Village de Vert-Cuivre WIP

[ThomasR]

Hello folks,

I leave this here without more explanation than "it's a Gaul/Celtic inspired village", it's late and I need to go to bed but starting a WIP thread will help me keep a decent pace to meet my deadline. Some of you might recognize the symbols though Also, all comments and critics are welcome of course.

01post.jpg

Cheers and good night !

[- JO -]

Looking forward to see how it goes... it's not your usual territory ;D

[ThomasR]

... it's not your usual territory ;D

No it's not ! I'm scared, seriously ! I've drawn some B&W maps in a similar style for another project but the rush made it so I could not second guess my choices (14 maps in 2 month). Here, I've got a one month deadline and I really wanna make it right. I'm gonna explain why.

A few month ago, a French RPG studio cronwfunded the French edition of the latest version of RuneQuest. It is the game with which I started playing when I was 14 and it's the game I played through high school and university every week or every two weeks. I love it ! On Twitter I stumbled upon the guy helming the new French material and contacted him boldly. The trail went cold for a handful of month. A few weeks ago, I reached out again just to know where things were and it happens it was the right time. They were starting to search for a mapmaker. Philippe (who helms the French material) is a looooong time friend of Olivier Sanfilippo, Akae, who also drew the maps for the original version of RuneQuest and he wanted to keep working with Olivier. Unfortunately, Olivier was not available and (for the second time) he recommended me for the job so, here I am, drawing this map for my youth RPG and I want it to look amazing. There is another map coming after this one and, Joël, you're gonna like it

The story has been told, now back to mapping. A huge thank you to Larb for cheering me up and giving a couple precious advices on Twitter.

The rough draft is done, the next step is starting the lineart.

02post.jpg

As always, any critic or comment is welcome.

Cheers !

[ThomasR]

Inking has started.

It is very strange how this type of map changes my workflow and it's also strange that, once again, I started with the rocks to structure the map

03post.jpg

[- JO -]

I have no doubt that you're going to make a great map : the know-how, the motivation and the talent are there... what could go wrong ?
It's a great story you share! What a fantastic feeling it must be to be part of a world that you "idolized" when you were young (and for so long) It's going to be a fabulous adventure, Thomas! Enjoy every second (even when you will be drawing those trees).
And you teased the next map so well that now I can't wait !

[ThomasR]

I have no doubt that you're going to make a great map : the know-how, the motivation and the talent are there... what could go wrong ?
It's a great story you share! What a fantastic feeling it must be to be part of a world that you "idolized" when you were young (and for so long) It's going to be a fabulous adventure, Thomas! Enjoy every second (even when you will be drawing those trees).
And you teased the next map so well that now I can't wait !

Thanks a lot Joël

Next step, I've started detailing the houses and some other elements and the map is starting to take shape. I've also laid flat colors to speed up the latest parts of the process.

Here are three images showing linework, sketch and colors.

04apost.jpg----04bpost.jpg----04cpost.jpg

As always, critics and comments are welcome.

Cheers !

[ThomasR]

The map is coming along nicely and the village is more and more lively with all the tiny additions.

If I had not been paralyzed by the fear of village/city maps, I would have discovered how much fun they are a long time ago. But they do take a lot of time ...

I've started detailing the forests and, while I love forests, I hate them too at the moment.

I'd love to have some input on them BTW. I plan on filling the gaps in the canopy with "forest soil" (not sure how I'll show this at the moment but I'll find something) and have a (too) complex shadow system as the trees are on four different levels in the forest areas.

I've also added various cultures : vineyards, orchards, classic fields and the ones with the brown rectangles are actually pergolas to grow hops (not sure that's how it's done, here again, if you have some input ...).

There are also pens for cattle and hens (maybe pigs too) and I plan on adding some more trees (yes, I'm masochistic) and a pontoon to add a boat.

It's reaching its end. I've still a lot of details to add and then I'll have to shade it so, I'd love all the critics you can muster. Not sure I'll follow through on them but it'll help me a great deal to better myself at this type of maps.

With no further ado, B&W and flat colors.

05apost.jpg----05bpost.jpg

[ThomasR]

I've slain those f*cking trees !!!!!! Only some minor details to add and the shading starts.

08apost.jpg----08bpost.jpg

As always, I'd love to hear your critics on this one.

Cheers !

Thomas

[ThomasR]

I love the shading part because it always frightens me (I really don't know where to start) but I begin with a stroke, another, I erase the layer, start again ... and before I know it, after a Pollock like transe, it is mostly done. It is organic, messy and surprisingly quick and liberating (a bit frightening from an outside point of view according to my wife but "quick" is worth it ).

I hope it's good looking enough. Next step, adjustments, the river and the cast shadows and finally the border and title plus key.

09post.jpg

[ThomasR]

Hi folks,

I might be done with the map itself and I'd need your keen eyes to help me make it better.

I've added texture to the water, underwater rocks, dirtied the bronze parts and added the cast shadows and here's what I have to show.

10post.jpg

Any critic is welcome at this point.

Cheers !