Road Battlemap

[egdcltd]

Here's the grid tweaked both ways (although without the edge mask on the white). I think the black may work better with these trees - they're so thin the white is leaking through a bit. EDIT: Added the black with another grid, like the white.

shadowtest3.jpgshadowtest3a.jpg

[jfrazierjr]

Honestly, I have never been overly concerned with the location of grid lines relative to objects simply for the sake of time(and if I needed to due to a rock being part of the base image, I would just add a layer mask in the shape of the rock to keep the lines from covering it). With that said, I kind of like the lighter color lines, but would probably suggest lowering the opacity, perhaps to 60%-70% or so...

[wdmartin]

Much better. I agree, the black works better in this instance.

If there are still places where the grid is too strong, you can always fade it out slightly using a mask. (If you paint shades of grey on the mask instead of black or white, it goes partially transparent).

[egdcltd]

I may have a fiddle more, especially around the rocks. The lines overlay those and don't look so good now. Either a mask as suggested, or move them above the grid.

Edit: Here's some tweaking with shadows and highlights on the rocks (before and after). Not sure about the highlights though.

shadowtest4.jpg

[Mouse]

I actually prefer the first of those two pictures, since the rocks in the second one seem to be standing up out of the ground like mushrooms in the second one... unless that's how they are?

[egdcltd]

Not quite like mushrooms, but I do sort of want them to stick out of the slope a bit.

hill.jpg

The current shadows were just done using the drop shadow as a guide.

[Mouse]

I'm sorry! That was a bit harsh of me. They don't really look like mushrooms. The shading on the grass makes them pop up a bit too much, that's all.

Looking at your section sketch there, I'd say the shadows would be more on the vertical face of the stone than the ground around it. Reading back through the thread I would hazard a guess that this is what jfrazierjr may have meant? That's just a guess, though. I'm not one to knowingly put words in a CL's mouth

I imagine that the top corner where vertical rock face meets horizontal rock platform on each of the rocks, there may be a dark shadow along the front line of the rock fading quickly to none?

Bearing in mind the apparent direction of the light (which seems to be from the north west going by the shadow on the trees), there would be very little shadow at all on the grass that is actually cast by the rock itself. The hill shading should take care of the slope illusion, so you only have to add shade within the shape and form of the rock itself to make it look 3D.

I hope that made sense! LOL!

[egdcltd]

Don't worry, I didn't take it harshly!

I'm trying to get a sort of shelf-like piece of rock sticking out. The standard drop shadows don't really account for that though. I'll have another go with them later.

[Mouse]

I think the shading for that lies within the rock shape itself more than the grass.

On your drawing you wouldn't see the face of the rock, but you would see the shadow coming up over the roll-top edge of it - like a bevel, or the edge of a roll-top kitchen surface.

That's what I was trying to describe. You will have to paint the shadow on rather than use any effects (I think). Try starting with a dark shadow in a thin line along the very edge of the protruding part of the rock, and fade it out really quickly away from that edge - inwards across the stone.

EDIT: You may then need to add a suggestion of highlight immediately behind that shadow to bring the corner back out again.

[egdcltd]

I think I understand what you mean. Although I am beginning to think the easiest way of seeing how the shadow would fall would be making a physical model!

Edit: Here's one of the rocks altered, although it looks like I need to move the shadow line to the left. I think it's too close to the middle for the effect I wanted currently.

rockshadow.jpg