Maps from Tales of the Old Margreve

[torstan]

Here's three of the maps I did for a recent Open Design project - Tales of the Old Margreve:

MargreveRegionalWeb.jpg

LevocaVillageWeb.jpg

GriffonHatchlingWeb.jpg

The anthology draws on fairy stories of the old school. Anyone who read the Brother’s Grimm wouldn’t go gaily into the forest looking for elves. This forest is one of ancient power and you disrespect it at your peril.

The 113 page pdf has a Gazeteer of the Margreve to orient yourself in the setting, some rules for tweaked magic, 12 flavourful monsters and 8 full length adventures. The adventures are all written by different authors, which brings a fantastic variety to the challenges they present, but the joy of this supplement is that each adventure ties into the overall theme of the book – resulting in a well rounded impression of the world these stories inhabit. I had a lot of fun creating the dark forest setting that runs through the whole anthology.

As they're commission pieces they are rights reserved.

[tilt]

very nice maps as usual. The many names does dominate the forest map, but understandable with all the scenarios taking place there. Love the multi-view map of the tower, very nice ... and have some rep

[Steel General]

Great stuff here T!

[torstan]

Thanks! Its always interesting getting the brief from the OD guys. The side view tower along with the interior and exterior maps all on the same image was quite a challenge.

[Djekspek]

Amazing stuff as usual! ... you are the master of top-down handpainted maps dude! one small remark on the last map (I know they're finished, so consider it an afterthought : At first glance, I thought the 'buildings on the right' where actual buildings. I think because they blend in well with the trees etc., they kinda look like buildings on their own. Second glance made clear that they are floorplans linked to the side-view presentation of the building. Maybe some 'divider', like a semi-transparant rectangle under set of floorplans could enhance the concept of them being not part of the surrounds while still keeping composition... Or maybe the 'southern' part of the landscape could get a little more opacity to make the other parts pop-out more... I think if the map was in color, it would all be clear in an instant... well, I can understand the challenge in getting these three parts in one composition, but in the end I think the current setup turned out very well and it looks truely amazing... cheers!

[geamon]

I think its the nature of being presented in a monochromatic form that's making it not evident its floor plans... As always you make me envious of your skill.

[DEDDESO]

are you from wotc? your maps are nice!!!!

[torstan]

Nope, not from WotC (yet). Closest I've got so far was doing the maps for the module edition of the D&D comic. Thanks for the compliment - that's really made my afternoon.

@Djekspek I agree. I'm glad you were able to read it on the second pass. I don't mind it taking that much to get it - as there's a lot going on in that map. I think a hard rectangle might have broken the image up a bit too much. I wanted the fade to keep the whole thing cohesive, and intentionally placed some trees so that they fade under the internal floor plans to give a visual clue that the floorplans are something different. With colour it would have been so much easier - but there's the challenge.

Thanks to everyone for the comments (and the rep) - much appreciated.

[Jaxilon]

I have to admit that it took me a while to figure out what was going on. I got the side view readily enough but I really thought the top downs where just more buildings. I guess I'm challenged and need those little lines expanding out to the floor plans so I can see how it fits together. After I realized what was going on it all made sense.

The tower side view it cuts a bunch of trees in half which made that stand out very clearly to me as an inset. Not so much on the top down floors, they looked more like open forest areas or pathways around buildings.

Remember though I tend to look at things differently than most folks so my reaction may not be typical. Either way it's all excellent work.

[torstan]

That's really useful feedback Jaxilon. I'll work harder the next time to make it stand out. It's interesting to learn what works and what doesn't.