[WIP] Home-brew Campaign Setting Map

[wthrasherb]

Just some touch ups on the compass rose. I thought the texturing was a little heavy, so I toned that down some and got rid of some unnecessary shadows and such. Very subtle changes... except for maybe the texturing.

Compass_Rose_04_MAIN_c.jpg

[wthrasherb]

Here's what I've done this weekend. I got frustrated trying to come up with a nifty border, so I used one I made previously that was already the right dimensions for this map. Coincidentally, the border looks really good, possibly better than the first map I used it on.

I'm posting two versions here, but I'm going with Map A. I just thought the faded version looked neat as well and thought I'd share and hopefully get some feedback.

Let me know what you think!

Map A WM_BORDER_01.jpg

Map B WM_FADED_LOOK.jpg

[Domino44]

Wow, Great map! I really love that rose compass!

[ChickPea]

I love Map B. I'm a sucker for grungy, desaturated colours, and you've absolutely nailed that look in the second map. I love the texture and the way the sea fades out towards the border. Also, your compass rose is fantastic!

[wthrasherb]

Thank you so much for the kind words. I appreciate ya'll taking the time to comment.

@Domino44 I'm glad you like it. Thank you for the praise. I've honestly surprised myself with this map. It started out as a simple attempt to recreate the method I used in a previous map in an attempt to develop "my style" and ended up being a map for a new D&D game I will be running later this year. I really love the compass too! I like it so much in fact that it will probably be used in some iconic fashion in later work... or at least variations of it.

@ChickPea Thanks! That means a lot, because I had a pictue in my head, but I was struggling at first to bring it to life. I think Map B did it... for now. I know I stated in an earlier post that I was "going" with Map A, but after sharing with my local friends and getting their opinions, the general consensus seems to be Map B. So I am strongly considering using that one for the main map for this game. I wanted to make my own compass rather than just snagging something from the internet or Campaign Cartographer or whatever. I wanted it to look fancy, but not over the top. The dragon head "etching" was just a cheesy addition to add a little flavor (and I like dragons). The gems are kinda relevant to the setting and the globe in the middle is supposed to look sort of like a large "gem". I'm working on this technology that runs off of various crystals, so I wanted the compass to resemble not just a compass rose, but also something like a dial or device (maybe for navigating???) with some gems radiating with energy set into it. The original version is 5000 px by 5000 px at 300 ppi (I know the ppi is over kill for on screen viewing), but the compass on the map is at 20% of that so some of the detail seems a little lost. But I'm thoroughly satisfied overall. Thanks again for the praise.

So the next step is figuring out Fonts and labels. I haven't made it very far yet. I don't want to over do it necessarily. Ideally, I would like to just have one map with different "layers" I can turn on and off to show various labels depending on what kind of map is necessary. So different fonts may work for different purposes. But for now I want to come up with a World Name label, the major seas and oceans, the continents, and MAYBE major mountain ranges and major rivers, but that might be too much on this scale of a map.

I'm open to font suggestions.

Keep the feedback coming folks!

[wthrasherb]

Words words words...

Added some type. Not sure if I'm going to keep some of the smaller text. Names are tentative for now. Hoping to get some feedback on the labels as far as font and legibility and such.

Mythrengard_sea_labels.jpg

[ChickPea]

Some thoughts ...

I like the font you've used for ocean text, but I feel like it needs tweaking. When I zoom in, it looks OK, but at smaller resolutions, some of the finer parts of the letters are overwhelmed by the stroke. Also, I feel the hard edge of the light-coloured stroke doesn't quite fit. Maybe if you tried blurring the stroke, it would soften the edge yet still allow the letters to stand out from the background?

With the title, I love the design and I think it could work really well, but something nags at me and I can't quite put my finger on it. I think maybe it's the use of very similar colours to the land masses. I see your textured lands with lumpy bumpy bits, then I see the flat text and it feels disconnected. I'd maybe try some sort of bevel or shadow on the text, or simply try a solid colour. My vote would be for a solid colour or subtle gradient to contrast with the colours of the land.

Anyway, just my thoughts. No doubts others will have differing opinions!!

[wthrasherb]

Some thoughts ...

