July 2018 Challenge: Somewhere on Knightswall Road

[aeshnidae]

Looking good; can't wait to see what else you do with it

Awesome compass rose by the way

Thanks, PeriphReal! Awesome name, btw. I'm glad the compass rose has been a hit! I've been churning out enough maps that I wanted some sort of logo, and I love dragonflies, so it worked out well.

This is looking fantastic! Much much better effect on the grass. Just me personally, but I would probably try to roughen up the grass just a little bit more.

You may want to look at your layer order too, as the river bank line is on top of the short path between the jetty and adjacent house.

Unbelievable competition this month but this is one of my favourites!

Thanks, Tonquani! With this amount of amazing competition, I am very honored that my map is one of your favorites! You're right, I need to add a tad more roughness to the grass. The river bank is over top of a water wheel (that's my attempt at a mill) but thank you for reminding me that I need to make some of the wheel stick out above the river. I'll add that to my list of edits.

Oooh, congrats for your efforts, Aeshnidae !! The grass is superb now ! (and thanks for not hating me ^^).

*Trying to be hated once again* Maybe the river is too solid ? */Trying to be hated once again*

Thanks, MistyBeee! Do you have any suggestions about the river? I can lower the opacity or fill in parts of it, but do you think it'd be better to add in some white or lighter blues?

[MistyBeee]

Hmm... Maybe I would try a texture similar to grass but in lower opacity, and a slightly muted tone (the sky in your "House Twyford" emblem would be a good idea of what I'm talking about, both for texture and color). You can also try to make it slightly darker when water meet the grass. A few dark/light waves can add a lot too, but always subtle : it's always easier to add instead of remove, because removing can you give you the wrong feeling you're losing something (cheat with your brain advice ! ^^).
A good reference for inspiration : City of Moarkaliff by Gogots on Deviantart, hoping it's helpful, both for water and mill

[aeshnidae]

The City of Moarkaliff is EXTREMELY helpful, thanks! Work was so crazy yesterday that I wasn't able to even open Photoshop, but hopefully this evening I'll have some time to fiddle with Hillside.

[Adfor]

Your third current update is really awesome, Aesh! I have a fondness for your style, it's really appealing!

[aeshnidae]

Your third current update is really awesome, Aesh! I have a fondness for your style, it's really appealing!

Thanks so much, that's incredibly nice to hear! Errr....read!

I took MistyBeee's advice on the river and water wheel, and started the final line work for where the roads and grass meet. Still lots to do! Work is crazy right now but I'm trying to finish the challenge and I'm hopeful. Sorry I've not been commenting as much on this challenge. See above, re: work.

### Latest WIP ###
Hillside v9 (sm).jpg

[MistyBeee]

The water looks great, Aeshnidae ! I cross my fingers, hoping you'll have some quiet time for working on the map

[Bogie]

Looking so good, hope you get to finish everything the way you want.

[J.Edward]

That's looking quite nice Jen
One thing crept out though...
your perspective gate house is crenelated but your top down is roofed.

[Tonquani]

Hi Jen,

This is looking really cool - the waterwheel is awesome!

.....The river bank is over top of a water wheel (that's my attempt at a mill) but thank you for reminding me that I need to make some of the wheel stick out above the river. I'll add that to my list of edits. .....

I don't think you quite understood what I was getting at. (Sorry, I thought it was a jetty before you put the detail in)

The axle appears to come out of the building, over the grass and then under the water/grass join. I can't make this make sense however I look at it.

I assume it should be either

option1.png

Or

option2.png

Sorry, don't want to add to your workload (I know what it's like when you just desperately want to get to your map but haven't got the time because life gets in the way.)

Also, to make more work for you, if you haven't noticed it yet, you haven't put any shadows on your fort or the old wall sections yet...

It's looking awesome, come on you've got a couple of days left, you can do it!!!

[aeshnidae]

The water looks great, Aeshnidae ! I cross my fingers, hoping you'll have some quiet time for working on the map

Thanks, Misty!

Looking so good, hope you get to finish everything the way you want.

Thanks, Bogie! Work is crushing me so we'll see. A colleague retired and I have to take over a substantial chunk of her workload, at least for a couple of months. Last week was the transition week. I'm happy for her but...ugh!

That's looking quite nice Jen
One thing crept out though...
your perspective gate house is crenelated but your top down is roofed.

I was wondering if anyone would notice! It's been nagging at me since almost the start but I just haven't gotten to it yet. Thank goodness July has 31 days!

Hi Jen,

This is looking really cool - the waterwheel is awesome!
I don't think you quite understood what I was getting at. (Sorry, I thought it was a jetty before you put the detail in)
The axle appears to come out of the building, over the grass and then under the water/grass join. I can't make this make sense however I look at it.

Also, to make more work for you, if you haven't noticed it yet, you haven't put any shadows on your fort or the old wall sections yet...

It's looking awesome, come on you've got a couple of days left, you can do it!!!

Aha, now I get what you mean. Thanks for pointing that out, I will add it to my list. Along with shadows...I've only done a handful of roofs and lazily let Photoshop do the drop shadow (depending on work, I may need to let it be). And there are trees at the bottom that I accidentally put on a different layer so I have to fix that. But I'm so glad you think it looks good! I'm using this challenge as a learning experience so I wasn't at all sure how this would turn out.