If I had to pick nits I'd color those icons with more than just white but otherwise I'd just let the nits live out their lives happily ever after.
This it the almost finished product. The only things I have left on my list are the scale bar and a little bit of padding for the text.
If I get really brave, I might add some ornamentation, redo those shaded relief mountains (currently removed), and put on a graticule.
So, what needs improvement? Be nit-picky; this is going in my portfolio, so I want it to be as impressive as possible.
Bryan Ray, visual effects artist
http://www.bryanray.name
If I had to pick nits I'd color those icons with more than just white but otherwise I'd just let the nits live out their lives happily ever after.
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
Yes, I think colored icons would look better. Otherwise it is a good map. It's not just a copy of the map in the books, it has its own style. Very good.
Oh, and the Wheel of Time is cool. Still anxious about the last book...
Check out my City Designer 3 tutorials. See my fantasy (city) maps in this thread.
Gandwarf has fallen into shadow...
Yup, have to agree with Ascension & Gandwarf on the colored icons.
For me personally, I would add a bit more color to the waste lands and Shayol Ghul (sp?) to give them a bit more distinctiveness.
My Finished Maps | My Challenge Maps | Still poking around occasionally...
Unless otherwise stated by me in the post, all work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.
Hmmm... I think I agree about the icons. Some of them could also use more detail. They're so small that I don't think detailed color would work, but I might try out the national colors for each of them and see how that goes. Andor's White Lion, of course, will have to remain white, as will Whitebridge. Well.
I wasn't happy with the black text, so I changed the text over the water to the same blue I used for the coastline, rivers, and compass. The text over the land became a dark green. And I added the scale bar. I tested the shaded relief mountains, but I didn't like the way they looked, so I abandoned that notion for now.
And, finally, I applied a text mask to make the labels slightly more legible, per HR's atlas tutorial. I'll test out the colored icons before I post another image.
Bryan Ray, visual effects artist
http://www.bryanray.name
I hereby declare this map complete. I have posted the final version in the Finished Maps section here: http://www.cartographersguild.com/sh...1091#post41091
Of course, if someone makes a good suggestion, I will probably still implement it.
Bryan Ray, visual effects artist
http://www.bryanray.name
As promised, my icons in relatively hi-res png format. I've left them white, but they can obviously be recolored as needed.
Amador, Andor, Arad Doman, Cairhien, Chachin
Bryan Ray, visual effects artist
http://www.bryanray.name
Ebou Dar, Fal Dara, Falme, Fal Moran, Far Madding
Bryan Ray, visual effects artist
http://www.bryanray.name
Ghealdan, Godan, Illian, Lugard, Manetheren
Bryan Ray, visual effects artist
http://www.bryanray.name
Mayene, Salidar, Shol Arbela, the Stone of Tear, Tarabon
Bryan Ray, visual effects artist
http://www.bryanray.name