Map 16 - The 16 Duchies

[DanielHasenbos]

The mountain ridgelines are a bit repetitive but overall it looks lovely! I like that you're consistently letting the lines become dots, instead of fading or narrowing, it's an interesting look

Thanks! The ridgelines are indeed repetitive and I realized that after doing the last few of them... So I'm not going to redo them, but in the future I will try to avoid it. Those dots actually came from the lack of a graphics tablet ;p Since I'm working on a mouse pad I had to come up with another way to simulate pressure and that resulted in lines turning into dots. I like it however so when I finally get a tablet might stick with them (:

-Dan

[DanielHasenbos]

Shading of the mountains is done and did some more forests.

Next I will start doing labels!

[WIP] The 16 Duchies of Harewood 9.jpg

As always, let me know what you think!

-Dan

[Ilanthar]

You're working fast and well. It looks very good so far.

[DanielHasenbos]

Hey Dan ... ehm ... Lord Harewood, i thought of the God-Empresses realm as a kind of "slumbering danger" for the surrounding countries. Having a sharp eye (through agents, etc.) on her neighbors, just waiting for a moment of weakness (or even encouraging them to make the "right" decisions). I thought about the quite long border dividing our realms. A large part is along the river, which is a good "natural" and thereby maybe relatively stable border. More to the east i have some territory on "your" side of the river. Maybe it stems from an invasion into the (now fallen and occupied) 17. Duchy? As always, some of the people would have gladly welcome the new rulers, most are indifferent, and others are plotting for a rebellion...
Attachment 82209

It's just an idea, that came to my mind while thinking about the history of the border and our neighborhood. Would love to hear what you think about it or if you have other ideas.
Your mountains and hills look really great. First i thought they're stamped, but some of them just look very similar, kudos!
Btw. your new Ligatu(u)r Avatar is very lovely!
Cheers,
AL

Edit: Oh, i ninja'ed you

Oh, I completely missed this post, That's an interesting story you came up with. After reading I thought maybe the 17th Duchy was lost to the God-Empress by inheritance. The last duke had no sons so the duchy passed to his cousin, who was a vassal of the God-Empress (does this fit within your political system?). This makes it very awkward, and creates an uncomfortable tension, especially since we haven't fought each other for generations. This little incident might completely change that!

You're working fast and well. It looks very good so far.

Thanks Ilanthar!

Here an update with the first labels. I also came up with a bit more background story for this map.

The Mountains in this region are infested with dragons. For centuries the people living in the mountains have struggled to survive. Only a few decades ago did the people find a way to effectively repel the dragons; the dragons have a deep love for gold and food. When the people of the 16 duchies presented to the dragons the Alïnohan cheese with its strongly pronounced saltiness the dragons experienced the perfect combination of gold and food. They agreed to leave the people of the duchies alone if they would continue to bring the Alïnohan cheese to the dragons.

[WIP] The 16 Duchies of Harewood 10.jpg

As always, let me know what you think!

-Dan

[Abu Lafia]

Hey Dan, the labeling looks amazing! It's not the best readable one, but the font choice/color and the name placement add a lot to the overall fantastic atmosphere and "rounds up" this map very well.
I like the idea of an inheritance "across the borders". Maybe the cousin (nowadays Duke) was in exile in Cayad and swore allegiance to the God-Empress. The dragons might be the reason, the God-Empress never declared open war against the duchies (after a defeat some centuries ago, when the dragons helped the duchies due to the ritual payment of huge amounts of alïnohan cheese ), so she began to plot this "peaceful" takeover.

[Josiah VE]

I second what Abu said about the labeling. It looks really nice but it's not the most readable.

[DanielHasenbos]

Hey Dan, the labeling looks amazing! It's not the best readable one, but the font choice/color and the name placement add a lot to the overall fantastic atmosphere and "rounds up" this map very well.
I like the idea of an inheritance "across the borders". Maybe the cousin (nowadays Duke) was in exile in Cayad and swore allegiance to the God-Empress. The dragons might be the reason, the God-Empress never declared open war against the duchies (after a defeat some centuries ago, when the dragons helped the duchies due to the ritual payment of huge amounts of alïnohan cheese ), so she began to plot this "peaceful" takeover.

I like that history we came up with. We got a nice cold war going on.

I second what Abu said about the labeling. It looks really nice but it's not the most readable.

Yeah, the font is more aesthetic than functional, but I think I'll settle for that.

I have finished a little more labels, changed most duchy names and did some illustrations.

### Latest WIP ###

[WIP] The 16 Duchies of Harewood 11.jpg

As always, let me know what you think!

-Dan

[Barek333]

THe dragons are lovely, lettering is ok but maybe a bit strong? Farmlands I wouldnt add to this map actually, just cant see them fitting with the style. Am stealing your forest design for my map btw

[Josiah VE]

I agree with Barek. The dragons are awesome, but I don't think farmland would fit the style... but it's still looking beautiful!

[Troedel]

Really a good map, the colours fit and the font is really nice. Only nitpick I have is that the mountains are somewhat uniform. A little bit of variation in slope and height would make it look a bit more natural. But that´s one for another map. It looks great like it is!