Royden's Cove

[StillCypher]

One of my favorites, and of course there's always something groovy about using a font published by an RPG designer (in this case Ysgarth's own Dave Nalle, he who masters the Scriptorium) to decorate a fantasy-gaming map

I should have remembered it was his! LOVE his fonts, and I dream about dropping boatloads of money over there...

Okay, so... I increased the scale of the trees to better suit my imagination, I added Del's requisite SCALE , I messed around with the water a bit -- though I'm not sure I like it better than the first one. I rather liked that 'painterly' quality -- and I played around a bit more with the buildings. Again going for that 'painterly' or 'illustration' quality, I sketched the buildings in with a skinny little 'noisy' brush (completely by trackpad!). Blurred a tad, and treated to the same displacement map as the rest of the elements. I don't know about you guys, but I really like how it turned out!
RoydensCove05b.jpg

[Ghalev]

Okay, so... I increased the scale of the trees to better suit my imagination, I added Del's requisite SCALE

What, no symbol key? No compass rose? No grid of latitude and longitude? No indication of which exits have a Burger King/Rest Stop/Filling Station/Alchemist?

For my own tastes, this is one of those maps where the elements and their arrangement can strongly suggest the scale all on their own (and it can lend a note of authenticity, depending on whether the map is meant to feel "in-setting" or not). I don't think the scale bar harms anything (I wouldn't want to earn the ire of Del, anyway, since it obviously means a lot to him) but I think this map could get on just fine without one. Heck, I don't think I've done a fantasy map with a literal [physical] scale in years, now (I tend to use chronographs when I provide a scale at all).

I messed around with the water a bit -- though I'm not sure I like it better than the first one. I rather liked that 'painterly' quality -- and I played around a bit more with the buildings.

I think the buildings went and got awesome. I liked the water pretty much equally both ways.

[Midgardsormr]

Oh yes! The buildings look like they belong on this map now. You may have overdone the tree size, though. Now the canopies are the same size as your biggest buildings.

Then again, I live in Kansas, so large trees aren't exactly something I'm accustomed to.

If that's a salt sea, you're going to need some source of fresh water. I'm guessing maybe a well in that square near the farmland. If it's fresh, then never mind.

[ravells]

I really like this map just as it is. The painterly style really rocks. It looks like something you would see in an Indiana Jones notebook! I echo every Ghalev said about putting in a scale bar. I really don't think that this map needs one unless you really want to put one in there. I guess it also depends on what you will be using the map for.

[StillCypher]

Thank you, all!

I think the buildings went and got awesome. I liked the water pretty much equally both ways.

That line pretty much made my day! ::beam::

(And now you've got my imagination speeding toward a really terrible map complete with the "symbol key, compass rose, grid of latitude and longitude, and (especially this part) indication of which exits have a Burger King/Rest Stop/Filling Station/Alchemist" ... And maybe some video-game rooftops!

Midgardormr: I actually went and did some Tree Size Research Granted, it was sketchy because I was impatient to be playing with the map, but I picked a tree population of silver maples and similar deciduous trees, and they are BIG. As to the water situation, I was thinking of a stream or a river or something -- and a well in the town square sounds fun, too, though I'm not sure it would look like more than a dot at this scale! (Does that mean I need to add a Symbol Key?

Ravells:

The painterly style really rocks. It looks like something you would see in an Indiana Jones notebook!

Hot Diggity! Just... Hot Diggity!!!

[Badger]

oh ya... those buildings rock, they really look like they belong on the map now... I like it how it is...

and a note on scale.. I don't mean that every map 'should' have a scalebar, tho I personally would prefer it... but I do like to know what the scale of map is when I'm giving advice, especially as to whether or not an element belongs on a map...

This map looks good tho cypher well done

[Ascension]

Ya know what I don't like? The fact that no matter how hard I try I can never accomplish a painterly feel. Otherwise this feels like something you'd find tucked away in a corner of some elven tree home. Excellent job my friend.

[torstan]

That there is a very pretty map.

A couple of suggestions - firstly I don't think the scale-bar fits. The pen width and the scale of bleed on the tree lines is so far removed from the fine crisp lines of the scalebar that it just feels out of place. It doesn't seem to merge too well with the rest of the map and I think Ghalev is right in that the scale can be interpreted from the size of the buildings.

I'd also change the way you do the name of the woods. This map has a lovely painted feel to it, but one thing that is damn hard to do when painting something is to uniformly lighten an area That leave that lightened background as an obvious computer element to the map. I'd keep the colours at there original saturation and just remove the black lines so that it looks like the cartographer painted tree lines close to the label, but not through it.

Otherwise, truly lovely. I especially like the sea texture and colours. Very nice indeed.

[StillCypher]

Okay, I *think* I'm done!

Thank you, Torstan, for that excellent advice regarding the name of the woods. You are definitely right about 'unpainting' the parchment! (Might be funny, though, to virtually scrape the paint off! That's an experiment for another day, though...)

I agree, too, that the scale didn't quite look appropriate, so it's gone. I don't think it's really a necessary element in this particular map, so I'm not going to cry about its absence!

I added in a few small elements (Yes, the blue dot in the town square is a well. Hehehe!); we now have a water source as well as a few other minor tweaks. All in all, this was a really fun exercise, and I sure appreciate the comments and suggestions (and reps! I have reps now! Woohoo!) from everyone!


RoydensCove07.jpg

[torstan]

Good work. That is a map to be proud of.