WIP: village map (commission)

[Wingshaw]

Hi all.

I'm working on a new map commission, and I need to ask my fellow Guildies for some help

I'm not 100% sure if I'm at liberty to name the client or the project, so this is going to have to remain fairly vague...

The commission is for a village located in a heavily forested mountain valley, with an upper meadow and a lower meadow.

At the moment, I'm struggling to get realistic forests in place, and that's where I need your help. Any hints or tips you're able to offer would be very much appreciated. I've attached the latest WIP as well as an earlier version of the forests for comparison (the one with Option A tagged along the top).

Seriously, any help is appreciated; I'm struggling a bit to get the forests looking right

Wingshaw

[Mimine]

Hi Wingshaw!

I personally prefer the latest WIP, however I'm not sure about the colors. They seem a little too saturated and "jungle like", if you get what I mean. The hills and mountains are beautifully done, but the perspective makes me a little uncomfortable.... The whole map looks very steep, with the rivers flowing quickly towards the bottom of the map. They are very nicely done, I love them, but I would flatten them so that it looks less steep. Also, I think you would go with a texture brush rather than whole trees brushes. http://www.performanceimpressions.co.../index_11.html I found this image, I think it represents what I mean. In this case it's a road, but you see my point with the perspective.

I hope this was helpful!

[Texas Jake]

I agree with Mimine that the perspective seems a bit steep. I like the second trees. If the individual trees had a more distinct edge (maybe a highlighted edge) they would do better when concentrated in an area and not start looking like just a blob of color.

[bkh1914]

To me, the first image suggests a dense forest growing in good soil with adequate rainfall. Pretty much an unbroken canopy of trees.
I live in a area like that and that's pretty close to the way my woods looks in an aerial photograph or a satellite view.

The second image (option A) looks like rocky terrain with sparse soil and probably low rainfall. A very open forest. Much like forests I've seen in dry mountainous regions.

[Kier]

I agree the perspective seems a little steep. In regards to the 1st or 2nd view. I like them both. The 1st looks better in my opinion at a distance, I really like the shaded valleys and rises in the forest. I don't quite get that in the 2nd, although I like the styling better in the 2nd, lol. I think bkh1914 did a good job of explaining the different feel of each.

[Wingshaw]

Wow, thanks! That is some great feedback A lot of really good insights and a lot of ideas to try out.

Regarding the steepness of the map: I hadn't spotted that before, but you're right, it does look very steep. Unfortunately, that's also the way the client wants it, so I can't do much about that right now.

Regarding the forests:
-- yes, I'd agree that it's a bit too saturated. I'll try to tone it down a bit.
-- Mimine, I'll try your idea about a texture brush, but I'm not very familiar with how to use those. It might take a bit of practice... (Also those satellite views of forests are a really great inspiration - that's exactly the look I want)
-- TexasJake, I think that you're right about adding a bit more of an edge to the trees in Option A, but the problem is also that the trees need to look more varied. And short of painting each of them individually (which I do NOT want to do) I'm not sure right now how to do that. Hence the 'blanket' approach
-- bkh1914 & Kier, the look I'm going for is exactly what you describe - an unbroken canopy of trees, almost photorealistic, like in the link Mimine provided. However I also want to show the forest thinning, especially around the meadows, and that tends to look a bit weird when zoomed in, because it becomes obvious that I've just slapped a single (or, actually, two) tree brush across with different flows and opacities.

I'll try out a few different things, like texture brush, making a pattern, meticulous detailing work, and see if it helps.

Thanks again for the help, guys

Wingshaw

[Texas Jake]

To give some variance to the trees you could use a splotchy/peppery layer (or multiple ones) that interact with the trees and give the illusion they are different.

[Wingshaw]

I made a tree canopy pattern and slapped that over the top of the forests, and then placed a desaturation layer over the top of that. Instant transformation! I still need to do some work on it - although I'm not sure what, exactly - but I think it looks massively better now. What do you guys think?

Wingshaw

[Kier]

Now we are getting there. I like that. I like that a lot. Very nice.

[Tenia]

Oh yeah, much muc better, you're on the right way! Color transitions may be a little harsh ? I see that you've let some conifer shapes, I don't know if it is intended but I think it is a good idea, you could may be put a little more pines ? Rivers are promising also!