Laramis

[Immolate]

Syt,

I looked at that style and it just didn't "catch me". It seems to be one of the two most prevalent mountain styles in the old maps I studied. The other was the topographical style that must have taken an enormous amount of time and an epically steady hand. I don't know that I could emulate those and can't think of any short cuts.

Alecthar,

I've read that tutorial a few times and tried it, but haven't been pleased with the results. The mountains in my example were "hand drawn" but on the computer. By the way, everyone has a scanner though they might not be aware. Simply draw what you want on a plain white piece of paper, put it in a well-lighted spot, then snap it with your mobile phone's camera, then mail it to yourself. The picture should be in far larger resolution than you need, so you won't lose the detail.

[Immolate]

I put in the rivers last night, which was basically using an eraser as a brush to make the rivers seem integrated with the rest of the land mass. I would like to do some shading on them to give an impression of depth, but not sure how best to approach it.

Laramis.jpg

[Syt]

Immolate, no worries. It's your map and you have to like it.

I really like your rivers and look forward to seeing this one evolve.

[Immolate]

So much good advise and encouragement! Thanks everyone.

The rivers are on the land layer as that was the only way I could think of to make the two mesh properly. I will do whatever shading I do on another layer.

I learned the control-click method from you the first time I did one of your tutorials Ascension, and it has become a well-worn tool in my toolbox.

Back to it then.

[Immolate]

Hi all. I took some time off to enter the lite contest and, although I never really "quit" working on this, I did hit a log jam with the mountains that refused to budge for a very long time. However, I did manage to break through a bit tonight and came up with the first mountain style I liked... somewhat. The problem I have is that I get so focused on the mountains--researching real mountains, looking at countless old maps and a lot of new ones, reading all of the tutorials, etc., you get to the point where you are so completely absorbed that you can no longer trust your own judgement as to what looks good. Add to that the fact that you've been staring at your map so long that your judgement on that becomes questionable too.

Well... I kicked around some color changes, redid the shorelines a dozen times, tapered the rivers, added a crevasse, basically did everything I could to avoid actually having to overcome the mountain issue.

Finally, tonight, I just started playing around with some brush designs and kind of stumbled across one that looked pretty good (to me) on the backdrop of my map style, which is trying to be both subtle and a bit cartoonish at the same time. I am aiming for a light-hearted yet interesting style with just enough pop to grab your attention and just enough sophistication to keep it.

So let me know what you think, not just about the mountains but everything. I have a few more to put in on the east side of the continent. Thanks for your critical assistance.

Laramis.jpg