Town of Duskford

[Wired]

Well, between commissions and trying out this and that I thought I'd give it a try and start working on my first town map. Duskford is supposed to be a mid-sized town watched over by a lord's keep. It's the end point for trade via river and thus features/will feature a small harbor for river barges, a shipyard, warehouses et al (depending on how well I can depict such things from a top-down perspective). I've used the ridge brushes another member posted here some time ago (don't remember who, but; thank you!) for the moat. In the next step I'll put in the remaining buildings and will add the roofs.

City Map Example 1.jpg

[DanielHasenbos]

Looks good! I'd like to see where this going

[J.Edward]

Yes, it looks like a solid start and a good layout. Should be fun to watch it transform.

[Eld]

I like the depiction of the walls and towers.
Especially the height lines around the city are very nice. As I was thinking about height lines on my own lately, this is inspiring me. I'll try this style to see if it works with the style I use.
Another pretty thing is the way you show the backyards of the houses. Do they get another texture than the streets?
What scale are you using and how did you figure it out? I've got some problems deciding which scale would be good for my city maps.
Thanks for sharing your work and keep it up!

[Wired]

I like the depiction of the walls and towers.
Especially the height lines around the city are very nice.

You mean the ones I used for the town's moat? Those aren't mine. They are a ridgeline brush set you can find on these forums.

As I was thinking about height lines on my own lately, this is inspiring me. I'll try this style to see if it works with the style I use.

I'm using simple height lines for the rest of the height differences to distinguish them from the moats.

Another pretty thing is the way you show the backyards of the houses. Do they get another texture than the streets?

I use a custom brush for the cobblestone road. The backyards will include small gardens an will be hand-drawn, not based on any particular texture.

What scale are you using and how did you figure it out? I've got some problems deciding which scale would be good for my city maps.

I... just started drawing, with no particular scale in mind.

[Wired]

Okay guys, I need your advice. Take a look at the roofs.
The roofs of the houses on the western banks of the river have recieved some extra work to add some extra texture. The roofs on the eastern side haven't. But I'm not sure which style actually works better for this map. What do you think?

City Map Example.jpg

[J.Edward]

Hey Wired. If you're going to add shadow on the roofs, I would just go with the ones on the eastern side.
If no shadow... not sure.

[Wired]

Hey Wired. If you're going to add shadow on the roofs, I would just go with the ones on the eastern side.
If no shadow... not sure.

I'm not sure if I understand you correctly. The eastern side does not have any shadows as of now.

[J.Edward]

Sorry for any confusion. The east and west sides, to me, do not appear to have shadow.
The west has some texture on roofs, but no shadow.
So if you were going to add shadow, then I would say to just leave them as the ones on the east.
Maybe this will help.City Map Example.jpg
A - shaded with lines
B - solid shaded
C - solid shaded over lighter texture
D - solid shaded over darker texture
Does that help any?

[Wired]

Sorry for any confusion. The east and west sides, to me, do not appear to have shadow.
The west has some texture on roofs, but no shadow.
So if you were going to add shadow, then I would say to just leave them as the ones on the east.
Maybe this will help.City Map Example.jpg
A - shaded with lines
B - solid shaded
C - solid shaded over lighter texture
D - solid shaded over darker texture
Does that help any?

Ah, now I understand what you mean. Seems I'm a bit slow tonight. Thank you for explaining. I hadn't even thought of shadows to begin with, only if adding some texture to the roofs made sense or not. But your approach is a lot more fitting for the map than what I was going on about. Thanks!