Reply With QuoteLookin pretty cool so far big R.
It's slowly gelling. What I think I'm after is a map which a DM can hand his players and which they can pore over. I'm begining to think that for RPG purposes it's almost the lack of information and tantalising clues which make a map more exciting and says something of the information the mapmaker had to work with. This map looks (to me) like it's been drawn by someone from say, Jartor or Baladum whose knowledge runs out over distance.
Anyway I think that's where I'm going.
Lookin pretty cool so far big R.
If the radiance of a thousand suns was to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the Mighty One...I am become Death, the Shatterer of worlds.
-J. Robert Oppenheimer (father of the atom bomb) alluding to The Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 11, Verse 32)
My Maps ~ My Brushes ~ My Tutorials ~ My Challenge Maps
Thanks big A!
I've never done a symbol driven map before (at least for many years when I was using CC2) so this is a new experience for me. I think it's much more fun than those sattellite maps from an RPG point of view it allows a more individual hand, but I'm new to this and need to think about it more.
Love the style you are mapping with. Where did you get the brushes and symbols... or did you create it on your own? You using Photoshop?
Hi CartoGeo and thanks...The Mountain Symbols came from Wag, who kindly posted them up in the Mapping Elements forum. The pictorial symbols are from fonts. The anchor symbols are Ascensions and the City symbols are also posted in the Mapping Elements forum (although I think I might start making my own for this map).
I'm using Serif Drawplus (a vector with raster bits bolted on) and Serif Photoplus (poor man's photoshop) to make these.
I wasn't really happy with the mountains though and I've started them from scratch...would appreciate thoughts on whether they look better shaded (south) or unshaded (north).
I'm still learning how to draw the mountains properly but I think with a bit of practice one can have much more control using this style of mountain.
I like the South Mountains (shaded) better then the Northern version.Originally Posted by ravells
Last edited by Steel General; 08-22-2009 at 06:59 PM.
I'm a little late in the game on this one, but in the earlier images, the only thing indicating where the land was to me was the mountain placement; otherwise I would have swapped them.
After you added the woodcut, that completely reversed, though, so now I see the seas as seas, despite the gradient still being in the same place. Very interesting..
I think I also prefer the shaded mountains in the South.
The symbols in the latest map are pretty amazing, as well. Are these ones you made, yourself? I especially like the texture-symbol used for the marshes; very nice.
-asp
Thanks Alta, most of the symbols are taken from fonts or stuff posted on the guild in the elements forum.
latest here...it's begining to settle into place now. This map is pretty much an experiment to nail the style and technique, and then I'm off to draw some maps of Hyperborea as I'm re-reading the Conan books at the mo.
Ravells,
Would you consider making a tutorial on what you used in Photoshop to make the map. I am new at mapmaking in Photoshop... and new to making maps since I was a little kid, although I have a drawing and design background professionally.
Just do a step-by-step in a post if you would, unless you want to make something more involved, but anything you can post is appreciated. Also, please include how you made the woodcut effect in the seas/background. How did you structure your layers?
Thanks for the info ahead of time
There's not much to it, although most of this is done in Vector (an illustrator clone)...the woodcut effect was done using Alienskin filters which don't come with photoshop, but check out the India Ink filter by Flaming Pear which has a free try before you buy download - that will give you a woodcut effect. Also check out this link for a step by step woodcut tutorial in photoshop.
All the best
Ravs
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