WIP - Eredane. Home made version of Midnight RPG's world

[Diamond]

There one thing I wanted to achieve but didn't manage to get it, because of a lack of know how. It is about the labels. Initially I wanted to make something old style and to use a handwritten font that would enhance this "hand made" style. But I didn't find a good one or a way to make it nice. the issue comes also from the high contrast background. When a label is above a light area, that's fine, but above a dark BG, it becomes ugly and hard to read.
So I decided to go for a glow effect that would make the labels readable whatever the BG could be.
Anyone has an idea to make it possible?
The problem with the glow effect is that it seems too bright when a JPG file is created. It doesn't seem too bright with a PSD file ... :/

One thing you might try is to actually erase the terrain features directly underneath the text in the dark areas. That way you have the effect of an outer glow, that is, making the text easier to read, but you don't sacrifice any 'authenticity' by adding text effects.

[tilt]

or you can choose to make an outline instead of outer glow cause an outline doesn't get transparent, its solid. And experiment with outline width as many just make a thin one, but sometimes a really thick one where the outlines flow together works really well

[Dain]

Thanks guys,
I tried that but there were always a bug somewhere that annoyed me. After testing different things and trying to find the best solution, I ended up with something completely different from what I wanted at the begening. I guess this kind of thing happen very frequently
I found some nice banner scrolls on Devianart and decided to use them.

I must admit I like the style and the color scheme is kept so It was all set and done.

What do you think?

[Will Phillips]

Those banners are ridiculously awesome.

[tilt]

very nice little banners you got there
two minor things - I feel the bannerstyle would look better centered on top of the town/city because of its shape... sorry
and I feel the color of the banners are a little to bright in comparison to the rest of the map and the rest of the texts...

[Ramah]

Very nice looking map, Dain. The little scrolls under the labels look great.

I noticed a small problem: If you take a point between "Kazak-Dur" and "The Vale of Tears" then head due west you'll see there is a hill brush showing through a mountain. Small point but you might like to fix it.

If I had one criticism with the map it would be that some of your elements don't gel together seamlessly. The mountains are very dark and quite sharp, the hills are a much more muted, browner shade and are more blurred, the trees have a sharp, almost jagged edge to them. None of them look bad in themselves but they don't look like they belong next to each other on the same map.
I think the hills look they match the colour/texture of the map the best. Although I also like how the sharpness of the trees make them stand out in an almost (and I hesitate to use this word as it is obviously completely against they style you are shooting for) 'cartoonish' way. But the trees make the hills look too blurred. And the hills make the trees look too sharp. Personally I would pick one of these two elements and try to get the others to fit in more with the style. I think you need to try blurring slightly and playing with blend modes/opacity on the mountains.

Sorry if that sounds too critical. I really like the map but I think you could make it even better with a few changes.

[Dain]

I noticed a small problem: If you take a point between "Kazak-Dur" and "The Vale of Tears" then head due west you'll see there is a hill brush showing through a mountain. Small point but you might like to fix it.

What an eagle eye!
found it, fixed it

If I had one criticism with the map it would be that some of your elements don't gel together seamlessly. The mountains are very dark and quite sharp, the hills are a much more muted, browner shade and are more blurred, the trees have a sharp, almost jagged edge to them. None of them look bad in themselves but they don't look like they belong next to each other on the same map.
I think the hills look they match the colour/texture of the map the best. Although I also like how the sharpness of the trees make them stand out in an almost (and I hesitate to use this word as it is obviously completely against they style you are shooting for) 'cartoonish' way. But the trees make the hills look too blurred. And the hills make the trees look too sharp. Personally I would pick one of these two elements and try to get the others to fit in more with the style. I think you need to try blurring slightly and playing with blend modes/opacity on the mountains.
Sorry if that sounds too critical. I really like the map but I think you could make it even better with a few changes.

Look, I was actually hoping that you would add a comment, so no offence at all. I came up with this map because of yours and any comment you may have means you got across these points way before me with your own maps. It is in fact very nice that you share your thinking.
I already lowered the transparency of the mountains a bit but now that you pinpoint the thing, I'll do something about it again, and for the forest as well. I tried (meaning didn't succeed so far) to also change the color balance of the hills/ forest because that didn't match the blueish tendency ot he mountains. I'll work on that.
Thanks again

very nice little banners you got there
two minor things - I feel the bannerstyle would look better centered on top of the town/city because of its shape... sorry
and I feel the color of the banners are a little to bright in comparison to the rest of the map and the rest of the texts...

Now that you show me the point, it is actually a bit to crisp and bright. I'll do something about them
Thanks for that

It's amazing how blind we can become after hours of work on a same map!
Thanks anyway

[Ramah]

Look, I was actually hoping that you would add a comment, so no offence at all. I came up with this map because of yours and any comment you may have means you got across these points way before me with your own maps. It is in fact very nice that you share your thinking.

No problem. I would have commented before now but yesterday was the first time I've actually seen this thread. I've not been around as much for the past month or so and this had totally slipped past me.

I also noted another problem with your hills but it is very small and hardly noticable and because it involves one hill being over the top of another hill I figured they would be on the same layer and thus very awkward to rectify. If you want to take a look at it though it is due south of where the other problem was and west (and a little north) of a place called Eamon's Pass.

[Dain]

I'll have a look.
The hills and mountains are actually on 2 different layers. That'll make the correction easier

[Dain]

It's been a while since I work on this one. Based on what you all advised me I managed to fix the details that were wrong, well hopefully
I tried some blur with the the trees and other things but was never as happy as with this version. I think I'll call it finished as soon as I've got your feedback.
I believe I could probably do more and actually never stop adding something else every single time but there are other projects I'm eager to work on