Dec '20/ Jan '21 Lite Challenge: Swimmy Archipelago

[Kisachik the Wanderer]

Hello Friends!

I hope you're having an excellent new year so far. I know I'm off to a bad start due to some troubling news and some crazy bold decisions I made. (I thought I could get a decent, easy haircut by tying my hair into a pony tail and snipping it off. Oops!)

So what better way to escape from such problems than creative work?

I once made a decent looking map in this simplified style, though I don't exactly remember how. The coast line looked great, even though there wasn't much detail to it, and I decorated the map with simple shapes. So I thought I'll give this style another try, though I can only guess how my process looked back then, it was so long ago.

### Latest WIP ###

Swimmy Archipelago.png

I'm probably going to edit these shapes further, but they'll have this simplified coastline look, almost like a map for a trip brochure.

My old map had some goofy location names, and I hope to come up with some fun ones for this one too. I think I have a pretty good title so far...

[PainPerdu]

Great shape! Is it me or can I make out a sideway bee-with head, feet and wings- and a slightly long, disjointed tail/thorax? Haha, don't mind the misplaced comparison.
Are you planning a border too? Will be waiting to see the refined result.
P.S: I have to admit I also used that cutting technique, but on a braid- I must have thought I was Mulan or something...

[Bogie]

Welcome back to the Challenge Kisachik! Hope you can remember or improve the process you are going for.

[Kisachik the Wanderer]

Hello friends!

Yes, I have figured out how I came up with the main shape when I put away my drawing tablet but wanted to make some small adjustments, and used my mouse. And using the mouse was it, that is, using tools without pressure sensitivity settings.

I will be modifying my process this time, I want to try some new things out. Here's an update. I would have posted sooner, but I'm in the middle of spring cleaning, so to speak, I have a new system on my computer.

### Latest WIP ###

Swimmy Archipelago 2.png

[Kisachik the Wanderer]

Hello Friends!

Here's the latest. I explored a different direction than I originally planned. I looked at other submissions and I thought that brownish colour thing QED24 has going on is so classical cartography, and I was just looking for a solution to my colours that were being just a tad too loud.

I thought maybe I should tone them down, go with a more monochromatic look. But at the same time I wanted something painterly. One of the tings I wanted to try was an oil painting look, and then I remembered how some old artists would use gold leaf to add a nice touch to their paintings.

I mixed and matched, explored and experimented, and came up with this.

### Latest WIP ###

Surfy Archipelago Final.png

I hope you enjoy it.

I have to say I'm kind of proud of this color palette.

I almost forgot to mention, in case anyone's wondering; the compass points to: Here, There, Over There and Yonder.

When I read "Map anything" I saw that as an invitation to chaos, so I brought some. You can maybe find hints of it in the region names.