*** April 2018 VOTING: Map a Realm ***

[damonjynx]

Yes indeed, a very tough challenge to vote on. I too, broke my 3 vote limit for this one and voted for 4. I had a short list of 6. Well done everyone!

[Neyasha]

Are you guys crazy - how should someone choose between all the great entries? (imagine a fainting smiley here)
After thinking about it for ages I voted for -JO-, GreatWhiteNorth and MistyBee, because for me these are the most stunning entries. And then I also had to give my vote to El Tau, because I love the creativity of the map. But there are at least three more I really, really like.

[elboe]

I was able to narrow it to 3 entries, as I try to do. There were a few others that came close and I had to use some arbitrary criteria to narrow it down. Great job to all that finished, but nopkin, MistyBeee and GreatWhiteNorth each posted a beautiful illustration, all around, that had to get my vote.

I never did start a thread but I did start a map. It actually was starting to get close to how I envisioned it but I never had the time to work on it. It's a shame, as I really enjoy participating in the challenges, everyone is so helpful and supporting. These are a great way to improve your skills. Thanks to all who work so hard to keep them going!

[Mouse]

Ok, well I'm clearly either less disciplined or more generous than the rest of you. I had to go for 6

[El Tau]

And then I also had to give my vote to El Tau, because I love the creativity of the map.

Thanks a lot Neyasha! Your words are really appreciated!

[Mouse]

I'm only getting short bursts of being online here at the Guild right now, so I'm just going to rep things without comment today. Sorry!

[Vobland]

awwww can't decide between Magocracy of Tirasea and Kingdom of Noriande
1st got great complex layout, and 2nd just warm and awesome. And calligraphic text looks sooo true!

upd:
ah, I can vote for both

[ChickPea]

Only one vote between MistyBeee and nopkin. It's nail-bitingly close! If you haven't voted yet, get on it. Time's running out.

[Greason Wolfe]

Man that was tough. I honestly liked something about each and every map. In the end, I got it down to 4, and even then I had to really think about it. JO and GWN pretty much had me from the start. Then there was the darker theme of El Tau's map, and the texture of Mr. D's entry. Mind you, it could very easily have gone a different way if I were in a different mood or came back an hour from now and got to vote again. ABSOLUTELY WELL DONE TO ONE AND ALL!!

As soon as I get a bit more time, I will wander around and give everyone a chance to play with my Chewtoy of Rep.

[Jaxilon]

I didn't have time before but think that everyone deserves whatever attention they can get on these great maps. We used to have more of this sort of thing by folks with better input than I but I'll do my best.

The purpose of this is just to let you know what I thought of as I determined who I would cast my votes for and why. Take it or leave it, it's just how I whittle things down. Sometimes it's just totally arbitrary but hopefully it'll help. If not feel free to ignore.
Also, it's worth remembering that I may not have read the concepts you were going for and therefore might have missed entirely what you were attempting I'm just looking at the maps.


Edhest, the Republic of Swords, by - JO - Just really well done. Love the castle along the bottom. The map is also really nice. Good icons and all - Got my vote.

The Dominion of Ithin, by Azelor I'm not sure on this one. I think it's a space map but then there are the mountains…ah Sorcerous..ok, so this must be like an under map of what's going on in the area. There is so much black it seems sparse, maybe if there was more imagery in the background it would be more eye catching?

The Theocracy of Forline, by AzureWings I think the thing that punches my eye the most is the maintains. The hills look great (could do with some shadowing). The labels on the mountains are hard to read. I really like the location icons.

The Republic of Neonegrien, by Daistallia Unfinished…I know how that feels.

The Realm of Leressea, by damonjynx This is well done. I love how it takes me back to the hex games of old that I used to love. RP on a hex map can be a great time. I may have to do something like this for my group. I kind of forgot how fun they were. Nicely done!

The Principality of Belothler, by DanielHasenbos Unfinished..I think I mentioned knowing the feeling. This was a gorgeous start though. For whatever that is worth.

The Iron Dominion of Kharbizar, by Diamond As usual a very prety map. I'm interested in the extra lines for showing depth and I've fiddled with these myself but haven't yet found a satisfactory setting or way to use them. I think you may be right if they were toned down just a tad.

Dorthone, the Dominion of Pain, by El Tau Kind of a hard sell for me, I'm not into plane maps much. I personally feel people don't know anything about it but that said, I like the watercolor because well, that's kind of my favorite medium. I'd like to see more. Sweet icons.

The Dominion of Tirene, by GreatWhiteNorth This is really just a great looking clean map. It got one of my votes. I love the way you break the border with the lands. So cool. Love the illos in the corners too. This got a vote from me.

Hellinde, the Principality of Traitors, by Jaxilon Where was this guy going? I'm pretty sure he didn’t know either. Maybe if I have a couple more days but alas. At least I poked my nose in.

Duchy of Oroszlan, by joaodafi Unfinished…another fatality to the crushing weight of life.

The Republic of Eglalis, by kittensmittens Interesting. It's like a quick map but I like how you did the cities as roads or whatever you want to call them. Keep up the good work.

Magocracy of Tirasea, by MistyBeee This is amazing. I love the layout with all the sections. It looks like a lot of work and looks like a real map. Love the name plate right dead center as well. The city view along the bottom…just a bang up job. This is like half map and half information. I get why this is likely to win. I had to give you one of my votes. Oh, and I'm assuming you drew all the illustration bits.

The Kingdom of Noriande, by nopkin Absolutely wonderful. Love the watercolor as I mentioned it's my current obsession. Calligraphy just makes me jealous. This got one of my votes. It deserves to win just as much as the other front runner, imo. And with all the individually drawn cities and towns...so good.

The Theocracy of Donargothr, by qwalker This reminds me of some of the old game maps we used to get. This could be in a CRPG today. The only thing that bothered me here is the photos. You did a nice job with them and they don't look bad, it's just that when I see other mappers who did draw their illos I have to weight that in their favor. This is a good map though and a solid entry.

The Empire of Honosea, by Shenanigans What I love about this one is that it looks like a cardboard puzzle of a map. I think I like the labelling but the clouds I do find a bit distracting. I really does remind me of one of those kid puzzles. I think there might be a market for this.