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Excellent map, very nice work. Love the sky bird icon.
Guild World - Lands of the Icewind
Hi all. Here was my contribution to the Guild World collaboration. It was a fun project. I enjoyed watching other Guild maps take shape and thinking about how neighboring territories would influence the culture of the map I was working on. Anyway, here is a little background (this was originally posted in the WiP thread):
The story behind this map is that its inhabitants are a tribal people whose customs are similar both to those of ancient Japan and to that of America's First Nations. Various species ranging from human, to elf to orc coexist within the land. Whereas all of the tribes were once nomadic, or semi-nomadic, in the last several centuries some of these tribes have switched to an agricultural economic structure. The three largest of these tribes, the Chiawaka, the Kavano and the Rinoka have federated with one anther for mutual aid and protection. While these peoples do not conceive of the land as something which can be "owned", they nevertheless recognize each other's right to cultivate particular regions of the land without interference. They will thus unite to defend one another against attack.
The land derives its name from the arctic northerlies that regularly sweep over the land with unrelenting force. Of special significance to the peoples of this land is the rare arctic raven, a creature whose feathers are the color of snow. It is thought that these birds are the children of the raven spirit who watches over the northern lands. Sightings of such ravens are seen as good omens.
Credits: I drew inspiration for the crow icon in the ocean from this image).
Cheers,
-Arsheesh
Excellent map, very nice work. Love the sky bird icon.
My Battlemaps Gallery http://www.cartographersguild.com/al...p?albumid=3407
Looks pretty fantastic. I've always had a preference for mountainous regions. The terrain must make for a very harsh lifestyle for these people.
Gorgeous map with very appealing colouring. I love how you've done the terrain. It looks like you could almost feel the ridges under your fingers.
"We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams"
Wow, this map turned out great!
-Dan
A fantastic map, Arsheesh. I hope you'll do other maps in this style!
The terrain is absolutely breathtaking, and the ocean's hue and texture give it a depth and foreboding which perfectly shape the mood.
And those mountains just breathe a fierce and rugged air. Unlike many fantasy maps, I find myself yearning to stand in this landscape, pull the furs a little tighter and strike out for the next ridgetop trail.
…how did you do this? How did you manage those mountains?
It's a great map and a very interesting setting. Not usually the kind of world one would see used in something like the kinds of games i run and play but the map and scenario you depict do give me ideas.
thank you.
it's a beautiful map
Thanks for all the feedback and encouragement everyone!
Thank you. The icon was inspired by some tattoo art I'd seen on the web.Originally Posted by Bogie
Thank you. There's a bit of a learning curb with Wilbur, but once you understand it, it is a really handy little program.
Thank you. Yup, as I envision it, this is a very rugged land, as are its people.
Thank you ChickPea!
Thanks Dan!
Thanks Ilanthar, I'm sure that I will at some point.
Thank you Sanderling. The mountains were created by running a height-map (that is, a B&W map in which the height of a given pixel is determined by its value, with lighter values indicating higher altitudes and darker values indicating lower altitudes) through a program called Wilbur that calculates erosion based on a height map. I briefly describe the process in a bit more detail in comment #27 of the WIP thread.
Thank you. It is my pleasure.
Cheers,
-Arsheesh
