Fantasy RPG Town Map

[torstan]

I'd avoid using the burn tool directly on the grass layer as it will change your colours. I'd recommend using a mid-gray overlay layer and then adding light and dark to that (possibly using burn/dodge on that layer) to get your elevations.

I look forward to seeing the results of your experimenting.

[Turgenev]

Okay that was weird. I got the email notification that Steel General made a reply (with an interesting tip on doing shading on the grass) but when I came here, his post is not to be seen. Did you delete the post, SG? Or was there a glitch in the system? Like I said, weird.

Back to the map. I've decided to not add any elevation modifications to the town map because I think it has enough going on as it is. I did experiment with a few touches but none of them thrilled me. Even though I didn't use the tips this time, I do appreciate them because I'm likely to use them later.

[Gandwarf]

I agree with the others, it looks good. The layout of the city is cool as are all the different houses (being different shapes and sizes). I also quite like the little effect you added to the road to create the bridge in the town center.

Some suggestions/critique:
- I would probably place the buildings in the walled town center a bit closer together. Everybody likes the safety of a nearby wall. It's prime real estate!

- The larger forest to the right has a bevel or something? It's too noticable for my taste, it almost looks like it's made of plastic. The smaller forests don't seem to have the problem as much.

- Maybe add some rubble where parts of the outer walls stood?

[Steel General]

Okay that was weird. I got the email notification that Steel General made a reply (with an interesting tip on doing shading on the grass) but when I came here, his post is not to be seen. Did you delete the post, SG? Or was there a glitch in the system? Like I said, weird.

Yeah I deleted it after realizing it was the same basic technique that is used in Pyrandon's city tutorial. Since you had already mentioned you were going to look at that I figured it wasn't worth repeating it here.

[Turgenev]

I agree with the others, it looks good. The layout of the city is cool as are all the different houses (being different shapes and sizes). I also quite like the little effect you added to the road to create the bridge in the town center.

Some suggestions/critique:
- I would probably place the buildings in the walled town center a bit closer together. Everybody likes the safety of a nearby wall. It's prime real estate!

- The larger forest to the right has a bevel or something? It's too noticable for my taste, it almost looks like it's made of plastic. The smaller forests don't seem to have the problem as much.

- Maybe add some rubble where parts of the outer walls stood?

Thanks for the ideas, Gandwarf. I'm going to toy with the larger forest to see what I can come up with. I originally thought of adding rubble to all of the walls (to help represent their age compared to the rest of the town) but I forgot to do it. It completely slipped my mind. Thanks again for the ideas. They gave me something to think about. Now I just have to find the time to get back to that map.

[Turgenev]

I've tweaked the larger forests by toning down the emboss and by adding an additional layer to the foliage to mix things up. Now I just need to find a name for the town for my campaign.

[Steel General]

Well since it's built over the top of an older city, maybe "New" (whatever the old city name was).

[Turgenev]

I went through several different names before I settled with the name of Aldkeep (it is a linguistic corruption of Old Keep). I'm working on this map as a basis for an AD&D World of Greyhawk campaign and here's what I have so far.

[Turgenev]

Okay, I can't stop tinkering. I've added a few more houses to the map including a few sheds/outhouses/smaller shacks as well. I also have a World of Greyhawk and a generic version done.

[torstan]

Looking good. Since you are tinkering anyway a few more comments. The river is a little fluorescent. Now that you've toned down the other elements it might be worth desaturating the river colours a little. I also noticed the river crossings are generally diagonal. Bridges over rivers tend to go straight across as it is easier and cheaper. It might be nice to make them look different from the roads too, as they certainly win't be dirt - they are likely to brick or stone arches.

I like the Greyhawking of it. Very nice.