First Village Map

[Coreyartus]

So I needed a map for my D&D campaign (I'm the DM) and couldn't find anything that would substitute for what I wanted. So I just made one--my first "village map", using the award winning tutorial written by Larb that can be found here. <Thank-you, Larb!!> Since it was written for CS3, I had to adapt a bit--some of the tools he mentions are not in the same place as they were before, and my understanding of how to use the Line tool in Photoshop left a LOT to work on, so I sorta muddled through using his tutorial as inspiration when I couldn't figure out how to do what he was instructing...

I think, given the opportunity, I may go back and "fix" the water somehow--it doesn't feel right to me... And I think I need to watch some vids on the Line and Shape tools, but it is what it is for now.

I think there are some compositional errors that I need to address as well--I really don't need so much "green space" around the town, and suggesting the fields and pond may be enough instead of completely encompassing them.

I learned a lot--I used my initial signature to create the compass rose, and tried my first "Neatline" even though I know it's not quite right (don't look too closely). I also learned how to make some brushes specific to my needs on each project, so that's good to know!!

Let me know if you all see anything else that sticks out as odd--I may get back to this project sometime soon, but I need the map tomorrow so I'm gonna have to use it as is for right now.

This is intended to be a very small, cow ranch village, without a lot of the niceties that a larger village might have. There is an inn--a large one that has received many additions over time, a general mercantile, a butcher, a blacksmith/cartwright, some barns, a mill on the pond, and some large cattle barns. The residents of this town keep it bucolic and somewhat unrealistically "safe" from harm, as their well known adventuring pasts keep any baddies at bay. It's mostly a watering spot for cattle drivers now, as it has a large shallow pond in close proximity. Travelers come and go, as there isn't much here to keep anyone except idyllic and uneventful retirement.

Beliard-3a.jpg

[Bogie]

Congrats on your first map. As a map for game use it is exactly what you needed. As a work of cartography art ( which was not your prime goal ) there are some areas for improvement, but it is better than I could do. The one thing that jumps out at me the most is the very parallel lines around the shoreline. Maybe break them up a little.

Overall though, well done, especially the great border.

[Coreyartus]

Thanks so much, Bogle! I really appreciate that! It's not my first map, though--just my first non-dungeon map map, and I gotta say it's a whole different ball of wax... hehe...

Regarding the water--I "stroked the selection" of the shape of the pond, and contracted it several times, all the while forgetting to put it on it's own layer (d'oh!. So if I fix the water, I have to kinda go back and do it all over again...hehe... But you're right--that's definitely something that sticks out to me as well. Thank-you!!!

I'm also not quite satisfied with the quality of the lines... It seems that (for me) starting out with the "rigidity" that is a result of drawing things by letting the computer handle the heavy work (like shapes for buildings and such) works against me in the long run. For example, the shapes of the buildings and the rooftops are created following Larb's methodology, but the rooftop hatching is drawn manually with a tablet. They don't really "gel" when I do it, but when Larb did it in his tutorial it's looks just fine! LOL! I need to explore the juxtaposition between the computer's results and the organic hand-drawn quality I like. I need to learn how to not let the computer do so much "heavy lifting" and instead carry things myself.

And I think that comes from really knowing the program, in some ways. Really being able to understand what is possible. I followed Larb's "recipe" pretty closely, and the results are awesome (!!) but I think I need something a little more "artistically loose" and less perfect. Finding that fine line--that's what I'm going to have to practice.

And I think that may come from following more recipes and cookin' up some more maps so I know how the ingredients can go together. What do they call it? Masters studies? LOL!

Many many more hours of work ahead for me... hehe... But thanks so much for the encouragement!

[Kiba]

Yay, Westerns! I'm wondering if that 50-foot scale isn't too a bit off--even a small village can't survive on just twenty-odd acres of farmland, especially if you're going for the dusty, hot ranch town setting. Maybe expand the farmland a little bit more? The drier the climate, the more land you'll usually need unless they've worked out irrigation.

[Coreyartus]

That's an excellent idea! I'll add more fields. I hadn't planned on it being a "self-sustaining" community much--in my head, it relies almost entirely on the trade route it's situated on, so most of what's available there is brought in... But, you're right. Even a small community like this needs to be able to provide the bulk of its own food. So more fields are coming! I have room, and lots of green space I can fill in, so that's an excellent idea. It'll provide more visual interest.

[Coreyartus]

Ok, I updated things a bit... Took care of the water as best I could--still not perfect, but a little better... Added some more fences for the cattle and for work horses. Added some more fields. I moved the compass rose a bit, and tweeked a few other things... I think it's a bit better. I'm going to add this to the "Finished Maps" forum.
Beliard-2a.jpg

[snodsy]

Like the look of your map and the illustrative components of it, I have a couple comments.

1. maybe take the texture of the background down a bit, a little over-powering compared to your illustrative roof tops. Maybe even a modeled terrain (cloud filters with varying transparency overlays) instead of the texture.
2. The roof tops are a little too bright, maybe add some black to each of the colors (yellow/pinkish ones)
3. Maybe an Inlet and/or outlet to your lake, with maybe less contour wave lines, it's not like there would be lots of waves and if so, maybe one side, based on wind direction.

Nice job!

[woopingwooper]

This map is looking pretty good! Most of my maps are for various D&D campaigns as well. It's dramatically increased the prep time for my campaigns, but isn't it satisfying to have a town that's exactly how you imagined it?

I think you improved the water a lot with the new ripple lines. Using a light color definitely helps! They are still a little strong in the narrowest stretches of your lake. I usually use a bunch of small, disconnected, irregular waves, rather than single straight lines. Also, they don't have to be equidistant from one another. Usually, waves bunch of near the shore and become further spaced out the further you go. Your stylistic approach is quite interesting, so I don't want to discourage it, but it's just another thing you could try.

I think you could probably cut back on the background texture in the lake. Water shouldn't be a flat, featureless blue, but the grainy texture that looks so nice as grass doesn't work very well for a lake.

I agree with snodsy, the roofs could be darkened a little bit.

Overall, its a very nice map. I hope your party enjoys it!

[Coreyartus]

Oohh... You're right--the color of the buildings themselves created too much "pop". I pulled them down with a wash of the same green of the grassland, and added some darker tones to some of the buildings as well. That went a long way to making them feel more "organic" to my eye.

Regarding Textures--Um, yeah. Textures are like candy for me--I love them but a little bit of sugar goes a long way. I think I went overboard with the Layer Styles texture option, and that also added to the disjointed feeling for the buildings. So I dialed it back and made the whole thing "flatter", and I think that made a big difference.

I figured out (finally) how to select the specific darker rings in the pond, and thanks to Content-Aware Fill, I was able to make them disappear (for the most part). It looks a lot less like there are cresting waves now (hehe) and more like a pond should.

I also went back in and increased the contrast in the whole thing--the whole thing seemed to have this gray tone over it that was too dark for me. It makes it feel a lot more colorful, but I think it needed it. Better?

Beliard-3a.jpg

[Kiba]

Looking REALLY good!

I personally never thought there was any jarring feeling in the color scheme, but it's probably my monitor. The faded lines for the water make it look SO much better! Also digging the erratic/spotty texture for the fields--perfect for distinguishing them from the normal grass!