Town of Waypoint: By Jared Blando

[TheRedEpic]

Hey All,

Here is the second map done for "Manifest" a Scifi/Cowboy RPG by Waypoint Game Designs. This one is of the small Town of Waypoint on the edge of the badlands.

They recently successfully funded a Kickstarter Here (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...nifest-the-rpg) and their website can be found here: https://www.manifesttherpg.com/

As stated in my previous post, I met both the creator and Art director at GenCon, and they hit me up after the show for this commission. The first map I posted was the World of Manifest, as some of you have already seen.

For this piece, I wanted to combine yet again that old westy vibe but with modern clean linework. My town maps often include a lot of texture work and (are more fantasy based), and scifi maps tend to go over into the overtly photorealistic side of things which is not something I really like in a piece. Thus I kinda mixed styles and went for a more futuristic Firefly like aesthetic.

Questions, Crits, and Comments welcome, as always.

~JB

[Sapiento]

I think the top-down view clashes with the perspective of the mountains, but other than that...an excellent map!

[Daelin]

I think the top-down view clashes with the perspective of the mountains, but other than that...an excellent map!

I'll have to echo Sapento's sentiments. Both of them. My mind has to adjust, even though it takes just a second, when I glance from the right side to the left. But, like Sap said, looks heckin' good otherwise.

[ThomasR]

Hey Jared ! I really love the buildings and the Firefly vibe is definitely here. I kinda agree with Robert above about the clash of styles but on the other hand, it's a figuration of mountains so, all in all, it works well enough. Definitely looks westerny Cheers !

[MistyBeee]

Oh, great to see your style on a modern universe !
I don't really agree with my fellows regarding the perspective : top-down buildings and perspective geography on the same map are something very common since the beginning of historical map making and I'm accustomed to it. It's one of those situations where you need something symbolic more than something accurate, in my opinion, and in this context, it strengthen the importance of the buildings, while giving rough information about the general landscapes around
Good job as always, Jared !!

[Greg]

I don't really agree with my fellows regarding the perspective : top-down buildings and perspective geography on the same map are something very common since the beginning of historical map making and I'm accustomed to it. It's one of those situations where you need something symbolic more than something accurate, in my opinion, and in this context, it strengthen the importance of the buildings, while giving rough information about the general landscapes around

Agree with Bee here. It definitely is a contrast and I think it's more unusual in general to see side-on mountains in sci-fi maps, but it makes the buildings pop out more and makes for a very unique piece. Overall, a great looking map!

[Kellerica]

Will have to agree with Sap, Thom and Daelin, I'm not completely sold on the mixing of perspectives either. The overall layout is beautiful however, and I definitely feel that Firefly vibe. So very shiny!

[arsheesh]

You did a great job with this one Jared. The style of this map is well suited to the space-western genre. I particularly like how you've rendered the mountains. Simple, clean and elegant. Beautiful work.

Cheers,
-Arsheesh

[TheRedEpic]

Thanks for all the comments, I appreciate both feedback and praise.

Basically the mountains there are decorative, and just imply "Hey there are mountains around here". I do see what you are saying though, it's a bit of an eye adjustment. I love old maps that use this sort of mix of styles so it doesn't bother me too much.

I suppose in way of explanation for the style use here, is that this map is intended as a Handout for newcomers so they could find their way around town easier. I suppose that logic crumbles a bit since the streets are not marked, lol, but hey the client was happy and in the end that's really what counts right? :-)

~JB

[Greason Wolfe]

I don't mind the shift in perspective, actually think it is kinda cool. If I had to nitpick about anything it might be that the mountains are a bit too "strong." I find that they draw my attention away from the town portion of the map sometimes. Then again I am easily distracted by....Everything.