Viridia - a regional map again!

[Caenwyr]

I think you've struck a good balance! Is there an additional glow around the vines over the water?

Yes. There's gonna be a glow like that all over (in fact it's already there), but the strength will depend on how deep the shadows will be in each particular spot. Shading over the deeper parts of the seas is particularly strong, so that's why the glow appears brightest there. It will pop up elsewhere too as a continue shading this beast.

Also, another update! A splash of colouring, and a fungal forest!

Viridia (20a).jpg

[Wingshaw]

This is looking really really good Caenwyr!

Wingshaw

[Caenwyr]

Thanks Wingshaw!

And another update! Worked in a few more large forests, the last to be added. But have no fear, this is mostly a forest world, so even the open plains will have tons of little copses and woods sprinkled all over.

Viridia (21a).jpg

[Klaus van der Kroft]

Those are some mighty shrooms to the east.

I absolutely love the linework; mountains so pretty they bring tears to me weary eyes!

[Draupernaut]

I love this map and am very excited about how it will eventually turn out.

I especially like the little details like the canyons, crystal spikes in the woods or crators in the north. Only thing I'm not sure about are the big roses in the eastern forest. But I guess that is part of the clients world and personal taste.

One beginner question: I guess you draw digitally, what program do you use? Are all those beautiful mountains handdrawn or do you use special software?

[Caenwyr]

Those are some mighty shrooms to the east.

I absolutely love the linework; mountains so pretty they bring tears to me weary eyes!

Oh yes, don't try to eat them whole, you'll probably feel a bit iffy if you do! Also, thanks for your kind words on the mountains. I just hope you have managed to get that flow of tears to a halt by now, wouldn't want you to dehydrate just by looking at some squiggly lines there ;-) Seriously though, really glad you like them!

I love this map and am very excited about how it will eventually turn out.

I especially like the little details like the canyons, crystal spikes in the woods or crators in the north. Only thing I'm not sure about are the big roses in the eastern forest. But I guess that is part of the clients world and personal taste.

One beginner question: I guess you draw digitally, what program do you use? Are all those beautiful mountains handdrawn or do you use special software?

Yes, the roses on the peninsula will eventually grow on stalks, with massive petals and leaves and all! But that's for a future update. To answer your question: I use Photoshop for all my drawing work—that and a stylus. I currently draw on a battered old Surface Pro 3 computer (a full pc in the form factor of a large tablet!) with a pen-sensitive touch screen, but before that I used a cheap drawing tablet that worked equally well, although my current setup is far easier to use on the go. I do most of my mapping work on the train to and from work, so the smaller I go, the easier. I don't want to poke my fellow commuters in the eye every time I decide to do a sweeping line of some sort! ;-)

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And then there's another update. Incremental as always, since I'm stuffing this map full of little details, but I'm happy to share my progress no matter how slow I go.

Viridia (23a).jpg

[QED42]

Slow and steady wins the race even if it isn't great for those of us impatiently wanting to see the finished piece.

[ThomasR]

This is both gorgeous and pretty weird which is a combination that really suits your Franco-Belgian comics lineart and colors

[Caenwyr]

Slow and steady wins the race even if it isn't great for those of us impatiently wanting to see the finished piece.

Thanks for your understanding QED — just so you know: no one's as eager to see the next stage as I am!

This is both gorgeous and pretty weird which is a combination that really suits your Franco-Belgian comics lineart and colors

Thanks Thomas! I never consciously aimed for that look, but hey, I guess it's my signature thing then! Woohoo, there's definitely worse things to be recognized by!

Ooh yeah, the map is gonna get a good deal weirder: client wants 8 forests to have their very own vibrant colour, so keep an eye out for violet, orange, blue and even black forests. For now they're all green, but they will get their special colour upgrade in one of the updates to come. No idea how that is gonna look, so I'll be just as surprised with the result as you guys!

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Okay, inking is almost done, and I couldn't keep myself. Shading is my favourite stage so instead of finishing the linework north of the frontier mountains like a good cartographer, I just went ahead and started shading: first the islands, and now I'm working on the mainland starting in the bottom left corner. A long ways to go, but this is serious fun!!

Viridia (26a).jpg

[Caenwyr]

Alright, shading!!!

Or at least some of it, for now. More to come in some future update!

Viridia (29a).jpg