WIP - Zaephyr
This is the first(unfinished) part of what is to become my home brewed campaign world Zaephyr(thank you for the name, Luca Turilli!). This particular region lies on the continental peninsula of Anaroth, which is a part of another supercontinent I have yet to name.
The region this map is depicting is about 2000km in length both ways, if anyone asks.
And yes, I'm using Terraficta for photoshop.
I'm still a bit uncertain about the rivers, thinking they shouldn't all start in the mountains.
If there is anything else you think I could improve, I would love to hear it!
Good start so far. I'd try to break up the green texture you've got for the grasslands. I can't imagine that the climate is the same over a 2000 km wide area so I'd expect there to be variations in the foliage and thus in colour. Also, for that scale the mountains are huge! But I realise they are representations rather than actual mountains. I'd also try to blend the bases of the mountains into the surroundings a bit more.
What he said...Nice start....Originally Posted by torstan
My Finished Maps
Works in Progress(or abandoned tests)
My Tutorials:
Explanation of Layer Masks in GIMP
How to create ISO Mountains in GIMP/PS using the Smudge tool
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Unless otherwise stated by me in the post, all work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.
Looking forward to seeing where this goes... I need to check out that Terraficta stuff sometime too.
My Finished Maps | My Challenge Maps | Still poking around occasionally...
Unless otherwise stated by me in the post, all work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.
Yes, the "mountains" are indeed representations. I'm planning to mark individual peaks with a triangle, and the height in meters. For now I'm just focusing on the middle area of this map, adding things on the fringes as I get ideas.
Moving on, here is the newest version with your suggested(or tried) changes.
You'll notice I've added a bit more to the map as well.
Last edited by Weero; 10-24-2008 at 09:48 AM.
Take off the emboss or what ever bevel effect you used on the forests. It looks rather "ugh" to me.
For the mountains, did you bump map the colored layer directly? How did you create the mountains? I assume you are doing something similar to RobA's mountains video tutorial?
My Finished Maps
Works in Progress(or abandoned tests)
My Tutorials:
Explanation of Layer Masks in GIMP
How to create ISO Mountains in GIMP/PS using the Smudge tool
----------------------------------------------------------
Unless otherwise stated by me in the post, all work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.
I'm not sure the emboss is 'ugh', but I would suggest that it be toned down a little. Also, there seems to be a bit of a drop shadow on the mountains that makes them look a little like they are floating? I'd definitely suggest placing the mountains beneath the grass layer and then using a layer mask on the grass layer to reveal the mountains. If you use a soft edged brush then the edges of the mountains should blend into the grasslands.
Hmmm...I think I might just remake the map, using your suggested techniques, since I haven't really gotten far in making the map(I can easily redo it). Additionally, I'm still unsure about the style I want for the map. =/
Besides, I still haven't started the campaign with my group yet.
Last edited by Weero; 10-24-2008 at 01:20 PM.
I wouldn't go that far at all. Its a good functional map so far that does the job well. If you don't have the grass and mountains on separate layers then there are a number of ways of getting the same effect I mentioned. There's no reason to throw away what you've already got.
Actually, I've been thinking about the mountains, and the more and more I look at them, I feel like I have to shrink them or something.
Besides, even if I start anew, I love doing this!
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