Foxglove Townhouse and my first submission

[Sereptus]

Hey all! I've been using maps from this site for years and figured it's time to start giving back. I did a rendering of the Foxglove Townhouse from the Rise of the Runelords a couple years ago and now that I'm concentrating on doing a lot of mapping and artwork in general due to more time off of my regular job I figured I'd start posting some of these works and get some professional/semi-professional advice from this amazing community. I made the Foxglove Townhouse using Photoshop exclusively ( and mainly because I've tried Dundjinni on several attempts and can't figure out even the basics of that program :/ , a shame to be sure) . I used all kinds of textures and art pieces and objects from around the web but have no idea where they came from but I suspect most came from the Dundjinni forums. If you see anything you created feel free to take credit! I only made the first floor of the townhouse as the second floor seemed really unnecessary. I also made the Seven's Sawmill but I'll wait until I get some feedback/critique before posting those. I run my campaigns' in Maptool and am currently creating (a more realistic?) setting of the Town of Red Larch for the adventure Princes of the Apocalyse by WotC originally done by the excellent artist Mike Schley!

[Meshon]

This is a very nice battle map. Your paths look really good.

I'd like to see if you can add some more depth to the stairs, they seem a little flat to me. Stairs are a real challenge though, and it's at least clear what they are and where they go, so adding shadows or whatnot isn't a necessity. I think the overlapping textures on the landing are a little strange though, I would just use one or the other, and maybe fiddle with hue, saturation and/or brightness to make the landing different from the rest of the floors, if that was your intention in combining the textures.

I haven't played Rise of the Runelords, so I don't know the story of this map. Is it a house in use, or is it abandoned? I'm guessing it's inhabited but, if not, add some dirt and a little bit of wear and tear around the place. Even if it is inhabited, maybe the residents are as tidy as I am. In which case you still have an excuse to make it messy

Thanks for sharing this one.

cheers,
Meshon

[zeichen]

Nice work. Wood floors are quite tricky. It would probably be better if you did them in smaller blocks rather than laying it all as one texture. You have some really small blocks of wood in between long runs. The colors and tone of the wood look very uneven. Unless you actually have wood parquet flooring it is hard to get the feel for it.

The steps leading into the place are the same stone as the walkway. It looks awkward. Either use something different or adjust the levels and saturation.

As Meshon said, the stairs are a bit off. I try to avoid stairs if possible as they take me forever to get right. One time I must have adjusted them 2 hours before it looked right. You can also adjust the perspective of the bottom stairs or perhaps throw a tapestry down on the floor between the two sets of stairs and add some more shadows and that will cover up the problem.

Before adding shadows and shading, you need to decide where your light source in the rooms are.

Perhaps put some torches or candles or oil lamps on the walls.

I also don't quite get the papers on the floor, but it doesn't look bad, just don't understand the logic.

The privy is nicely done except for the floor. Don't use the same smooth, glazed wood that you would have in the house interior. Either keep it as hard pressed dirt or if you want it wood, use a different texture of an older water stained wood and throw some grunge stains around. No privy is going to be that clean.

Your seamless textures need some better adjustments. There are quite a few obvious lines. There are several ways to adjust this. The simplest is to put a similar texture underneath by slightly off center and then just modify the top layer with your masking.

You can also add some debris, stones, or other objects to cover up and break the continuity.


When working with assets from various sources, adjust the levels and the saturation on each one to match the mood of your room. It takes a lot of time but really blends things nicely.

Finally, Add some shadow maps, and grunge. Make it looked lived in. A few cobwebs or stains on the table would give it that lived in look.

It is 100% useable as is, but the extra touches take it from useable to being the go to map for all Dm's.

Keep up the good work.

Battlemaps are my favorites to do also.

[Sereptus]

Thanks for the critique! Yeah, if I had to do it over again I'd make the place a little dirtier. There are occupants (dopplegangers) but still, it doesn't make sense they would leave the place looking like it's been ransacked (which it has) and have the kitchen table and other things sparkling clean!! Now I've gone back to The Seven's Sawmill and started making that look more lived in, instead of merely functional! Thanks again!