Expirmenting with coloured maps and borders

[TimetoDraw]

Hello!

Here's my first fully coloured map WIP. It's a continent view of my smaller Jura map.

What are your methods for creating borderart? Do you pen tool it? Freehand it with painstakingly steady hands? They seem to be an art unto themselves and not something I've attempted yet. Though this map would benefit from a border.

Jura-fullA4.jpg

[KaiAeon]

The map looks good. I like the style.

[Kellerica]

What are your methods for creating borderart?

To me, it's a combination of many things.

My best friend when starting out is the Custom Shape tool. I have a bunch of shapes downloaded from all over, and a pretty large collection of stuff I've created myself over the years. I usually start out with some very basic shapes, rectangles and circles and the like, and form a rough base for the border. Then I'll go crazy with the Layer Styles tool to further define the border and make it blend more naturally in with the rest of the artwork. Possibly add decorative patterns on top of everything (I also have a couple of rune fonts I like to use for decorating). For my last few maps, I've ended up doing freehand lineart and shading on top these elements, in order to make them feel like in line with the rest of the map. If you are using the latest CC version of Photoshop, the new symmetry feature of the brush tool is a godsend when drawing borders, by the way!

In this snippet of a WIP map I was working on recently, you can kind of see an unintentional step-by-step to how I put the thing together.

Capture1.PNG

Let me know if I can expand on this - not sure if the explanation makes any sense or not.


I think the map looks great so far, by the way. I'm not completely sold on the line patter on the ocean, I think it looks maybe a tad restless as it is. I think you certainly have a good idea there, but it could maybe use a bit further refining.

I'd love to see a bit stronger texture on this too... but then again, I don't call a map done unless it has 15 of the damn things, so I'm very biased in this regard Take it all with a grain of salt.

I look forward to seeing this develop!

[Tiana]

If you are using the latest CC version of Photoshop, the new symmetry feature of the brush tool is a godsend when drawing borders, by the way!

Based on your results, TimetoDraw, it does look like you are probably a Photoshop user so it may be useful advice to look for the tool there. But just in case you are a different program user, know that many other programs have it too, in maybe less obvious places... like Clip Studio Paint you have to make a 'symmetry ruler'. It's a tool that's existed in Corel Painter for some time now (I think it has 2 way, 4 way, and 6 way) but it has to be activated from a menu, and allegedly is in Affinity Photo up to 32 ways, and I'm pretty sure you can achieve it with Lazy Nuzmei. Finally, for the truly desperate if your program has no auto-mirroring, all you have to do is draw one 'straight' border piece and one corner border piece and flip them at your leisure to fill in the rest of the border. Symmetry is a common tool in many programs, but I usually just do it that way... make a ribbon fill for the trim and a corner piece which I can copy and paste into place. >_>

I don't usually use symmetry. It has its uses though. Mandalas and whatnot. It is very fun in the right moments.

Anyway, I agree with Kell that it could use a couple extra texture sandwiches but that's preferential and not feedback you should take to heart if you prefer minimalism, because I just don't. Like if it were my map I'd add another half a dozen textures in a heartbeat, but that's just how some of us do. Unlike her, I do like the wave swirl concept line thing you did, maybe slap a bit of blur on it, the only thing that bugs me is I can see the pixels that assembled it. I like it zoomed out, just not zoomed in. If you don't intend for it to be viewed at full size it's fine. If you were hoping to have people zooming in digitally, maybe a bit of a smudge to get that pixelyness gone and it'll blend better.

I don't really think it needs a border and going too fancy might detract from your art anyway, I'd be putting a fairly simple border on this map, like maybe a double frame with corner icons. What I feel like it's missing is a land label. I don't know what to call this region as a whole. But hey, don't feel intimidated. Just doodle something and then if you like it, make it look fancier, and if you hate it, don't, and try again. Borders are a chance for you to draw more of whatever you like to do best, or show what matters most here. Since you have 4 races, I would probably theme each corner icon around that race and symbol maybe? If that's a jumping off point idea.

It's a good looking first color map, you should be pretty pleased with just what you have here.

[TimetoDraw]

Great detail on your border. Looking at the finished article is daunting, looks so complex. I guess like everything, you start out with the foundation and shapes.

Thanks for this! I can see a process forming already. I agree about the ocean lines, I need to try a few more techniques to emulate a wavey current effect.

Great advice and tips, thank you again

[Styescape]

Great detail on your border. Looking at the finished article is daunting, looks so complex. I guess like everything, you start out with the foundation and shapes.

Thanks for this! I can see a process forming already. I agree about the ocean lines, I need to try a few more techniques to emulate a wavey current effect.

Great advice and tips, thank you again

First of all, thanks Kellerica for showing your workflow on borders. Might be helpful for me too!

@Timetodraw: If you are looking for something more simple as Tiana recommended, you could have a look at Arsheesh's Map Border Tutorial . It is written for GIMP, but the techniques should be adoptable for Photoshop.

Concerning your water, you could maybe get some ideas from Jezelf's map tutorial

[Kellerica]

Of course there are many ways to do this, but I'm glad if I could give you some ideas at least

Hopefully you'll share what you come up with, I look forward to seeing it.

[krostatina]

Thank you Kell and Tiana for the advices that I am sure it will come handy to me too in the future.
I can't give much advice as I'm a beginner too, but as a consumer I actually like the sea pattern as it is (including the pixelness when zoomed in) it is something I never seen so far and it gives an interesting "textile" effect. The only problem for me is that it maybe doesn't fit with the thick lines of the rest of the map. But on its own is not an idea to throw away.
If I can nitpick the colour, the snow on the mountain is applied with a too thick paintbrush and you can see the single strokes (which might be an artistic choice, but in this instance it's not consistent in the rest of the map). And there are also a few instances in which the road layer shows through the sea and forest.
Overall it looks good, if you want to keep a simple and minimal look I would try a geometric pattern on the border with a brush similar to the one you used in the legend border and the coastline.

[TimetoDraw]

Wow this feedback is above and beyond what I expected, thank you all for taking the time to respond. I'll take my time and go through it, and the tutorials.

I'm also gathering that you can't have too many textures apparently lol.

[Kellerica]

I'm also gathering that you can't have too many textures apparently lol.

I don't think you can, no