I like the font you've used for ocean text, but I feel like it needs tweaking. When I zoom in, it looks OK, but at smaller resolutions, some of the finer parts of the letters are overwhelmed by the stroke. Also, I feel the hard edge of the light-coloured stroke doesn't quite fit. Maybe if you tried blurring the stroke, it would soften the edge yet still allow the letters to stand out from the background?

With the title, I love the design and I think it could work really well, but something nags at me and I can't quite put my finger on it. I think maybe it's the use of very similar colours to the land masses. I see your textured lands with lumpy bumpy bits, then I see the flat text and it feels disconnected. I'd maybe try some sort of bevel or shadow on the text, or simply try a solid colour. My vote would be for a solid colour or subtle gradient to contrast with the colours of the land.

Anyway, just my thoughts. No doubts others will have differing opinions!!

ChickPea, thanks for the feedback. I was right there with you on feeling like the world name label just didn't look quite right.... good, but, didn't quite fit. I REALLY like the font. I think it complements this map well. I just need to figure out how to make it look best.

I got rid of all effects period on the text except for the world name label (it still has a small stroke). Also, I faded out the water a lot more, still going for a kind of old globe look.

Better? Worse? Text legibility???

Mythrengard.jpg

[SteffenBrand]

I like this last version much more, looks kind of nostalgic and very beautiful! I'd try a perhaps 30% opacity 1px or 2px outline on the other text or probably 100% soft light 2px outline.

Also, I'd color a bit more land mass on the lower right side. You go much further to the border on the area in the south before you fade out. I'd even try to go very near the border, since it doesn't look less like an island there.

Rep!

Actually I'm quite impressed by the details of this... may I ask how you made the shore lines (especially the wobbly effect)?

[wthrasherb]

I like this last version much more, looks kind of nostalgic and very beautiful! I'd try a perhaps 30% opacity 1px or 2px outline on the other text or probably 100% soft light 2px outline.

Also, I'd color a bit more land mass on the lower right side. You go much further to the border on the area in the south before you fade out. I'd even try to go very near the border, since it doesn't look less like an island there.

Rep!

Actually I'm quite impressed by the details of this... may I ask how you made the shore lines (especially the wobbly effect)?

Hey SteffenBrand! Thanks for the Rep and the suggestions! I just adjusted the stroke on the text like you recommended. The 2px soft light 100% looks best I THINK.

As for the land in the bottom right fading out a little further from the border.... welllll.... the land actually stops abruptly right there. It has been bothering me a little bit too, mainly because that whole side just looks a little hard on the edge between the faded out part and the border. On this current version the actual image has been flattened for the sake of file size and RAM while I'm working, so I will have to go back to whatever previous version where I masked out that edge and play around with it some more. That whole corner has given me issues since I started this map, even from the very beginning when I was first generating the land mass shapes... ugh! So I will touch that up later.

I'm not sure what you mean exactly by "wobbly effect", but I initially generated the land masses/shore lines using Fractal Terrains 3. Then I do erosion effects in Fractal Terrains and another program called Wilbur. Once I've "shaped" the land masses and ocean floor to my liking, I out put black and white alpha channels essentially and some varying height maps for the terrain. Then I throw everything into Photoshop. In Photoshop I polished up the edges (thanks to a recommendation by chick) of the shore lines by selecting the outline and smoothing the selection a little just to cut off an ragged edges. That's about it for the shore lines I think. If you could explain what you mean by wobbly effect I will try to elaborate further.

Here's the touched up version based on SteffanBrand's recomendations. Also, I've put generic continent labels on this one, so if ya'll could maybe set me straight on how the continent labels look as well that would be great...

Mythrengard_02.jpg

Oh and just for schitz and giggles, here's one version of the world name label I did... I found this font called "barbarian" that is supposed to resemble the Conan the Barbarian movie logo and it was just too neat to leave alone. The background is just for display purposes. This isn't going to be used. I was just for fun.

Mythrengard_ConanStyle_Logo.jpg

**EDIT**

And for the record, the positioning of the map labels are not final. I'm just trying to get the font and color and size, etc all correct first, THEN I'll go back and use a little more care in placement.