Unnamed village WIP

[ThomasR]

Hi fellows,

I've been pretty much absent from those web pages lately. I'm pretty busy with (happy) family stuff, commissioned work and holidays but a few weeks ago, I doodled a village map (my first). The result of 1h of work that I twitted at the moment is right below :
1.jpg

Since that tweet I've reworked the map digitally and, while it's not well thought and planned (the buildings are a mess) and still lacks many features, I wanted to ask you all for some feedback.
Here are the B&W version and a try at colors and some shading test.
2.jpg 3.jpg

There's still much to do and I'm not that happy with some things I did but I want to finish this one before the end of the month to finally have tackled my beast : city maps. I have some projects that need me to improve my skills in that department so, feel free to comment or critic.

I'l add that I looked for long hours at Larb's, J.Edward's, Arsheesh's, Blaidd's and Tom's maps of cities, so thanks a lot to them all for sharing their inspirational work.

[- JO -]

Not bad at all ! Not much to complain especially for a sketch made in one hour ! ...
We can see a little the influence of J. Edward for the roofs. I think your essay for the shadows on one roof is quite convincing ... and the irregular lines for the tiles are a plus.
Beautiful work for the paths, the grassy border makes very good.
For the trees, obviously the shadows are missing on the ground, but I'm sure the result will be excellent. Maybe the test on the lighter keys on the tree is not completely convincing?
If it is necessary to make a criticism, it is perhaps on the geometry of some houses, which are a bit of a crook? Or would it require more diversity in the colors or textures of the roofs?
At this point I find it hard to make really useful reviews: I think you're really on a good path and I'm looking forward to seeing the rest.

[ThomasR]

Thanks a lot Joel ! And thanks about the paths but it's just the parchment texture ... for now ! About the trees, I agree that the cast shadows will really bring the map to life but that'll come last. I'll have to rework the trees as I'm not too fond of the shading, I think the trees need more variety in color and more shades for the shading, maybe also more little touches than big splashes.
And the houses ... I redrew them as they were on the sketch but I feel I'll need to think about the purpose of each house (baking oven, forge, inn ...) so, they'll need a huge do over, you're right. The crookness is not that much of an issue for me but I'll try to keep it at a minimum

Thanks a lot for your feedback !

[ThomasR]

And another step. Cliffs and bridge added and a little work on the river. Next step will be some shadows (and the details of the outer forests).
4.jpg

I'll need to rethink the buildings but that'll have to wait.

[- JO -]

Beautiful cliffs ... I like the idea of ​​keeping a part of land above and below the rocks ... I think the shadows will again add much to this part.
For the paths, I was talking about the border, which looks really good, I understood that the texture of the parchment is useful here.
It is probably a good idea to redraw houses by thinking about their function, but it means also remake the grass ... a lot of work in perspective therefore, but I think the result will be worth it : Already the map catches the eye, with its bright colors and the layout of the different elements

[ThomasR]

Beautiful cliffs ... I like the idea of ​​keeping a part of land above and below the rocks ... I think the shadows will again add much to this part.
For the paths, I was talking about the border, which looks really good, I understood that the texture of the parchment is useful here.
It is probably a good idea to redraw houses by thinking about their function, but it means also remake the grass ... a lot of work in perspective therefore, but I think the result will be worth it : Already the map catches the eye, with its bright colors and the layout of the different elements

Exactly my thoughts, the cliffs will bring some shadows (and force me to make good terrain shadows and not be lazy) ! Thanks for the paths, I now have to make good path-fillings if you pardon my french About the houses, see below. And thanks a lot Joel

Looking good so far; conceptually I'd suggest to draw back the forest a bit to leave some space for small fields or gardens, maybe?

Thanks Sebastian and you're perfectly right, I'll need to throw in some fields unless I hint them with something. Dunno how so I'll surely have to redraw some outer forests, nice tip

About the houses, I'd like to differentiate some of them. Here are my first thoughts, if you want to add something do not hesitate (all roofs, except some, are slate roof due to the northern cliff).

1- Blacksmith/Horse seller : stables that make a second building with one upper floor to keep the hay and a separate building with terra-cotta roof to keep the heat of the forge. The forge needs porch so that the blacksmith can work comfortably.
2- Inn : two story house with a sign that casts it's shadow (for style).
3- A community oven : piles of wood on the side, small building with terra-cotta roof (see 1).
4- Apothecary : Sign + herb garden.
5- Destroyed watchtower on the other side of the bridge : three stories with conic crushed roof.
6- Town hall : 2 stories with a gathering room and maybe steps leading to the entry (3 stories then).
7- Windmill : 3 stories standing on the hill south-west of the bridge + a storage facility for grain and floor linked to the building.
8- Tanner : North of the village, near the river.
9- Farm(s) : I need to think about the proper size of the fields.

I'll need to think about the size of everything, a question I have not really addressed yet as I drew the map on the fly.

[Wired]

Looking good so far; conceptually I'd suggest to draw back the forest a bit to leave some space for small fields or gardens, maybe?

[Mouse]

Me, oh my, oh me!

The Guild is just so busy these days!

I totally missed this one!

Nice composition - I like it a lot. There are an awful lot of 'L' shaped buildings there, but since you are planning to redraw them, I'll say no more, but wait and see

[- JO -]

You're definitely going to redo the map, actually! For buildings, if you are looking for other ideas, you can add a church, a temple or any other religious building, the cemetery that goes with it, and a merchant that sells everything. With the river, there may still be a sawmill (since there are many forests around) ... But I think your list covers the usual basic buildings of a village. Anyway, I like this style of drawing ... It's a little different from what you usually do, right?