October Entry: temple transformation

[Gamerprinter]

Got rid of that "wall" on the "south side" of the river. It was a bevel of the rock terrain I used beneath all the grass and forest terrains, so I converted the bevel fill to the forest fill. Still has a highlight, but denotes an elevation change.

I tweaked the crop areas, though it probably needs more work. I also lessened the feather at the edge of the forest to make it more distinct. Because the monastery is so tiny in this map, I did an unsharp mask in PS to heighten some detail. Plus this map has more pixels than the other...

Unless I can tweak before tomorrow, this map is probably done.

[RPMiller]

Weird optical illusion... Where the land "juts" into the river it looks like it is "peeling" up. I think it may be caused by the "flatness" of the river compared to the surrounding terrain.

[Gamerprinter]

OK, one last try. I couldn't figure out how to correct the optical illusion on the river's edge without removing the bevel altogether - and I think I need the bevel overall. The map loses something when I remove the bevel from the river bank.

I added a new compass rose, listed a village in the other direction of the road, named the forest and tweaked the crop areas a bit more. Oh I added a miles scale, just for finishing details.

And in case you didn't notice the compass rose points to West at the top! I figure east is the steppe and the frozen wastes, and civilization is to the west, so these guys look to the west, both religiously and secularly.

This has to be the final now.

[RPMiller]

It's an optical illusion so I don't think you could fix it without making some big changes. It is caused by what amounts - to the eye at least - as shading with the darker riverbank vegetation. This causes the brain - at least my brain - to think that that area is raised and thus the "peeling" effect. In fact, everywhere that dark green butts up against the much lighter green it creates a shadow effect. The area of the temple grounds looks like it is on a plateau and the area in the top right looks like the base of a mountain.

[Gamerprinter]

The area of the temple grounds looks like it is on a plateau and the area in the top right looks like the base of a mountain.

These are small mountains or really big hills surrounding flatter terrain used for arable land, some of the rocky hills are exposed as to the left and bottom, some of the forest terrain lies in relatively flat terrain, while much lies in rising ground.

The top right is in fact the base of a mountain rising higher towards the top edge of the map.

However the crop land area surrounding the monastery, is more flood plain than a plateau. The edge of the forest isn't necessarily distinct, because ground brush continues between the dark green and the light green.

The optical illusion I think is caused by the 3D forest-like terrain I chose mixed with the feather applied in Xara to soften the edges between terrains.

The fix would be to use a different forest fill, but its a small issue in light of the rest of the map.

New maps would use a different approach. I learn from every map I create.

[Gamerprinter]

After doing my Veil Vale and Coast Road project - I learned some new tricks at creating variagated terrains using Xara. I used them to some effect on the West Central Ostrovia map, above.

However, in the "teeny weeny" version of the monastery grounds on the above map, despite being so small, you may notice the extra detail in the terrain of the monastery grounds. I made changes to the grounds as well, after working on the Coast Road test project.

I forgot to upload the enlarged version - so here it is sans gridlines and text (except for my name ) - St. Bes Monastery grounds final map: WIP

[Robbie]

I like this map series a LOT...I think you did a great job of implementing the photo realistic textures with the 3d components as well like the onion domes...

Also I think its a nice "pack" of maps considering you've got the monastery and the surrounding countryside in various different functional map configurations.

There are some parts that are a little unusual considering the fact that you did a lot of experimenting on this map, but it definitely shows you pushing the boundaries.

[Robbie]

I mentioned this in ravells thread and thought I'd share it because I think I figured out whats causing the uncanny valley effect on your map...I'm not sure how this applies to xara, but maybe you can give it a shot...no pressure to put this to effect on this map of course, I just think it might be something to think about for the future...

Its the "shininess" of the bevels...In this particular map, the bumpiness is too shiny...or glossy if you will, and I think thats whats unsettling to me...the highlights should be a VERY VERY light effect, try using a different color as the highlight color (photoshop's bevel filter will let you specify the color and layer mode of both highlight and shadow, not sure about other programs) but play with that a bit...

I've learned from 3d modelling and texturing that the only way to show texture without making it lossy is through the use of shadows only and just changing the brightness enough on the highlighted parts to show the raise, without making it look glossy...Its the glossiness of the bevels thats messing it up I think.

[RobA]

Its the glossiness of the bevels thats messing it up I think.

Another suggestion (for 2d paint programs making bevel effects) is to override the default light colour (usually white) to a light shade of the surface. In my experience, white is good for specular reflection (like a phong highlight) but not good for diffuse reflection.

-Rob A>

[Gamerprinter]

That shiny bevel has been repaired.

I took the terrain object which was the base over the river, converted to an editable shape, ungrouped it so the bevel was a separate object, then gave it a solid fill of a brownish gray. It looks dark in places along the bank, but this is dark silt mud banks. Otherwise the highlight is gone.

I also added a plasma filter on the river color to give some texture to that flat solid blue.

All corrections done in Xara, so I didn't have to use additional software.

(October has 31 days, its the 26th, so this is still a legal submission!)

Corrected Ostrovia map...