A map of my eye - Literally.

[Poison]

So, one day I noticed that my irises are a little peculiar: there's an irregularly shaped ring of brown around the pupil, a wide area of blue around that, and the outer ring of my iris is a darker blue. I soon figured out that this is something called central heterochromia iridum, but more importantly, it was the perfect basis for an island map! Eyeland map?

I took a close-up picture of my eye and started working on it. Using my eye as the basis came with some oddities: for example, there's a gaping hole in the middle of my land. I took this to be something between a sinkhole and volcano and looked at some maps of volcanic islands for inspiration.

This is the result. It's the second map I've ever brought to completion, and the first time I've attempted something with more texture to it. Critique is very welcome!
Eye_smaller.jpg

In lieu of a WIP thread, here is a very brief overview of what I did. I selected a colour range, refined the edge of that selection, manually added and removed some bits, and then it was just drawing and more drawing. Only used Photoshop's standard brushes with custom settings. The "waves" around the island were also generated, not hand-drawn. I might eventually remove the rest of the eye and replace it with a more typical "map" layout.
compile_jpg.jpg

[Bogie]

As a Map Maker I have to say that is very original and well done, as an Optometrist I have to say EXCELLENT !!!

[Lukc]

A well executed idea and interesting island! I like how you've painted the mountains in particular, masterful that!

[Veldehar]

That is more than a tad bit wild, I like it!

[kestrelgrey]

I love this! The mountains are phenomenal - it must have taken awhile to hand-paint those so beautifully. I'll have to give it a try one of these days.

[Chashio]

=D Wonderful!

[Poison]

Thank you all very much! I was a bit nervous to post this, but the Guild seems to be a very nice community.

Bogie - Now you know what to do when you find a client with particularly interesting eyes!
Kestrelgrey - Yes, painting the mountains took quite some time, especially because I had not drawn anything like a mountain range before. I'm not sure how technically correct they are, but I'm content with their final shape

[Jaxilon]

Awesome eyedea! I love the originality of it. Regarding the center you could shrink that down by having your picture taken while in brighter light but that's just if you wanted a smaller black area in the center.

Thank you very much for posting this. Excellent execution. Rep incoming.

[Lyandra]

This is so awesome! I love the eyedea! The mountains are so beautifully painted, and the center looks so threatening... Very curious and wonderful map. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your works!

[arsheesh]

Very creative. You did a really wonderful job in your brush work as well.

Cheers,
-Arsheesh