March/April/May '24 Lite Challenge: The Niwlen Spine

[XCali]

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As per the rules this is a NON ENTRY.


It is just to enjoy the challenge alongside you all.

THE NIWLEN SPINE:
Far to the north of Arvorena, lies the great Niwlen Spine, a sheer mountain range that stretch from sea to sea that separates the Dimma Shroud with the Quinvessa Highlands to the south. The only way to journey through the mountain passes that wind up into the dense fog that hang around these mountains. Many venture rather to the city of Veilwatch to buy passage through the hushwind gap, but tensions are brewing in the city. The city boasts impressive walls adorned with towering watchtowers but inside the machinations of the great factions have reached a breaking point as all vie for the throne. Those walls can be more than just keeping things out, take care lest you find yourself trapped in the city as a civil war break loose.
But dare you to take the more dangerous Fog Spire Pass? Few who venture there ever make it through the treacherous mountain pass.

A_Niwlen Spine_v1.jpeg

[Ink_alpinist]

Dude, your texture for the mountains are unique and good. Hope you finish your work

[XCali]

Dude, your texture for the mountains are unique and good. Hope you finish your work

Tx I hope you enjoy the ride.

Welcome to the Non-Lite-Challenge XCali! Your mountains look great, this will be fun!

Thanks Bogie.

[Bogie]

Welcome to the Non-Lite-Challenge XCali! Your mountains look great, this will be fun!

[XCali]

Next up the mountains are coming along. Started adding highlights and shadows. Also, more places of interest are starting to show up.

Just FYI, if anyone is curious about the methods used, be sure to ask

The Niwlen Spine:
A_Niwlen Spine_v2.jpeg

[Bogie]

The highlights really make the mountains stand out.

[Badger]

I don't know what it is, but I love mountains.. drawing them, finding different ways to express them on maps. Excellent work. I was toying with the idea of making Borrower's Pass an isometric map, with a pass hugging the peak of the mountain. Kinda like that scene in LOTR, when they are trying to go over the mountain. Awesome line work. Happy Mapping.

Badger

[XCali]

Hey hey,

For this one, I spent today with a cloudy brush on lower opacity to blend some colors into the mountains. And then with same cloudy brush I started deepening the mountain shadows and adding more highlights.

Just a tip for anyone curious about the process: I have a layer ABOVE my color layer that has the 808080 color, and the layer itself is on overlay. This gives me free reign to mess with highlights and shadows with the dodge/burn tool as much as I want without messing up the color layer.

A_Niwlen Spine_v3.jpeg

As this is a non entry, anything you guys want to see mapped, like more settlements on this fog mountain range for an adventure?

[XCali]

Now today, I am going for the fog of that the Niwlen Spine is so infamous for.

Quick technique rundown: Painted some front solid color on the front mountain peaks and selected those and inverted the selection to get the mist to move between the mountains. Cloudy brush with dynamic size set to random, and opacity at about 70-ish, with a color that is not white, more like a darker white that almost borders on grey.

Then the wild forests appeared. Draw a whole set and then created a brush.

Quick technique rundown #2: Tree layer and a shadow layer below it, with a cloudy brush on like 30-40% paint in general shadows, taking care to add some core shadows to front trees roots to better blend them into the ground. And then with a paintbrush with a cloudy brush on like 3-5% opacity, dodge setting. Pick a color that compliments the surrounding area/lighting, and then randomly paint the trees that generally catch the most light. (Side note: it is easier to keep track if you ALWAYS have your light come from one direction)

A_Niwlen Spine_v5.jpeg

[Bogie]

Amazing work.