Mar/April '20 Lite Challenge: The Floenry Isles

[Coriolis]

For my entry, I'm working up The Floenry Isles, a tropical archipelago from the Palladium Fantasy Roleplaying Games. This is a region of mysteries, exotic species, ancient ruins, colonialism, and, of course, piracy!

So far, I've done up some basic geographic topography and bathymetry. Still to do:
1. Work some rocky shoals along the coasts of a couple islands.
2. Add in a lot of jungle
3. Make the grasslands a bit more yellowish
4. Do up some distinctive heraldry for the different factions present
5. Work up some settlement and location icons/markers
6. Labels, frame, and legend.


### Latest WIP ###
Floenries0.5.jpg

[Bogie]

That's a great start. Welcome to the Challenge!

[Tiana]

Nice, tons of rivers.

[DrWho42]

excellent beginning!

[Coriolis]

Thanks! Today I created the jungles.

### Latest WIP ###
FloenriesForested.jpg

[Greason Wolfe]

Thought about doing a satellite style map myself, but after a couple of height field runs through Wilbur and Terragen, I just wasn't happy with the results. This, however, is looking like it is off to a good start.

[Coriolis]

Thought about doing a satellite style map myself, but after a couple of height field runs through Wilbur and Terragen, I just wasn't happy with the results. This, however, is looking like it is off to a good start.

Thanks! You probably made the better choice of techniques; experience with these competitions has shown me that the voters strongly prefer hand-drawn styles and appearances.

[Tiana]

Thanks! You probably made the better choice of techniques; experience with these competitions has shown me that the voters strongly prefer hand-drawn styles and appearances.

That's one of several observations you can make by observing voting trends. Yes. Voters seem to hate CGI or photo manipulated looking results, for some reason. Even as it is, this looks too computer produced for me to imagine it getting votes, but, that's only one reason someone might choose to make a map. if Greason is doing it for fun, practice, and portfolio bolstering then there's no reason to try tailor it to the bias of the voters. Anyway, the last Lite Challenge winner was obviously vectored and "what the voters like" is not a reason to not do what you want. Do what you feel like doing. I think it's looking useful so far.

[Greason Wolfe]

Thanks! You probably made the better choice of techniques; experience with these competitions has shown me that the voters strongly prefer hand-drawn styles and appearances.

I don't think that is necessarily true. For me it always comes down to the subject matter and theme(s) involved. Of the few maps I've managed to complete for these challenges, my highest vote getters, so far, were generated via Terragen and/or Fractal Terrains Pro. Now I will admit that I love a well "hand" drawn map, but satellite and aerial photography styles can also be very interesting and pleasing. I can say the same thing about topographical maps as well. In the end, the only one who has to like the map ( assuming it is not a commissioned work) is yourself. I wouldn't stress too much about what the voters like, as I find myself surprised by the poll results just as often as I am not surprised by them.

As for what you've done so far, the only things that stand out as being a bit odd to the eye, IMHO, are the transitions from shoreline to water, and maybe, just slightly, the transition from shelves to deep water. Since I don't know what software you are using to create this map, I can't really offer any suggestions. And, to be perfectly honest, that is just me being a bit nitpicky about things.

[Coriolis]

I don't think that is necessarily true. For me it always comes down to the subject matter and theme(s) involved. Of the few maps I've managed to complete for these challenges, my highest vote getters, so far, were generated via Terragen and/or Fractal Terrains Pro. Now I will admit that I love a well "hand" drawn map, but satellite and aerial photography styles can also be very interesting and pleasing. I can say the same thing about topographical maps as well. In the end, the only one who has to like the map ( assuming it is not a commissioned work) is yourself. I wouldn't stress too much about what the voters like, as I find myself surprised by the poll results just as often as I am not surprised by them.

It's been my observation that the winners of these competitions overwhelmingly tend to have a hand-drawn look. I'll admit I haven't entered one of these in a year or so, and it's entirely possible that that's just how these have panned out in the competitions I've been involved in. It's fine. My goal in making these is to hone some aspect of my technique, and my chosen technique is built on height maps and an overhead photo-like style.

As for what you've done so far, the only things that stand out as being a bit odd to the eye, IMHO, are the transitions from shoreline to water, and maybe, just slightly, the transition from shelves to deep water. Since I don't know what software you are using to create this map, I can't really offer any suggestions. And, to be perfectly honest, that is just me being a bit nitpicky about things.

Now THIS is why I enjoy these competitions: I crave constructive critiques. Thanks for this, and I'll take a look at the transitions. I've played with my bathymetry technique a lot on this map, and I've given the underwater shelf/deep transitions a lot of attention. Maybe I should give it some more. As for shorelines... I've heard this before, and I'm honestly not sure how I should adjust. A coastal glow? a shallower transition from land to water? I'll do some thinking on it.