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Thread: Callowyn Castle

  1. #11

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    nice job!!!

  2. #12
    Guild Expert Facebook Connected Caenwyr's Avatar
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    Thanks guys!

    Alright, here's the next update. I decided to split the top level of the outbuilding into a few smaller rooms, so the servants have a decent place to sleep. In my previous iteration they'd have their rooms in the cellars, but that was probably a bit rude of me. I mean, they're only doing their job, right? So I went and gave them some rooms for themselves.

    Some back lore you might wanna skip if you're here for the map alone:

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    Some more info on the sleeping arrangement in the outbuilding. In winter, when the garrison is in, the servants tend to bunk together in groups of four, but during summer, when the war band is on the rove, the servants tend to spread out a little bit, with the seniors taking possession of the rooms and the juniors moving to the barracks/dorm room. The cook is the only exception: even at full occupation he has a room all for himself (and his wife and children, obviously).

    It's worth mentioning that several other servants have a house of their own in the town just outside the gates, so the castle is seldom filled to its full potential. There's just enough space for everyone in case of a siege, if you cram 'em in a little, but most of the time there's plenty of room for all the servants to have a little privacy. In the past, some really distinguished servants have occupied rooms in the keep itself!
    I mean, what?

    Maybe it's fun to elaborate a little on the keep too. You'll notice there's this double staircase winding through the adjoining turret. The nobles' staircase takes you from the Great hall directly to the Lord's and Lady's reception rooms on the second and fourth floors respectively. The servants staircase doesn't open up to these floors—it doesn't even have an entrance on the ground floor—but it's perfect for servants bringing up food to the solar on the third floor (in between the Lord's and Lady's Rooms and easily accessible for both of them using the stately stairs in the core of the building). That's where the nobles like to have their breakfast and lunch, and where they spend a good deal of their spare time when the weather is too bad to go exploring.

    You'll notice too the spiral staircases don't go all the way up. The nobles' staircase ends on the fourth floor, and the servant's staircase only goes to the solar—although, and interestingly, it goes on a little further still so it can be accessed from the fourth floor through a trap door in case of emergency... or a bad case of the midnight munchies. The childrens' and guest floors can only be accessed through the central staircase. So imagine you're a guest staying on the top floor and you want to go to your room. What you do is you enter the Great Hall, get on the (nobles') staircase, get off on the second or fourth floors and take the central staircase to your final destination. No peeking into the solar though, that one's off limits! So hey, maybe I should limit that trip to "through the fourth floor only". *

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    Alright, back to the map. Apart from the extra rooms in the outbuilding, I also added all the labels, and whitewashed the top three levels of the keep turret. They're an integral part of the rooms now! In fact, one of the main characters in my novel will be sleeping in the turret room on the 5th floor. *

    * Which leads me to think that maybe I should start adding walls to the keep as well. It will be a pain in the butt with a ton of redoing an erasing, but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do huh? (oh no, that means I'll have to redo the cutaway too? Nooooo! Alright, this just moved to the "definite maybe" pile. Although having the full layout would help in envisioning the story. God I hate myself)

    Enough! Here's the image!

    Callowyn_exploded_5.jpg

    Let me know what you think!
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  3. #13
    Guild Expert Facebook Connected Caenwyr's Avatar
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    Did I say I hate myself? Yeah.

    Last night and this morning I spent about 4 hours tinkering with the walls inside the keep. And the result? Some measly lines no one even notices... But me personally I'm happy they're there, because it helps convey the feeling that these are actual floorplans and not just identical copies of one another. And it should help in the narrative too. Now if you're a guest staying in the top floor, you can only get to your room by taking the spiral staircase to the 4th floor, and then 2 flights of wooden stairs through the core of the building. No more passing through the Lord's bedroom by accident. And at the same time, Lord and Lady Cwrnoid still have their private access to the Solar. Lovely.

    And that, dear friends, is what I spend 4 hours on.

    Ooh yeah, I adapted the legend as well (the numbers of the keep floors are now identical to their actual level in the building), added a title and a subtitle (not by any means the final product!), and three nice little "hand written" notes referring to the story.

