cool, and it's also an ego stroke to get praise from the Guildies, but ultimately you're satisfying your own creative itch before anything else.

Speaking of ego-stroking - that is looking fantastic. If you follow through with the same level of detail throughout the whole map, this will be a stunner.

Gee Diamond, thanks a lot! I do hope it will, although it's gonna take a silly amount of time before it will actually start looking like a decent city map instead of a crumpled-up piece of paper.

But! I'm getting there, baby step by baby step. Below you'll find my first endeavours apart from the terrain: a sprinkle of buildings, the lake, some trees and a splash of parchment colour. Still tons of additional colour to be added to the terrain, obviously.

None of the elements seem to be bonded to the terrain really well at this point, but that will get tackled once I've added in all the elements. Which means in about 3 billion years or so.

Ostwyc_2.jpg

Thoughts? Suggestions? Let 'em come!