Can't think of anything negative to say, or critique wise. Looks really cool!
I'm making a map for a D&D game I'm running. I more or less followed RobA's excellent tutorial and am just about done (except for some labeling), but I want to see if anyone has any comments or critiques.
I'm eager to hear any suggestions for improvement you may have, but in particular, I'm wondering if it's clear that the swamp/marsh in the northwest corner is a swamp/marsh and if there's any way to make the labels more legible.
Can't think of anything negative to say, or critique wise. Looks really cool!
Daniel the Neon Knight: Campaign Cartographer User
Never use a big word when a diminutive one will suffice!
Any questions on CC3? Post them with CC3 in the Subject Line!
MY 'FAMOUS' CC3 MAPS: Thunderspire; Pyramid of Shadows; King of the Trollhaunt Warrens; Demon Queen's Enclave
I think the labels are just fine.
To be honest I think deciduous forest when I see that shade of green, maybe give it a bit of a bluish/brownish tinge?
(edit - omg, i see the swamp in the middle of the forest now, you may beat me with a stick of you like, heh)
Last edited by Coyotemax; 07-29-2009 at 04:04 AM.
Have to say that this is one of the best interpretations of RobA's tutorial that I've seen.
Now that being said I have to agree with Coyotemax, that color green makes me think more of trees than swamp, though it works for the jungle in the southeast.
Personally I would go with a more grayish-green to identify the swamps, but that's just my personal preference.
Keep up the nice work!
My Finished Maps | My Challenge Maps | Still poking around occasionally...
Unless otherwise stated by me in the post, all work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.
I'm not sure the gray works, in this case, particularly well for the swamp. The transition between the bright green forest and the dull gray swamp is just really harsh.
Only other crit: I'm not sure the coastal brown dirt layer works well when interacting with the desert sands color (great color choice for desert sands, by the way). I might try to find a way of masking those out a little, or decreasing their opacity.
Otherwise, very nice map overall.
I think, therefore I am a nerd.
Cogito, ergo sum nerdem.
Check out my blog: "The Undiscovered Author"
It's the story of a writer... follow me in my simple quest to get published, and share your own writing stories, adventures and writerly tips.
Pimping my worldmap here. Still WIP... long way to go, but I'm pretty proud of what I've done so far...
Thanks for the feedback everyone. I'm very glad that everyone seems to like it overall.
Karro, good suggestion on reducing the opacity of the dirt. I made multiple passes over the edges of the dirt mask with a 20% opacity brush, and I'm quite happy with how it blends with the sand.
I'm still not entirely certain what to do about the swamp. It does seem to have a problem with being unnoticeable against the neighboring jungle, but I don't want to up the brightness or saturation unless I have to -- I think dark and gray is a big part of the feel of being a swamp. I did try slightly yellowing and desaturating the neighboring jungle to reduce the contrast, and I do think the jungle itself looks a bit better that way. I'm not sure if it helped much with the swamp though, so any comments in that area would be especially appreciated.
(Oh, and please excuse the uncolored labels, those are in progress.)
I think, therefore I am a nerd.
Cogito, ergo sum nerdem.
Check out my blog: "The Undiscovered Author"
It's the story of a writer... follow me in my simple quest to get published, and share your own writing stories, adventures and writerly tips.
Pimping my worldmap here. Still WIP... long way to go, but I'm pretty proud of what I've done so far...
Yes, the swamp definitely pops out a bit more now. /agree with the transition comment though
I finally figured out what it is i like about this map (and others in a similar style) - the fonts. I'm so used to seeing fantasy looking fonts, it's a nice change to see something a bit more plain!
Nice map. Is that a lava flow to the southeast?
Check out my City Designer 3 tutorials. See my fantasy (city) maps in this thread.
Gandwarf has fallen into shadow...
Ooo, intriguing idea. I'll definitely give that a try.
That is lava flow. One of the mysteries of this part of the world is how such a large and permanent lava flow could exist. Kol'Korat is known as being isolated, magical, and evil, so there are some pretty obvious hypotheses, but no one in the outside world knows what specifically is happening there.
Actually, that reminds me, one of my earlier ideas that I'd put aside was to add a steam cloud where the lava enters the ocean. I should try that.