WIP: Azora

[MPG]

Hello. After taking some excellent advice from a guild Sage (thanks, Mouse), I have revised and re-issued the Azora WIP - I hope it is well received, and I welcome all advice, as I am in a mapping learning frenzy right now.


Azora A3.jpg

[Mouse]

Oh my!

I really didn't say all that much, but thanks for the cred

Most of what you see there is nothing to do with me, actually, so you can pat yourself on the back for this one

Beautiful colour sense - nothing too bright or dull. Nice contrast, and a lovely design with the frame and the shape of the map. Really very good.

If I have a nitpick at this stage I would say take out the drop shadow on the landmass... if that's what it is. I think the very thin white line around the coast is enough

You're ready now to start a Finished Map thread with this one - except for a few last minute things that may be suggested by others on this thread, surely?

[MPG]

Oh my!

I really didn't say all that much, but thanks for the cred

Most of what you see there is nothing to do with me, actually, so you can pat yourself on the back for this one

Beautiful colour sense - nothing too bright or dull. Nice contrast, and a lovely design with the frame and the shape of the map. Really very good.

If I have a nitpick at this stage I would say take out the drop shadow on the landmass... if that's what it is. I think the very thin white line around the coast is enough

You're ready now to start a Finished Map thread with this one - except for a few last minute things that may be suggested by others on this thread, surely?

Hi Mouse. Nevertheless, the push to improve often needs to some objective inspriration, for which all cred is due to you, and I am chuffed to bits that you like it so much...I do too. I will go back into it and see what can be done about the drop shadow nitpick (what sharp eyes you have!) and perhaps re-issue as a Finished Map, depending on what other feedback come my way.
Thanks again

[Azélor]

Since you asked for my opinion...
I should begin by saying that this is not a style that I am familiar with, nor that i really like. It's not badly done, I just don't like this kind off map.
Having a convincing realistic, satellite imagery look is extremely difficult.
That said, the mountains don't look too bad and the rivers are very detailed. Maybe they mender too much.
The Ghost Mire river system is odd. It is extremely unlikely to have rivers diverging like that. There are cases like the Inner Niger Delta or the Okavango.

The labels are not easy to read. Bending and rotating should be use but with moderation. If you have to spin the head, it's too much.
Well in some case it can be part of the style. it's a matter of choice between style and practicality. It might be ok for the seas but the one in the bottom should be flipped, instead of being upside down.
The labels overland are bend and upside down, making them difficult to read.
The choice of font makes it worst as some letter like D looks like a Q upside down, so it can also be hard to tell what the orientation of the text is. But just in general, the readability of the font is not that great.
The spacing of the characters look very uneven: is it" Never V ales" or High W old?


Hopefully, I hope I did not sound rude. I can be critical and have a good attention to details (when I take to them to look properly).

---

I also have some questions if you don't mind:

You mentioned an old there about Ancient lands, can you post a link?
You also said the old file was 9g big, as in 9 gigabytes? That is huge! I have no idea how you could have such a big file. My biggest finished project is around 600mb with all the layers. It's that big only because I added a texture in the background, otherwise it would be closer to 200mb. I think have many textures is going to make the size of the image explode.
What is the symbol in the water in the east?

[MPG]

Hello Azelor, and thank you for the candour, it is precisely what I am looking for from the Guild as a whole. I'm familiar with the in line quoting, so please bear with me as I reply.

Since you asked for my opinion...
I should begin by saying that this is not a style that I am familiar with, nor that i really like. It's not badly done, I just don't like this kind off map.
Having a convincing realistic, satellite imagery look is extremely difficult.
That said, the mountains don't look too bad and the rivers are very detailed. Maybe they mender too much.
The Ghost Mire river system is odd. It is extremely unlikely to have rivers diverging like that. There are cases like the Inner Niger Delta or the Okavango.

The labels are not easy to read. Bending and rotating should be use but with moderation. If you have to spin the head, it's too much.
Well in some case it can be part of the style. it's a matter of choice between style and practicality. It might be ok for the seas but the one in the bottom should be flipped, instead of being upside down.
The labels overland are bend and upside down, making them difficult to read.
The choice of font makes it worst as some letter like D looks like a Q upside down, so it can also be hard to tell what the orientation of the text is. But just in general, the readability of the font is not that great.
The spacing of the characters look very uneven: is it" Never V ales" or High W old?


Hopefully, I hope I did not sound rude. I can be critical and have a good attention to details (when I take to them to look properly).

---

I also have some questions if you don't mind:

You mentioned an old there about Ancient lands, can you post a link?
You also said the old file was 9g big, as in 9 gigabytes? That is huge! I have no idea how you could have such a big file. My biggest finished project is around 600mb with all the layers. It's that big only because I added a texture in the background, otherwise it would be closer to 200mb. I think have many textures is going to make the size of the image explode.
What is the symbol in the water in the east?

Artistically this is the style I was trying for in this case, and for you to say its not badly done is quite pleasing in some ways. I think perhaps I have an overall difficulty with the scale of the mountains as they came after the rivers (yes I know...mountains then rivers is the geological norm) but they came from an earlier iteration. I might try the mountains again.
The Ghost Mire is a convergence rather than a divergence, and plainly it doesn't work by your comment, so that's marked down for a revision too.

The labelling needs work - I completely agree. I was trying to achieve a table-top, eyes down, gathered around, players eye view, which as you say may work around the edges but is not good anywhere else. I shall revisit.

As i said before critical analysis is what I am looking for, so keep it coming.

Not sure how to post a link so here it is...and an earlier version of the Azora map.
9 gigabyte is correct. I use an image size of 18381 x 13046 pixels @ 300dpi. And I do this because I hand design on A1 paper and then scan, and am concerned that working on a smaller image will affect the clarity. Please feel free to laugh and then tell me where I am going wrong because my PC is screaming expletives at me every time I put pen to tablet. And that shape in the east is a makers logo/scale marker that I've been toying with.

The Ancient Lands of MU.jpgThe Ways of Azora.jpg

[MPG]

Hi Folks, after a busy day tearing apart my kitchen yesterday I spent this morning re-working the Azora WIP, and I reckon its time to expose my failings again and offer it up for comment, so don't be shy....

Azora WIP III .jpg

MPG