    Callowyn_exploded_6.jpg

    Thoughts or suggestions?
    Last edited by Caenwyr; 01-12-2018 at 04:20 AM.
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  4. #14
    Guild Master Facebook Connected - JO -'s Avatar
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    This is briliant !!!!

    A huge works that pays well : the map is really beautiful and now that you said there's a story linked to it, it makes me want to read the adventures in this castle !

    I know you spent so much time on this one, but I sure hope you have some energy left to offer us a global view of the castle, that would help to better read the plan, I think (and of course, it would makes you map looks even better, if possible !) I only suggest that because I know you already have that outer view with the work you did on Sketchup, and it was already beautiful the way it was.

    Anyway, it's a real architect work you've done, and I find it magnificent (I'm biased, I love castle !)

  5. #15

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    By Caenwyr
    Thoughts or suggestions?
    Please, give us more ?

    More seriously, this is brilliant, Caenwyr! If I have a suggestion, it would be to do some slight lines for stones & roof tiles, maybe.

  6. #16

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    I just saw this development thread, and really like the final outcome - its clean and clear, like a visitors map you might find in the grand hall or the front gate. I can also appreciate the work going into the two decade struggle - its been ten years for me on the novel front and for me the maps/world building are as big a part of the narrative as the...narrative. Love it.
    "Mind is Emergent of Matter"

  7. #17
    Guild Expert Facebook Connected Caenwyr's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by - JO - View Post
    it makes me want to read the adventures in this castle !
    Oh you can! If you can wait a million years until it gets published and learn to read Dutch.

    Quote Originally Posted by - JO - View Post
    Anyway, it's a real architect work you've done, and I find it magnificent (I'm biased, I love castle !)
    gee thanks JO!

    Quote Originally Posted by Ilanthar View Post
    Please, give us more ?

    More seriously, this is brilliant, Caenwyr! If I have a suggestion, it would be to do some slight lines for stones & roof tiles, maybe.
    Good idea, aaaaand done

    Quote Originally Posted by MPG View Post
    I just saw this development thread, and really like the final outcome - its clean and clear, like a visitors map you might find in the grand hall or the front gate. I can also appreciate the work going into the two decade struggle - its been ten years for me on the novel front and for me the maps/world building are as big a part of the narrative as the...narrative. Love it.
    Oh yes, but you gotta admit it, while it is a struggle, it's definitely worth it. We're creating worlds, my friend!

    And with that being said, here's my next update!

    Callowyn_exploded_7.jpg

    If you feel something's still lacking, be sure to let me know! Otherwise this little baby is moving to Finished .
    Caenwyr Cartography


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  8. #18
    Guild Master Facebook Connected - JO -'s Avatar
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    Oh wow !!!!!!!!!!!!
    Fantastic !!!!!! and the view of the castle at a human height is definitely a very good choice !!!! The building looks so massive and impressive !!!!

    But we won’t give you a rest ! !
    Don’t you want to give the roofs of the global view some lines, as the roofs of the « scattered » (?) view ?
    And as long as you are here, some feeling of stone to the maconry (?), some dotted, pale, thin line here and there to suggest stones ?

    I know I’m playing with your nerves ! The whole picture looks fantastic as it is !

    Congratulations are in order here !

  9. #19
    Guild Artisan Guild Supporter Tenia's Avatar
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    Better and better ! I love the font's title too. You choosed a font and then drew over it no ?

  10. #20
    Guild Expert Facebook Connected Caenwyr's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by - JO - View Post
    Don’t you want to give the roofs of the global view some lines, as the roofs of the « scattered » (?) view ?
    And as long as you are here, some feeling of stone to the maconry (?), some dotted, pale, thin line here and there to suggest stones ?
    Well, you're right, as you usually seem to be Thanks for your relentless trying-to-better-my-work!
    Quote Originally Posted by Tenia View Post
    Better and better ! I love the font's title too. You choosed a font and then drew over it no ?
    I did! why redo something if someone else already did it, right? But no worries, the font is open source - I checked!

    So this must be it guys!

    Callowyn_exploded_8.jpg
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