It's some sort of weird skylight in the roof that is invisible on the roof map.
The lighting is pretty simple actually. It has three layers.
1. the bright areas are a white overlay layer. This is a little blurred (I used gaussian blur).
2. I duplicated this layer.
3. Next I placed a layer of pure black over the floor (but not over the walls). I selected all the white bits of layer 1 ('alpha to selection') then deleted this off the black layer. Then I reduced the opacity of the black layer to c. 50% or so (can't remember exactly).
And that's it. Very simple.
It looks similar to a rose window on a cathedral.
Exactly atpollard - it was meant to be a rose window, situated somewhere high up. I acknowledge the lighting is probably not terribly realistic but I don't know enough about shadows and perspective to know how to go about doing it properly.
I haven't abandoned this project - I'm just busy on other things, and will get back to this in due course.
It's looking amazing I think. The one thing that I feel should be addressed is the lack of shadow from the building itself...I mean with all the shadows through the windows the south side of the building should be in some serious shade.
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Thanks Jaxilon - you are absolutely correct about the shadow. I'll need to get on that.
Amazing work. Especially the shades and lightning are exceptional.
Apart from that I have a few minor things: 1. The strange circular light in the church. 2. The church roof looks rounded. 3. I'm not fond of walls with lighting effects on them when you see them top-down and cut through (I know many encounter maps that uses this style so this my personal reflection of a very, very nice looking map).
Minor note: The well/cistern is perfect in size for a large castle. I guess in the real world it would be covered by a sturdy floor (with a trapdoor to get water through) or even a roof but it's looks better as it is now
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what a fantastic project Jackt - and wonderful artwork you're making. Love the textures and lighting and the general feel... very cool - I just have to rep you now so I don't forget later, now that I'm not around as much as I used to be
regs tilt
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JackTannery any progress updates on this? I need my castle fix LOL
Thanks for the kind words Carnifex and Tilt.
Carnifex, I'm also coming around to the idea that the strange circular light in the chapel is awful and should be removed. The chapel roof was supposed to look rounded to the west. I'm not 100% sure what you mean by point 3 - do you mean the chapel windows? Yes these are very strange but I really like them. Glad to hear my well is of a realistic size - though that was just a fluke.
Vellum - I'm still busy but I'll be working on the keep next time I get a chance to update.