First Cartography Attempt (Used Pyrandon's Method) - Cliffside village of Sonora

[killermarmot]

I decided to give cartography a go for a game of Rolemaster that I am going to be GMing, and I really like the way that Pyrandon's maps turned out. As such, I decided to give it a shot, and this is what I ended up with. I'm more than open for critique, as the part that I was having the most difficulty with was getting the village to look like it was actually off the water. It's supposed to be on a cliff face, more or less, and adding reflection to the water just made it look funky. Thanks goes to Pyrandon for his awesome tutorial and just in general for those who have put together such an awesome resource.
sonora.jpg

[Rythal]

wow thats a great first try. I agree that the reflection looks funky. I'm pretty sure that the image you have reflected isn't the right perspective, and besides, I think you don't really get reflections at all from a top down angle. Personally I'd say just try making it normal water. Good job experimenting though; thats how you improve Also maybe in the future make the forest shore a bit more distinctive (ie add a beach or something). I think it would work with your scale.

[Moe]

Welcome and nice first attempt.

I agree with Rythal, kick that reflection
Imo you have to work on the sea to reach the next level. The shore could need some adjustments in colour to
indicate depth.

>Moe

[njordys]

Anyway, the water texture, besides the reflection, look awesome. I must really say I am impressed. Even as a first try, this exceed my own works. The village look comfy and nice, the mountains are great and the forest also does it work. Good job!

[tilt]

very cool first map... I'll just rep-slam you with my longsword of cool repping

[conturbartus]

This one looks really great!
The only thing I would try to change is to outline the land with a very thin line. But this is a personal choice...

[killermarmot]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the feedback. This community has exceeded my expectations in every facet!

[Coyotemax]

Very nice - I can't think of anything to add that hasn't been said already, except that a close up of the village would be nice so you can have the opportunity to label some of the buildings. Might be a bit crowded as it is, though with some creative label placement it's surprising how legible some fonts can be at incredibly tiny sizes.

[jfrazierjr]

Very nice - I can't think of anything to add that hasn't been said already, except that a close up of the village would be nice so you can have the opportunity to label some of the buildings. Might be a bit crowded as it is, though with some creative label placement it's surprising how legible some fonts can be at incredibly tiny sizes.

Good idea.... and with all the "wasted" space (assuming he is not planning to put anything else) for the ocean, it would be a perfect place to add an inset close up view....

[killermarmot]

Good idea.... and with all the "wasted" space (assuming he is not planning to put anything else) for the ocean, it would be a perfect place to add an inset close up view....

I love that idea, that's a great plan for future maps that I do with a coastal village. Unfortunately, I made the rookie mistake of not saving a new copy when I shrunk the map to a reasonable size, so I don't have the higher resolution image anymore to make a zoomed in view. What an excellent thought, however!