Forest density...

[Durakken]

Making a map from ground level in 3D and I'm running into a problem..
What I need is the ability to have 10meter large creatures move around.... and the area to look foresty... but making the trees at a low enough densit to move doesn't look right and too high I can't move.

Keeping that in mind...
i'm going to assume that the larger ones are fairly rare so the average is be lower 5m large.
Would the larger creatures stay on the outskirts of the forests meaning that the forest would be less dense and get more as it goes deeper?
Or would the creatures move throughout the forests and make them less dense in general than normal?

Also how far back do humans cut back forests in the middle ages? And is there a density difference between "wild" and those closer to settlements?

Anyone have any clue on this stuff?

[Falconius]

I don't know if Asian elephants are naturally distributed in the jungles there or on less densely forested areas but most of the large animals I can think of tend to move in more open areas, the African savannah being the obvious example. Considering though that your planet has developed such large creatures I would also assume the vegetation is exponentially bigger too, which could mean trees with very tall, large, trunks, but also a huge amount of canopy space which would keep them spaced well apart. So the trunks would be less dense in number but still maintain a full canopy hundreds of feet above the forest floor, allowing relatively free movement of big creatures. I'd say "think redwoods", but they don't have the largeness of canopy that trees could structurally support on a planet where such large creatures could also exist.

[Durakken]

Well they didn't "develop" naturally... They are more mutated through divine will about 100 years ago.
The world is similar to ours around 1000 to 1500 CE... and this map is roughly equivalent to Great Britain.

Also I meant that they'd be in the lower than 5m large range... but I don't know exactly how big they'd be.

[Falconius]

Ah, well anything that large in our world would also have enormous power. I imagine they can simply force there way through much of our forest just by breaking minor trees and branches. I also imagine that having been around for a hundred years or so, most forest are simply not as dense. I imagine they'd form game trails like other things just appropriately large trails. I also think they'd utilize human built roads for convenience, unless they are very wary of humans.