Castaway's home on a deserted isle...

[Gamerprinter]

Just for the sake of doing it, as well as adding a map illustration for the second tutorial guide book, I'm working on a map of the edge of an isle where a castaway is trying to get by in survival. Apparently he's been here awhile, he's built a staircase to make it a safer ascent to the rocky cliff sided outcropping by the beach. I plan to make a small fortified hut at the top next that signal bonfire at the top of the outcropping. I included a fish pond, which is a closed pool of sea water where caught fish can be kept for easy retrieval later - I saw these in ancient Hawaiian archaeological sites.

I opted to use some of my undersea objects to populate the waters by the shore.

Progress so far...

GP

castaway_isle.jpg

[Jacktannery]

Looks great Gamerprinter, the colours are amazing. Is the blurring in the middle-left and middle-foreground supposed to represent altitude in some way? I'm not sure it really works quite yet.

[Gamerprinter]

Looks great Gamerprinter, the colours are amazing. Is the blurring in the middle-left and middle-foreground supposed to represent altitude in some way? I'm not sure it really works quite yet.

No, but I'll see what I can do to get some better resolution on those textures. Some of that blurring is heavy use of edge feathering so the rock seems to rise from the ground rather than sitting on it.

Next update, added a rather fancy, raised, single room hut, with timbers from his ship wreck. Obviously the castaway is a carpenter of some skill. Moving right along...

GP

castaway_isle.jpg

[Bogie]

The colors and the layout are great.

[Larb]

Yes, the colours are really vibrant. I think it needs some fed-ex packages washed up on the beach though. =P

[Bogie]

......Wilson!

[Gamerprinter]

Added a 3D stockade with shadow around the hut on the rock, and a partially built raft by the shore. I plan to create a 3D watch tower and shadow, and a mostly sunken merchant sailing ship in the bay, then I'll be done.

GP

castaway_isle_next.jpg

[Francissimo]

wonderfull colors and the elements shadow are great! Are you using photoshop to create the 3D elements?

[Gamerprinter]

wonderfull colors and the elements shadow are great! Are you using photoshop to create the 3D elements?

I have some old 3D software apps that are over 10 years old from my past days when I played with 3D a lot more. So I've never upgraded and some of the software nolonger exists, but still works fine for my needs. I use Nichimen Nendo, an easy to use subdivisional suface modeler to create the 3D elements, including all those fish in the water, which I export to .3DS format, import to Raydream Studio 5, add basic grey color, lighting, shadow variances, sometimes I place a ground level to show shadows, set the rendering parameters and render a JPG image. I trace the 'outline' of the 3D models in a vector program to cut it out, color and place into my maps. Map work done in vector app, Xara Designer Pro 9.

[Jacktannery]

The stockade shadows are excellent.