Tsue-jo Castle Town, Kaidan

[Gamerprinter]

A different tactic for creating the island. I did imagine that the only slopes of the island bluff from east to west are from 150' down to about 30 or 40' above the river level. So instead of drawing one gigantic island, I can draw in stages as the town drops in elevation. Where the castle sits at the highest point. The samurai district further down from the castle, still sits above the town level below. Note I even placed a hill-like structure within the samurai district to further indicate the slope (and the samurai district looked to flat to me anyhow.)

This is a lower res file, I will upload an appropriately sized final map at some point. Again the blue water here is temporary, just checking...

Now I have to start thinking about the layout for the rest of town. I also want to create some building types, both shops and residences, as well as individual trees, especially for the slopes beyond the walls of the town.

Enjoy!

GP

[pasis]

Great stuff...you sure are master on making this hand draw style.
There is something magical with the hand drawn style in general. Imagination starts to run and it makes me wanna roleplay.

[ravells]

Very compact and self contained, lovely work GP.

[Steel General]

You're hybrid hand-drawn/digital style is getting better and better.

[Gamerprinter]

Didn't get as much done as I wanted, but I took a long nap - I needed it, for all the late nights I've been putting to this and other projects.

I created some samurai homes and trees and placed them into their respective walled sections. I filled in some forest on that undrawn slope on the castle isle to fill up the empty space.

I've already got a city design in mind, more winding zig-zags on the road, several additional walled and gated sections, I plan to put more maze-like dead-ends in order to emphasize the maze defenses of the city layout to enahnce castle defenses. There's going to be a further slope from north to south, where the southern end bank will be the portage area. All the city will sit on higher ground, but a road circling around the city wall from the south bank wharf, west around the far end of the isle to the north side with a stone arched bridge reaching the north side of the river. The Floating World red light district will lie on the western outside the wall region where the entry road travels across.

More coming soon.

GP

[Ascension]

The amber roofs make it pop, nice. The buildings up and down the left side are grainy, though, and the one in the bottom left doesn't have any outline.

[Gamerprinter]

Next update. The following is just the digital beveling for the rest of the island as well as walls, gates, and one level of building layout. No surface texturing, roads, grassy areas, trees, inner walkways, but a good start.

I've actually already hand-drawn the entire island edges at least and all the walls, I still need to add detailing, shadows, cracks - as in the other finished islands along the isles edges. So once I complete that, I'll scan it in place it on the map and go for the finish. I've also created lots of differing building types ready to copy/paste and move around, so it doesn't look repetitive. All the buildings are individual objects easy to move, slightly rotate and rescale.

Another day to place all the buildings and island detail, then the bridge and both banks with some villages, farms and rice paddies. I got some finishing touches I want to add after that in the form of descriptions and illustrations, butalmost done say two days, three at the most and I'll be complete.

GP

[Coyotemax]

That is so incredibly cool. I can't wait till this is done, I want to keep it around for inspiration!

[Gamerprinter]

Almost done!

I need to add docks (on south bank in those small inlets), need to place a 3 arched stone bridge reaching the north bank (from the nub sticking out in the center of the north bank of the island). North bank with village on opposite side of bridge, roads north and east/west along river, some high ground and some terraced rice paddies.

The open spot on the western side of the island, that first elevated district, above the dockside city, is going to get a hand-drawn kirin rising statue and some parkland around it.

I might place some boats and ships on river and docks as well.

I hope to finish tonight, but in case I don't - this is my update so far!

GP

[Gamerprinter]

I've just got to put in the docks and maybe some illustrations... almost done!

GP