March/April/May '24 Lite Challenge: The Niwlen Spine

[XCali]

I think it looks great! My only comment is that some of the small labels (e.g. giant's foot) are quite hard to see. Perhaps make them have a more contrasting color.

Tx. Hahaha, yeah, I forgot to change that one. As for the other small labels, it is a deliberate choice to make them less noticeable. I don't want this specific map to be marred down by too much text, stuff outside of the map.

[XCali]

Smaller changes.
Rots'Oord - Rock Haven/Resort
Jotuns Fheir - Giant's Foot
Solstein - Sunstone
Fossfall Byr - Waterfall Village

And added some place names.
A_Niwlen Spine_v10_.jpeg




Any other points of interest you would want to see named?

[XCali]

This was a little tricky at first. But I tried to get some glowing icons to work on the map.

Eventually settling on bright colors and then using dodge on my paintbrush to give it a bit of a pop.

Question, I'm wondering if and I mean if I should alter how the map title looks. Or does it work for you all?
A_Niwlen Spine_v11_.jpeg

Let me know what you think about the icons.

[Abu Lafia]

Hey XCali, the mountainranges with the fog have a lot of character to it! Many fantastic things to discover here and i really like the tree brushes you made.

Since you asked for opinions on some things, here they come:
- Regarding your title, have you tried out the font you used for the other lables? The handwritten one looks a bit like a hasty note in my view. With the amount of work you've already put into this map i'd opt for a digital font or redoing it by hand with a ruler/ helping lines, etc ?)
- The Icons look good in this colourful pictorial style! I just wonder if they might be a bit redundand in this scale, since the beautifully drawn landmarks depicted on them are right next to and even sometimes obscured by the icon (e.g. on the Fossfall Býr)?

And one thing you haven't asked for:
- In my view the labels looked better and more readable in a non-curved state.

Hope you don't get me wrong, this map is looking fantastic so far and i'm looking forward to see it unfold!

[XCali]

Hey XCali, the mountainranges with the fog have a lot of character to it! Many fantastic things to discover here and i really like the tree brushes you made.

Since you asked for opinions on some things, here they come:
- Regarding your title, have you tried out the font you used for the other lables? The handwritten one looks a bit like a hasty note in my view. With the amount of work you've already put into this map i'd opt for a digital font or redoing it by hand with a ruler/ helping lines, etc ?)
- The Icons look good in this colourful pictorial style! I just wonder if they might be a bit redundand in this scale, since the beautifully drawn landmarks depicted on them are right next to and even sometimes obscured by the icon (e.g. on the Fossfall Býr)?

And one thing you haven't asked for:
- In my view the labels looked better and more readable in a non-curved state.

Hope you don't get me wrong, this map is looking fantastic so far and i'm looking forward to see it unfold!

Thanks a bunch!

Hehe, don't worry! I really appreciate if people can openly discuss what can be tweaked, or even wonder if something needs to be tweaked.

- Yup. I do agree. And to be frank, I have been striking a little blank on how I can do it differently without taking away from the fog lands. Will think about what to do about it.

- I do agree that sometimes you need to let the landscape do the talking (e.g. Dorchada, is the mountain with a entrance to an ancient stronghold) But, since this is a zoomed in part of a much larger map, the icons are mainly there to represent the type of settlement that is located there. Veilwatch having a Morning Tree, and being a large city. Fossfall Byr, Jotuns Fheir and Solstein being small villages. And then Dry River Hold and Rots'Oord making up larger towns. (The only real different thing I might do is making it smaller icons, though I was trying something new.)

- And sadly on the labels, it is about consistency on my maps. On the larger map of the region, stuff like mountains and forests have curved labels, and the settlemens. I keep on non curved. So, I'm not going to change that for this map.

Thanks on the tips! It is definitely good to consider and reconsider things as one continue.


This is just to show a piece of the larger map.
The Dimma Shroud_Sorvendyre_v1.0_1b_HopeMaps.jpeg

[Abu Lafia]

Oh cool, i wasn't aware this is a zoomed in part of a larger regional map! In this case the icons make a lot more sense ofc.

[XCali]

Hey hey!

So, I tried to redo the map title. Hopefully it works better.

Also, added lineart for Dorchada's Dwarven Gate that leads into the mountain. And I've added more stuff to the Iri Quagmire. And added the ruins of Draak'Fort.
A_Niwlen Spine_v13_Small_.jpeg

The map is probably almost finished. So if there is anything you think would make it better, let me know
A_Niwlen Spine_v13_.jpeg

[Bogie]

Looks great! IF you wanted the title to stand out more, you could make the clouds behind the letters a bit brighter white.