Grimmsmouth

[Weery]

Hi again.

I've been working away and have finished a third sq km of Grimmsmouth.

Also, I haven't implemented the advice given by Mouse regarding the reduced opacity on the linework which would allow for more legible labels. The reason is that I made use of one of her textures (limestone) instead, which has brightened the image and I hope made it more accessible.

I guess you can be the judge and let me know what you think.

Thanks for having a look in any case

Attachment 96368

[Mouse]

It certainly makes for a completely different overall feel to the map, though I'm not so sure you wouldn't be better off with a very very subtle paper or parchment texture. The ones I've made are no good for you there, unfortunately, because they don't tile.

Maybe I'll have a play around tonight and see what I can come up with - let you know if I've got a good one for you to try

[Mouse]

You could try this one, Weary. I made it deliberately soft, because I think the hard texture of that limestone is a bit too distracting from the fine detail of your map.

Don't enlarge it, or it will just look blurred. Its a seamless texture, so you can just use it like tiles to fill the extent of your map.

If you use a multiply mode on your map it will 'sit' into the paper texture. Its so pale, however, that overlay probably won't be dark enough.

Some kind of paper.jpg

EDIT: It looks blank - but then it is a blank piece of paper, and there is a texture in there if you look at it

This is a darker more aged version of the same

Some kind of paper dark.jpg

[Weery]

Wow! Thanks so much Mouse.

I'll try both of these after work this evening. I think I'm hoping for an end result somewhere between the two I've posted so far and it looks like the tiles you've made here would do the job. Thanks again and for the constant advice also.

I feel like I'm changing this map so much after each post but that is the point of it being a WIP I suppose

I just hope I'm not still making major changes after sq km 26 because that will mean going back in change every earlier tile!

[Mouse]

You're welcome - its really no trouble

Let me know how you feel about it - if neither of them suit your needs I can always do a darker one with a bit more body to it

[Weery]

Back with another update on this one.

4km down and only 2 more to go before I can produce a complete mapsheet Having that done before the year's end was my goal so I'm on track.

Of course there are like 30 or 40 more km to go after this but hey, for now I'm happy.

Thanks for looking.

Attachment 97972

[Falconius]

Ah it's back, and as seriously great as always. Although I do have to say that embossed "Finching" makes everything under it a confusing jumble of visual clutter, or maybe just it itself is jarring. I think it's because of the black shadowing. It works zoomed in, and in the thumb, but at medium distance...

[Weery]

Hey Falconius

Thanks for the advice. I completely agree with you. At the last minute I tried to overlay the FINCHING text with a soft light layer set to a reduced opacity. I was hoping it might make it pop. I suppose it did but just in a really bad and obscuring way It has completely muddled everything underneath as you said.

I'll dump the overlay and I think it should sort it.

You astutely mentioned how the map reads as close, medium and long distances which is something I'm trying to achieve here. I hope when I've finished this to print it and maybe have it on my wall as a giant map hanging. I want the viewer to be able to clearly see the parishes at long distances, then the townlands a bit closer and finally the street and specific building and statue names for example when close up.

So your advice it especially relevant and much appreciated

Thanks again.

[Diamond]

Wow, I'm super late to the party here, but this is fan-f*cking-tastic work, Weery. I really dig it. Everything is very clear and precise, and I love your attention to detail. I think you're completely correct in that to finish a map of this size, you have to really discipline yourself and concentrate on one area at a time. And you're succeeding.

If you'll take one bit of criticism/maybe just clarification: the only thing I found confusing was the many different font types. I'm assuming each one represents a different type of region or building, but it (to me, anyway) is a bit jarring to have all those different fonts in one map.

[Weery]

Hey Diamond thanks so much. And all comments and critiques welcome of course. Reading back through this thread illustrates just how useful getting input into a WIP is! So the more advice the better imo

Having said that...

Just kidding. I honestly hadn't considered not using a range of fonts for the various types of location in this map. I've given it a bit of thought as to why that was following your post and I think it was because I had been loosely using an Ordnance Survey of Ireland Characteristic Sheet (a piece of which is extracted below) to inform how I was approaching this map.

Attachment 98061

You can see from the above image that the OSI maps used a wide range of fonts to label their maps. I honestly followed suit without much thought. Now I am considering it. But I can't guarantee I'll change to fewer fonts however. I think I'm still leaning towards the many

I hope to create my own characteristic sheet at some stage which helps viewers understand the meaning of the different fonts but for now I've posted a snapshot of my workbox below that includes the details in the top left corner. The top left text is an unrasterised layer of the fonts I've used indicating where they are used and the acceptable sizes.

Attachment 98062

This workbox itself only came about after advice from guild members earlier in the process so it is a good example of how beneficial critique can be. It certainly has improved how fast and effectively I can work.

Thanks again for the input and please consider it under consideration