City of Wroat (new city style, feedback wanted!)

[Josiah VE]

Hey everyone,

Haven't been to active lately but I do have a few projects I'm working on.
I'm developing a style for a number of city maps I will be making of numerous locations from the D&D world for someone's campaign.
What I'm going for here is efficiency as I want to be able to complete the 8 maps in a reasonable amount of time. That means cutting a few corners and it won't be quite as polished or detailed, but the goal wasn't highly detailed maps anyways.

This map is still in early stages, but I'm looking for feedback on the style as I will be using it for numerous maps to come. I'm especially looking for feedback on the buildings and the overall style. Still not super happy with how the styles fit together and the colour of the grass is probably more of a placeholder for now.
But I'm pretty happy with how it's coming so far, as this is from about two days of work.

Let me know what you think,
Josiah

City of Wroat.jpg

[Josiah VE]

Here's an update of how the map is shaping up. Any feedback is appreciated!

City of Wroat_draft.jpg

[Voolf]

It's coming together very nicely Josiah. City maps are not easy ones and it takes time for all the details.
It's hard to give any feedback since you seem to have to cut some corners due to time constrains

The buildings look fine and i like the colours you chose, but the map looks a bit too dark for my taste.
You can also look out for the dark shadow on the roofs. Especially the lower part of the maps with brown roofs. Maybe changing the colour to brighter one will make it look better

[Wingshaw]

A few ideas that come to my mind:

-- making the water shade vary much more across the map. Maybe putting some very light blue or turquoise along the coastline?

-- adding small details such as chimneys and roof dormers can really make the map pop!

-- adding some variation to the 'backyards' - small buildings, trees, paved areas, sheds etc.

-- adding some more docks and wharfs around the rest of the coastline (even if there aren't any trade docks, surely people would prefer to cross the lake via ferry rather than walking all the way around?). Also, the docks that you've included already look a bit tacked on; maybe adding some shore features like waterfront piers, cranes, jetties, shops, warehouses...

-- I'm always puzzled when I see city maps in which one part of the city is partitioned off behind walls. With all of those towers and walls you've include, I have to ask: what are they guarding from? Where is the enemy approaching from? Walls and towers are expensive to build and maintain, and they occupy valuable real estate. Surely they'd be torn down and their materials reused if they're no longer needed?

-- I feel like the city doesn't have a clear nucleus. That might be fine, but it does make me wonder: if I came to visit this town, where would I go to find the area buzzing with the most activity?

Anyway, those are just some of my thoughts. It looks good so far, so keep it up!

Wingshaw