November/December Lite Challenge Entry: Mar Kentavros

[ravells]

That looks so much better on the swamps.

[Nebula]

I agree, the swamps look a lot better. I really like how the map is looking, great work so far!

[Dain]

I've been considering how it would look if I added a bit of colour to the work. What think you all?

I think that if you go for a colorful version version, there won't be any chance left for the other contestants to win
You map is really nice!

[Lukc]

I'm thinking maybe some light monochrome shading, just for the elevations or something ... hmmm. But shading is dangerous. You have to shade everything consistently and completely, and that could add ... oof. Six hours of work, easily.

[gwiley]

Again, thank you for showing everyone the progress. Interesting to see it develop and what you place in it. You have captured the feel of an old map nicely - I like especially the small touches such as the ship and the figure groups. I think I will abstain on the marsh - it is the same symbol I use and I have never been quite sure about the effect. It can clutter up a map but, on the other hand, marshes tend to clutter up a landscape. The open impression on the right balances the detailed look on the upper left; so.... :-)

Regards, Gary

Re shading, I think you will not have the open, easy-to-read feeling of the map if you add shading.

[Lukc]

The marsh symbol is classically used on most topo maps as well, but it can also be combined with some shading. Another marsh symbol that I've encountered, which I like even less, is something like a "v" shape. Lots of little v-s sprayed around.

One of the main problems is that while the letraset pens I use don't smear at all (yay!) the pigment gets picked up by most plastic erasers, so I have to use a kneading art eraser to remove the pencil marks. I'm pretty sure I'll miss some pencil marks somewhere!

Anyway, it's almost done now, not much left.

[Lukc]

How to decide whether to colour a map? Science! Experiments! So I drew a quickie map in the same style on the same paper with the same pens and then coloured it.

Happyholidayland.jpg

The conclusion? Coloured Derwent Drawing pencils are great, Conté not so much, Caran d'Ache and Eberhard Faber even less. Particularly when the paper in question is a bristol extra smooth. Unfortunately, I have nowhere near enough Derwen pencils to do anything useful with them.

Mapwise? I'm not convinced. My map is going to stay black and white for the purposes of this challenge. The best colouring would probably involve a few passes in photoshop or painter.

[Engris]

Hmm...special colored pencil brands instead of simple Crayola or something ones...now why didn't I think of that...lol..

[Lukc]

### LATEST WIP ###

Mar Kentavros Finished.jpg

Aaaand it's done. Finished. Thanks for following and for all the suggestions! They've been really helpful! Well, maybe I should erase a few more pencil marks I've found, but generally, it's finished. If I were just doing a regular map, I would probably now run a few adjustment layers, boost some contrast and maybe add some ageing textures to it. And possibly digitally colour a few things. But since we're doing hand made maps, this is it.

Since there's still 7 days to run of the challenge, there's still time for a few fixes and suggestions.

[Dain]

Absolutely brilliant!

Hope you the best for the challenge