June-Aug '21 Lite Challenge: Zakhara
One of the most important features of a map is the information it offers. The aim of this map is to set the foundation for a setting, allow players to know where they are standing and builders what type of landscape to build.
The map is drawn in Photoshop, with a lot of layers. To each regional effect corresponds a layer. It started as a silhouette to be filled in with basic color resembling desert, which is lost when adding textures. The next basic step was to use clone effects on the land area, and from there, to play and experiment with various textures and effects. These ranged from distorted brushes, some with textures within, to layers with shadows and emboss effects, among others, to mimic heights and depths.
At one point I was tempted to use gradients, to reflects transition, but this gives the map quite a different look. I just limited myself to play with colors, even on the short transitions from desert to savanna and vegetation, since none of the sources that I used have a clear definition of such transition. Also, decided to keep minimum the vegetation textures, which are not really part of the map.
The design of the rivers, while not totally convincing in terms of feasibility, was quite fun. The transition from Wadi to river was interesting, since I had never worked this in the past. I could have added an area of intermittent water in the middle, though thought that would seem excessive. Some rivers are born in places I am not so sure it is possible, but I just followed the material sources had at hand; besides, what do I know about rivers? Some are born in mountains, others come from highlands, and few are not clear where they come from; I decided to stick to the material sources, since each thing has a reason to be there. My motivation was not to make my own map, but to follow the guidelines of an existing setting.
I dared to draw borders, as possible, and without straying too far from the sources, to bring some order to my mental image. It was an extremely fun process, with more detail in the desert, which was my focus. It is impressive the amount of landscapes that exists in a desert, and a challenge to bring them to a map. Find or design a resource that can imitate the shapes; in the barchans dunes I used a crescent shaped brush, with dispersion and other effects, over a layer with emboss. This was the same process for each dune type. The same can be said about the Kavir and Harrat, and rest of landscapes.
In the end, above all, a layer with parchment features was added, multiplied, thus giving an old fashioned effect.
If I draw the map again, maybe I would do it differently, but not because it doesn’t meet my expectations; on the contrary, I am quite satisfied with the end result. But because once I start to play with the details, the fun is so huge, that invites to each time try something different, to experiment. Splashing the map and see how it changes is a big temptation that easily absorbs me to continue doing it.
### Winner ###
