Quote Originally Posted by Pomb View Post
Really cool map LizardInk, I especially like the ornamentation, I appreciate its twirliness.
Do you have any tips to share on how to tackle ornamentation? I can imagine banners well enough, but french ornamentation and floral embellishments in general make me think it might be easier to just do it in 3d and draw over renders or something.
One word: references!! References help A LOT. Yet most artists I know (myself included) so often forget to use them. The frame on this one was inspired by the wrought iron seen on many French Quarter balconies. I started with a collection of photographs of balconies, which I kept by my canvas, so I was continually glancing at them while I worked. I sketched very loose shapes, and then inked in the finished, detailed lines. I would think renders would take a lot more time, honestly. Putting together a good mood board of photos and designs goes a long way (as does Procreate's symmetry feature..!!!)

Also: One thing I like to do, especially when drawing castles, is to cut up photos of other castles into individual pieces, like towers, walls, and halls, then piece them together into new shapes and buildings, which I use as references for my drawings. The same concept would easily work for ornamentation. Cut out some railings, corbels, other architectural or design elements, and then rearrange them like a collage until you come up with a new, unique sort of shape that you can then reference.

Of course if you're really handy at renders (which I'm not!) I'm sure that's also a totally useful approach!