[WIP] Tarkir

[Abu Lafia]

Another update:
Attachment 75498
finished the western part of the northern mountalns... oO... this'll take some time...

[Chashio]

But certainly worth the time.

[Abu Lafia]

So, i finished the northern mountain range and added the outlines of most of the missing mountains in the southern parts.
Attachment 75525
I wanted them not as jagged as the northern because it's the territory of the Jeskai and they are heavily inspired by chinese monk orders. So i thought about another type of mountains, more round like those... Not sure atm if it'll work but we'll see

Since i have never drawn in a style like this before i was wondering what to do about shading and coloring and made a small test where i really roughly put some light and shadows with an overlay-layer to see what happens. What do you think?

[J.Edward]

Wow, Abu, this is looking great. I love the gold color for the mountains.
You got some really gorgeous mountain shapes going here.
I like what I think is a number of cave entrances? This is really fine work.

I think the light/shadow is looking good.
You might want to make a moveable light arrow so you can position it to see where the light is coming from.
I do that often. Course that little white dot might be you sun, maybe?
This is going to be so awesome when it's done.

edit - Is that a cobra headed mountain?

[Abu Lafia]

Thank you John, glad you like it. Means a lot!
- the gold color comes from the black overlay on the background (who am i telling? ) and i think it might work for the more arid/desert regions in the center, not sure if i have to add some different colors for the other regions.
- Yeah, there are a lot of caves around. The land was populated by dragons in the past, but to tell the truth, a lot of them came up while adding curved lines to the ridges(?) and they always look like cave entries... so i went for maybe a bit more than needed
- ...ofc the liitlle "accidentally erased hole" couldn't escape your eagle-eyes! Not sure how to use it as a "sun" though ... really have to learn a bit more about light and stuff oO
- yes, there are some more reptile shaped mountains i thought it might fit the theme and the just "magically" appeared while drawing.

[Abu Lafia]

So, after a lovely sunny day at the lake i went back to Tarkir and worked myself deeper to the south, more specifically into the Jeskai territory. As written above this clan is heavily inspired by chinese monks and in the multiverse of Magic the Gathering they are affiliated with "blue mana". It stands mainly for water, illusions, spellcraft and the mind in general (at least in my interpretation ). In the main source for this world: "The Planeswalker's Guide to Khans of Tarkir" they are described as a clan who lives near the water at the riverside or in cities at lakes. Although i'm not finished with all of the mountains, i made three of the Jeskai sites described in the Guide, because they are located in or at mountains.

Sage-Eye Stronghold: The main stronghold and nexus of the Jeskai clan is built into the side of a mountain at the edge of a bay. The bay is ringed by mountains, and the stronghold is only accessible by ship—or by people with excellent climbing skills. The adherents of the martial arts tradition followed here are known for their stealth, quickness, and cunning.

I decided to make that bay a big lake in the mountains but kept the location of the city in a cliff at the northern lakeside. It's not finished yet.

Riverwheel Stronghold: This white-walled fortress is built into the side of a cliff. A huge waterfall flows through the central fortress. Wooden wheels are suspended between the towers to catch the water of the waterfall as it flows through the heart of the fortress itself. The Riverwheel martial arts tradition imitates the flow of water and uses flexible weapons like whips, long blades, or cloth.

To make it a bit different from the Sage-Eye Stronghold i decided to place this city directly on the edge of a broad waterfall.

Initiate's Stair. This stairway is carved into the face of a white-rock pinnacle that reaches high into the air. The stairs wind around the pinnacle, all the way up to the top, where there is a simple shrine and an unparalleled vista. Climbing this stair is considered a rite of passage for Jeskai youth. The climb is not difficult—except they must climb the stair on their hands. It takes incredible stamina, strength, and balance to accomplish this feat and ascend all 1,578 steps without falling. Jeskai children spend years in preparation, which begins as early as four years of age. Those who have climbed the steps are considered adults.

I remembered reading about this site while doing a mountain at the southern lakeside of the Sage-Eye lake.

Attachment 75565

I'm quite happy with the cities, although i think there might be some serious perspective issues.
Comments, critique, suggestions, etc. are as always very welcome!

Cheers,
AL

[Sapiento]

Really good looking mountains.

[Abu Lafia]

Really good looking mountains.

Thank you Sapiento. Glad you like them, appreciate it a lot!

I finished the Sage-Eye Stronghold, adding more details to the city (fortifications, houses, balconies and stuff) and the surrounding cliffs. So far i'm pretty happy with the outcome, but i'm not sure if they are not too small this way.
Also i'm worried a bit about the very different levels of detail on the map so far. The mountains already differ a lot in the level of detail but to set this high-detail level as the standard to continue to work with on the rest of the map (and additionally reworking a lot of mountains already done) will literally take ages... I guess i will work out the major sites (and whatever grabs my attention) a bit more detailed and try to find a way to do the rest in a good balance of time effort and details...
Well doing the mountains is fun, but there is also still a lot of other stuff to draw (forests/jungles, rivers, etc.) and after the mountain-marathon on my Dor-en-Ernil map and now this, i feel like having a bit of a mountain burn-out

Attachment 75607
(original resolution this time)

[J.Edward]

This is so cool Abu.
It can be a pain having to do a lot of the same thing.
But it's coming out so good, so just stay strong. It will totally be worth it in the end.

Maybe you already stated this earlier but what will go over in the right side area?

[Chashio]

Wow. That is impressively detailed. I love the way you've drawn the little strongholds into the mountains and between them.