A sand kingdom
I think that I'm almost done with this map:
How is it now:
http://qoff.deviantart.com/art/A-unnamed-map-522886553
How it was before:
Last edited by Qoff; 04-13-2015 at 10:24 PM.
It's a startYou have good shapes, now you need to work on finding and overlaying some appropriate textures, and play with colors until you can get a realistic and attractive set that works. Try changing not only the hue, but also the saturation and brightness of your colors. I suspect less saturation will help.
As for textures, just google, there are tons of them available.
Yeah, I'm thinking in a cracked ground in some place, maybe a volcano, a whirlwind in the sea.
A little update:
The sand kingdom.jpg
Edit:
The sand kingdom.jpg
Last edited by Qoff; 03-21-2015 at 12:14 AM.
I'm thinking this kind of unnatural guys, what do you think? What to do next? And how to use the brushes of Aronbor map without looking too unnatural?
The sand kingdom.jpg
I assume there's a world-building reason for The Sand Kingdom, because I have to say the contrast between the desert colour and the lush green is quite jarring! You don't normally expect those two to be right next to each other like that. I like what you've done with the sand in the bottom right of the map, though until you fill out your kingdom a little more I'm not sure what's the best way forward for you. I assume you're going to have cities, or are the people nomads or what? How are they feeding themselves and where is their water coming from?
As regards mountain brushes, just remember mountains come in ranges (unless there's an in-world reason). You can get away with one or two solo mountains but, generally speaking, you want them to form a line of peaks rather than have them dotted here and there. So, for instance, you might try a line of mountains running down the middle of island, perhaps with some foothills at the base, and you could dot some forests around there too. This might help everything blend together.
Look forward to seeing what you do next.
The Sand Kingdom is a generic name so far, I'll probably change it when its done. About that contrast I'm having a problem that I don't know how to solve, I want to change the north of the desert to a forest but I don't know how to make a good transition between the desert and the forest, I'm finding this very hard.Originally Posted by ChickPea
I assume there's a world-building reason for The Sand Kingdom, because I have to say the contrast between the desert colour and the lush green is quite jarring! You don't normally expect those two to be right next to each other like that. I like what you've done with the sand in the bottom right of the map, though until you fill out your kingdom a little more I'm not sure what's the best way forward for you. I assume you're going to have cities, or are the people nomads or what? How are they feeding themselves and where is their water coming from?
As regards mountain brushes, just remember mountains come in ranges (unless there's an in-world reason). You can get away with one or two solo mountains but, generally speaking, you want them to form a line of peaks rather than have them dotted here and there. So, for instance, you might try a line of mountains running down the middle of island, perhaps with some foothills at the base, and you could dot some forests around there too. This might help everything blend together.
Look forward to seeing what you do next.
The bottom is going to be something like a dead earth or something like that. I want to make some Oasis as well but I don't know how, and I want to make rivers but I don't know how as well since I already put the layers of the textures. I'll put the peaks lines as well and there will be few cities in the desert.
This is how is it now:
Attachment 71896
Last edited by Qoff; 03-22-2015 at 11:48 AM.
I'm fairly new to map-making so probably not the best person to advise you, since I'm still learning myself, but I think you need to take real world geography into account. If the climate turns an area into a complete desert, it doesn't feel quite right that what seems like a relatively short distance away is full is greenery. That's why I was asking about world-building. Your typical Evil Lord could probably make a land a barren waste, while its neighbours are green and lush, but normally you'd need a transition zone. I understand you're working towards this with forests at the top, but if your desert's extending all the way to the bottom, shouldn't the bottom of your island be a little desert-like too (assuming north-south geography)? You could perhaps try out some sort of gradient effect in the desert blending from transparent in the sand to solid green for the forest. I'd add a few random grass patches further into the desert too, just to give the impression that vegetation is starting to grow. For your rivers, you could simply draw squiggly black lines and play about with the blend mode if they look too harsh. That would probably work on top of your sand texture. For your oasis, maybe keep it simple with just a pool of water and a couple of palm trees?
One final comment I'd make about your island (and I hope this doesn't come across as too critical), but it's very 'busy'. You've got practically every square inch covered with trees, hills and mountains. It's good to have some empty space because it makes the other elements stand out more, rather than having them getting lost in amongst everything else. Try rejigging your mountains a little into a range and take out some of the trees and let everything 'breathe' a little. Less is more, and all that!
Well I made a little changes, now I'll try to put a forest/barren area in the north of the desert:
The sand kingdom.jpg
Well that's looking much better already. You've got more room for your city icons and they don't get lost among the trees!
I love the little tent icon!
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