The World of Gwindale

[IICubeII]

Hey all, this is my (kinda) first post here! Looking forward to making and sharing more stuff as time goes on.

So, this is Gwindale. My own custom world I made for my homebrew D&D games. I just finished this yesterday and it's taken... around 12-18 hours, spread through about 10 days to finish.


Gwindale.jpg


There's a lot going on here, I'm 100% open to any constructive criticism ya'll might have. I suppose, in a way, it's still a WIP and likely will be until I make a whole new version of the map. But at this point, I think I'm happy enough with it to show it off to everyone and call it "finished". Anyway, if ya'll have any questions feel free to ask!


EDIT:
Well, I got around to fixing some stuff. The water lines are much cleaner, the text has been changed and un-warped in some spots, and I made a fancy little banner for the Gwindale text! Check it out and lemme know what ya'll think!

[Kellerica]

Not bad for a first post.

I really enjoy the overall tone of this, these kinds of grays and muted greens are some of my favorite map colors. The coats of arms are a nice touch too, there are a few designs here that I really like.

There is a roughness to the lines, mainly the coasts and especially the lines surrounding them, that is very noticeable. This is often the case for beginners. In here it stands out even more, as the features inside the coastlines, mountains and whatnot, are actually very smooth, almost blurry. I also find the fonts used way too ornate for my taste (although this obviously comes down to personal preference), and I personally would avoid curving city/town labels unless you absolutely have to.

For the coastlines (I looked through your introduction post and I'm assuming a graphic design pro would use Photoshop), my go-to trick for doing these types of lines, I'll select the coastlines and use the Select > Modify > Expand, like I'm pretty sure you have done, but once I have that expanded selection active, I then make a Work Path of that (tolerance around 0,8-1,5). I then go around adjusting the resulting path until it's nice and smooth, and from now on use this path as the starting point for any future selections. It takes a bit more time this way, but it removes the issue of the digital crispiness that you have going on here right now.
(maybe there are some others who do this differently, I'm not saying this is the only way to do it, but just the one I have found to be easiest on me)

All in all, you are definitely on the right track. Keep at it. Glad to have you along for the journey - a most warm welcome to the Guild!

[IICubeII]

Thanks Kellerica! Great tip too, I noticed that myself but wasn't sure of an easy way to remedy it. After hearing you say it though, I think using paths is the right call, plus it'll make it a vector... hmmm I'll give it a shot once I get a chance and update this post! Thanks again for the kind words, looking forward to getting to know everyone here!

[GodofMoxie]

Really nice map, awesome to see more GMs on the guild. Strangely reminds me of the maps of fire emblem for the GBA which is super comfy.

For me personally, the Mouth of Gwindale is a bit heavy contrasted against the rest of the map but I can understand why since I assume its mostly volcanic rock?

[IICubeII]

I assume its mostly volcanic rock?

It is indeed, and when I'm using this map on Tabletop Sim, I can actually turn a smoke effect on/off to make it look active.... but shhhh my players don't know that yet lol.

[Bogie]

Very Nice!!

[IICubeII]

Alright! So I updated the map a bit, Kellerica had some great suggestions.

As as side note, I didn't end up using paths. I started working with them and quickly realized I'd be spending waaaay too much time messing with it. Ended up just using CS6's "Refine Selection" tool to quickly get a smoother selection. I think the water lines look way better now, and I'm quite happy that I found a quick solution to this little problem.

I did leave the islands a little ruff but that's intentional, imo it makes the islands look more realistic. Even took your advice and straightened out the small town names, and honestly, I think it looks good too.

[Kellerica]

As as side note, I didn't end up using paths. I started working with them and quickly realized I'd be spending waaaay too much time messing with it.

*chuckle* There is such a thing as waaaay too much time when it comes to map-making? Why did I not get this memo?

But I like the new lines all the same, definitely an improvement! Nice job!

[IICubeII]

*chuckle* There is such a thing as waaaay too much time when it comes to map-making?

True, but if I can find a way to save time I try to. Plus I can't imagine it looking much better if I had spent the time to hand adjust each path. If you haven't toyed with that setting on PS I can't recommend it enough. I played with it for a while and got some really interesting results. Once I make another map, I feel like it's defiantly going to come in handy!

Anyway, happy that you like the new lines. I think the text is better now too. Not so "in your face", but still there. I took your advice and straightened out the text for the smaller towns too, and honestly, I think it looks pretty dang nice.

[Kellerica]

I actually don't think I've ever used the Refine tool... This is the Refine Edge command we are talking about, I'm assuming? I'll have to try it out at some point, thanks for the tip.

The scroll on the title looks cool, by the way!