Berenthias & the Dragon Coast

[ThomasR]

I finished this one a couple of weeks ago and forgot about it.

It started as a relaxing map digitally doodled at A5 size and I had the idea of using it to do a Caribbean sea tutorial that I promised Mouse (I'll do it Sue, I promise again) a while ago... and I saw The Shape of Water. Back home, I searched for the wallpaper pattern on the interwebs, did not find something satisfactory and did my own. When it was done, I felt an urge to use it for the sea and ditched what I had done. I finished it recently as a warm-up for a terrain shading on a commission map. I wanted to add a dragon illustration but these things have to be thought before filling your map. I added some names and, ta-daaa, here comes an Art Déco flavored map.

I hope you like it and welcome any critic or comment. It's a full size, maximum quality file.



© Thomas Rey - 2018 - All rights reserved

Cheers !

[Texas Jake]

That is a very unusual map, Thomas. The water certainly says Art Déco. It kind of over powers the map. I like the water and like the land—the mountains and forest are superb, but the two don't seem to quite go together. Again, both individually are superb. I think the land needs to be more Art Déco to match the water or you need to mute the tone of the water a bit. It is still a very interesting map that screams look at me.

Edit: Then again, the more I look at it the more I wonder if it should stay just like it is. It reminds me of a movie poster from the 1930s. Suddenly I want to climb aboard a Ford Trimotor and fly off to start an adventure.

[Narc]

Hello Thomas,

I hope the story happens in the sea, it's so amazing !
Berenthias seems to be the center of all.

[ChickPea]

This is a very striking map, but I kinda agree with Texas Jake. The land areas are done in what we might think of as a 'traditional' fantasy style, whereas the sea areas are very bold and striking. They would work nicely in a war-themed, apocalyptic style map, which is rather at odds with the land style, I feel. Having said that, perhaps if the land was also a bit 'in your face', it might be too much, and one area needs to be somewhat muted to balance the other, but I'm left feeling the two halves of the map don't quite balance. It's still a very attractive and eye-catching map, and it's always good to experiment and try new styles, so I applaud you for that. I do like the sea pattern very much, and the land shapes are excellent.

[ThomasR]

That is a very unusual map, Thomas. The water certainly says Art Déco. It kind of over powers the map. I like the water and like the land—the mountains and forest are superb, but the two don't seem to quite go together. Again, both individually are superb. I think the land needs to be more Art Déco to match the water or you need to mute the tone of the water a bit. It is still a very interesting map that screams look at me.

Edit: Then again, the more I look at it the more I wonder if it should stay just like it is. It reminds me of a movie poster from the 1930s. Suddenly I want to climb aboard a Ford Trimotor and fly off to start an adventure.

Thanks Texas Jake and you are right, there's a strong dichotomy between land and sea. I'll do better next time. By the way, you weren't far with that plane, I thought a lot about the comic Arrowsmith by Kurt Busiek and Carlos Pacheco while drawing it

Hello Thomas,

I hope the story happens in the sea, it's so amazing !
Berenthias seems to be the center of all.

Merci Narc And I'm glad you think so, it is an important part

This is a very striking map, but I kinda agree with Texas Jake. The land areas are done in what we might think of as a 'traditional' fantasy style, whereas the sea areas are very bold and striking. They would work nicely in a war-themed, apocalyptic style map, which is rather at odds with the land style, I feel. Having said that, perhaps if the land was also a bit 'in your face', it might be too much, and one area needs to be somewhat muted to balance the other, but I'm left feeling the two halves of the map don't quite balance. It's still a very attractive and eye-catching map, and it's always good to experiment and try new styles, so I applaud you for that. I do like the sea pattern very much, and the land shapes are excellent.

Thanks Ruby, I know you're right. And the mood you talk about is the mood of the comics I was referring too above (WWI with a magic twist). I'll try and put that pattern to good use in a more cohesive map

Thanks for the critics people, they make our work better

[Ilanthar]

Nice and with new experiments as far as I can see! I like what you did with the sea, the "sunny rays" over is a bit strong, but other than that, great work.
And I love those little symbolic icons (as you already know).