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Immerith
Hi, I'm new here. I am in the process of making a map of my campaign setting. Any suggestions on how to improve it would be welcome!
One thing I'm not sure about is if the borders for the nations look okay. The colours seem a bit clowny-bright, but using more muted ones meant they didn't stand out enough.
Also, the 'torn edge look'... is that okay or is it a bit corny?
Last edited by Lanithro; 03-30-2010 at 12:00 PM.
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I don't really mind the bright colors. I am not big fan of these particular torn edges, as they don't seem realistic. I would suggest either dropping the torn edges, or scanning a real piece of old torn and crumbled paper to achieve that effect. Otherwise , I think it is very nice work = )
I'm with Mud on the edges but everything else I wouldn't change. Very nice and easy to "read".
If the radiance of a thousand suns was to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the Mighty One...I am become Death, the Shatterer of worlds.
-J. Robert Oppenheimer (father of the atom bomb) alluding to The Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 11, Verse 32)
My Maps ~ My Brushes ~ My Tutorials ~ My Challenge Maps
Yeah yeah yeah, this is really good for at first try. There are some missteps here and there, so I'll try to give you some constructive criticism on that:
I agree with you on the nation borders, they don't look quite right. I'd suggest maybe trying simple lines, maybe with a subtle gray color or perhaps dotted. I also think you could lower the font size on the text, as it seems at little obstructive to me. Just make sure they're still readable.
I'm not a big fan of those coastal outlines, but that's in general, not just with your map. The common technique is to select the land layer, expand the selection and then just stroke it, but this gives you some jagged, "unhuman" lines, and more so the further you expand the selection. Try removing at least the out-most line, or possibly both. Or don't, its your choice!
Also, I think you could do a bit of finishing on your city and mountain icons. In a few places, the icons are placed over coastlines and halfway into the sea, and in a few other, rivers are running through buildings, which doesn't look good.
Finally, I'd like to see some coloring on the mountains, like a gray that makes them stand out a little more.
But like I said, this looks really good, so keep at it, dude. Also, I'm really intrigued as to what "The Twist" is. It seems like a bad place.
PS. I think the torn edges on the left and right look fine, the ones on the top and bottom might be a little too much.
I think that looks pretty good. I'm not a big fan of the torn edges, but maybe if you put a shadow underneath the whole thing it'd look more realistic?
Like Daelin said, what about adding some color to the mountains? And also the cities - maybe just a bit of subtle white or something to make them pop a little more. It looks like you kind of did that with Averine, but the rest blend into the map too much.
Also, that font is awesome! What is that?
Bright colors and deep blacks don't go with ragged edges. If the map is supposed to be new, then the edges should be intact. If it is supposed to be old, the inks will have faded. Either a "new map" or an "old map" approach can work; there are beautiful examples of both in the Guild. Mixing the two, however, just doesn't make sense. I'd be fine with the colors used if the edges weren't aged.
I like the fonts, too.
Right above Firaszi, there's a half a mountain, where it gets cut off by the coast.
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