The Western Kingdoms - Reborn

[Greason Wolfe]

It's been almost 4 years now since I originally started this project. It's been almost the same
amount of time since this project stalled in its tracks. Besides work and family issues at the time,
one of the main reasons it stalled had to do with vision. In a nutshell, I lost sight of what my end
goal was.

There were several contributing factors, two of the most significant of which were A) a computer
system that couldn't quite handle the file sizes I really wanted (or maybe needed) to work with,
and B) my end goal, at the time, wasn't as clear as I had thought it was. I've been armed with a
new computer for about a year, now, which solves the file size problem. The end goal problem
wasn't solved quite as easily.

I spent a lot of time thinking not so much about what I wanted the map to look like, but rather
who would be living in the area depicted in the map. I didn't think about them in terms of race
and/or gender, though. Instead I thought about them in terms of culture, religious beliefs, and
history. I also kept in mind that those same people would be the ones using the map.
Doing this gave me a better idea of what elements I would need for the map and how best to
arrange them.

And so, it comes to pass that I now present The Western Kingdoms - Reborn.

This first stage has been rather slow going so far. Working with a larger file size has
allowed/forced me to work at a greater level of detail. Mind you, I'm fine with that, since I am
not in a rush to get this map done. I would much rather make slow and steady progress. This
isn't a 100 meter dash, it's a 26 mile marathon, and I have to pace myself so that I don't burn out
before reaching the finish line.

Another reason that it has been slow going has to do with the fact that I (or so I think) am terrible
when it comes to creating somewhat plausibly realistic/interesting coast lines from scratch.
Basically, I have to cheat. That being said, I fired up Fractal Terrains and started browsing
worlds until I found a shape (or set of shapes) that caught my eye. I exported that to use as a
template of sorts for drawing up my own coast line. With that whole "pacing" thing in mind,
I've been working off and on for a few days to lay out the coast lines. At this point, I'm done
with about 2/3rds of the basic line art, and fairly happy with it so far. I've even managed to
finish up some of the more detailed line art in the north-central portion of the map.

When all is said and done, this map will be depicting an area measuring roughly 900 miles east to
west (at its widest) and 675 miles north to south (at its tallest), roughly equivalent to the areas of
Oregon, Washington State, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming combined.

Anyhootie, here's what I've gotten accomplished so far.

GW

Western Kingdoms WIP 001.jpg

P.S. sorry about the ugly text formatting. The cut and paste from my phone has been giving me issues lately.

[Greason Wolfe]

Managed to finish up the basic shore line work and added a bit of temporary coloring just to more clearly identify land from sea. Will be going back for more detailed work line work over the next few days hopefully. Still fairly happy with how things are looking so far, but unsure if I want to try adding another land mass in the south western portion of the map or leave it as it is. Thoughts? Suggestions?

GW

Western Kingdoms WIP 002.jpg

P.S. Forgot to mention previously, these WIP images are at about half the working size and about 2/3rds what I intend to be the final size.

[Greason Wolfe]

So it's back to work on this project at least until the next distraction. Still struggling a bit with scaling vs. detail, but feel like I am getting close. Laid down a few lakes and partial rivers just to get a better idea of how well they would mingle with the mountains. Moderately happy with the results but may need to adjust the colors a bit.

Latest WIP
Western Kingdoms WIP 003.jpg

GW

[Diamond]

Well okay! I like where you're going with this. I'm guessing the grid is just to keep your perspective straight?

[Greason Wolfe]

That is correct Mr. D. Not 100% certain I will delete it entirely for the finished map, but if it does stay, it will probably only show in the ocean/sea areas and be barely visible.

[Ilanthar]

It's looking good! I like the look of your mountains at that scale.

[Greason Wolfe]

Thanks Ilanthar (and Diamond, whom I forgot to thank in my previous post).

Not a huge update. Worked in a few more mountains (a few of which I am not 100% on just yet), added in (and cleaned up) a few more rivers, and settled on a font for the scale indicator (for the life of me I can't recall the technical name for that right now). At this point I feel.as though I am starting to let things get a little cluttered, so it's time to break away from this for a day or two and refresh the old eyes. Maybe work on some naming lists for later use.

Latest WIP
Western Kingdoms WIP 004.jpg

[Warlin]

Ambitious work and a promising start. I will follow with impatience the next developments.
Cheers.

[kacey]

Ambitious indeed, I really like the layout and the land forms, just wish I could see those mountains a little better.

[Arkidemis]

I wish you luck on this project. Looking good so far, I too will be waiting impatiently for each successive update.