Jan / Feb 2016 Lite Challenge: The Village of Graveyard

[Krieghund]

The Fluff
In the not-too-distant future it's not just society that has collapsed, but our very understanding of reality. Supernatural creatures and eldritch horrors roam the wreckage of the cities, while survivors band together wherever they can find essentials like water, fortifications, and enough open land to grow enough food to survive.

In the far northern end of Los Angeles, one group of survivor's need for farmland drove them to set aside their qualms and superstitions. When the only uncontested open space they could find was in the cemetary, they moved in next to the crypts and the mausoleums. And thus was born the village of Graveyard.

The Background
You might remember the Old World of Darkness, the original setting for the Vampire, Werewolf, and Mage games, ended in an apocalypse. As far as I'm concerned, what came out of the other side of that apocalypse looks a lot like Kevin Siembieda's ode to excess in RPG form, Rifts.

So, basically, the project I'm working on is taking real life locations in the Los Angeles area, apocalypse-ing them up, slapping on some supernatural critters, then apocalypse-ing them up some more.

The Technical Stuff
I just got Qgis, so I've been giving that program a spin. What I've done so far is hand-digitize a post-apocalyptic land use map based on OpenStreetMap and Bing Maps. I've also been using Google Earth and Bing's Bird's Eye to get an idea of what a top-down view misses. Also, I added contour lines from the USGS National Elevation Dataset. What I'd really like is some DEM data, but I can't find any for the area that's suitable for such a small scale.

The Future
My next step is to import this image into Photoshop, trim it down a bit to focus on the graveyard/village area (The two sections just to the left of center, in case it isn't obvious yet) and start to add some perspective. Then I'll apocalypse-afy it a bit, and finally, add all the usual map accoutrements.

Speaking of accoutrements, the legend doesn't make much sense at this point. Here's a quick translation:
Wild: Area in close to natural state. Given the area, that mostly means scrub and brush
Farm: Cultivated or otherwise tended land
Hardscape: Roads, parking lots, packed dirt, any relatively clear surface that plants can't grow on
Rubble: Remains of almost completely destroyed structures, blocked streets, burned out areas, etc
Ruins: Buildings that are still standing but unused and probably unusable
Building: Present day buildings that are in use, and buildings that were constructed in the post-apocalyptic era.

### Latest WIP ###
Week 1.jpeg

[ChickPea]

Hi Krieghund, welcome to the challenge. Great start, and I love the idea behind this one. Frankly, I can never have enough Eldritch Horrors in my life!

Looking forward to your next update.