First Post - First Map

[Psylence]

Alright, so I started off on this kick about a week ago to do some map work. I followed a few Tutorials on smaller scale (Thank you Ascension), and then started to move a bit bigger (Thank you Arsheesh, Ascension(again), Rob A, torstan, and a few others I'm sure to have missed). So after a few days, I think I finally finished with my first map that I'm proud of. Without further ado, here it is.

As an aside: Critique is welcome(that's why it's here), and tips/tricks/etc are always nice.

Unknown-World-1.jpg

*edit*
Well that was awkward, the attached thumbnail is the wrong one, the right one is above this message.

[Domino44]

I think this is a very successful map that I like a lot. There are things that can be improved but I think you did a good job.

[Psylence]

As inspiration would have it... I suddenly had this idea for the depth lines. So, besides general input, it would be nice to see what people thought of them. Thanks in advance.

Unknown-World-2.jpg

[arsheesh]

Looking nice so far Psylence. I love the soft hazy colors. One suggestion would be to change the color of the ocean ripples from black to white (or light blue), and blur them slightly and possibly turn down the opacity. I think this would fit better with the soft hazy ambiance of the map.

Cheers,
-Arsheesh

[Psylence]

Looking nice so far Psylence. I love the soft hazy colors. One suggestion would be to change the color of the ocean ripples from black to white (or light blue), and blur them slightly and possibly turn down the opacity. I think this would fit better with the soft hazy ambiance of the map.

Cheers,
-Arsheesh

Okay, ya got me a bit there.. water ripples? You mean the depth lines on there? If that's the case.. ahh crap, back to the drawing board on those bad boys. ;P Though I think I will try white... that could be interesting.

*edit*
Aaaand BAM! Inverted the color on the rings, reduced the opacity to ~40% and a Gaussian blur of .4. I gotta agree with you. That's a really nice touch. It flows nicely with the rest of the map since it has the whole "hazy ambiance" on the map.

[Domino44]

Yeah, I really like the white depth lines as well. It flows a lot better with the map.

[Lingon]

Lovely mountain style! The rivers are really faint though, they could use some brightening or darkening to contrast more with the land I think

[Psylence]

Thanks Domino, yeah I think those work out better too (Thanks again arsheesh!)

Hm... okay Lingon, you know that was something I debated for a while doing and in the end I think I forgot to even test. That said, I went ahead and added a bit of bevel/emboss to the rivers as well as raising their opacity a little. Finally I grabbed one of my texture layers and put it over top of the rivers at a reduced opacity with a layer mask on it. Thoughts?

Unknown-World-White-Rings2.jpg

[Domino44]

I still think that the rivers need to be a bit brighter, you have some really cool looking rivers but I can't see them unless I zoom into the map. I want to be able to see them right away...