City of Galanar Pass

[landorl]

I'm currently stuck on my other city map, so I started the next one, which I will actually be using in a couple of weeks.

This is the initial drawing. This is a city in the mountains at the southern end of a major pass. I plan on doing some coloring for the background, but thought that I would start with the city, and then do the background a little later.

Anyway, this is what I have so far. I am doing my fields similar to the way that Gandwarf does his in CC3 because I thought it was a pretty cool effect.

[Gandwarf]

Yay, another city map! This makes me happy indeed.

Very promising start. Love the height lines (curious to see how it turns out with housing placed) and forests. Fields are fine too, mine are very bright and distract from the city itself. Darker fields (like yours) is probably the way to go, but we will know for sure once you have placed the housing

[landorl]

Now I have most of the area outside of the city walls done. I will now start to work on the city itself.

[Gandwarf]

Your mountains look very good! I would be very much interested in some pointers or maybe a tutorial how to do those...

Funny note: you are working from outside to inside, while I am used to work from inside to outside most of the time.

[Steel General]

This is coming together quite nicely.

[landorl]

The technique is pretty simple, but somewhat time consuming (I'm sure there's an easier way).

What I did was create a series of layers (In Photoshop) called altitude 1-8, by copying my contours layer. I then used every third contour line for each level. I erased all of the lines except for the one that I used for that layer, and then filled it and added a blur effect.

I also created a layer for rocky areas, and then drew painted some rock outcroppings, and used the blur again.

Looking back at it, I would probably change the color at every other altitude line rather than every 3, that would give it a little more dramatic change in the altitude. I may end up going back and doing that as I get this finished.

I haven't experimented with this in CC3, but I think that the blur effect might be able to do the same thing if you have multiple layers for the contours, but it becomes rather time consuming to create all of those extra layers.

[Gandwarf]

Thanks for the information, just too bad you didn't use CC3 to create the effect. I was hoping for something simple

[landorl]

I did some more work on this, and should be able to finish it off within the next day or two.

I have tried to do something a little different with the trees. I am not sure if I like it or not. I used a pillow emboss to give them a little more texture.

[Gandwarf]

You made a spelling mistake: "Nothern farmlands"
(and Groto should be Grotto?)
Otherwise I am impressed.

[Sigurd]

Very clean style. Looks vector drawn.


I like it. I'm interested to see how it turns out.