[m]April: my map-a-day challenge

[Wingshaw]

Hi all,

As part of a personal challenge to increase the speed and quality of my map-making, I have embarked on the challenge of creating a map on every day of April. It's basically the same as Mapvember, but in April rather than November.

I might not finish this challenge, but I will at least get a rhythm going, and that's the main point.

I'd love to get some feedback from my fellow Guildies, so please feel free to comment, suggest and critique.
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The rules:

• work on a new map for each day of April.
• record how long each map takes.
• alternate between digital and traditional drawings (i.e. day 1 is digital, day 2 will be traditional etc).
• from day 1 to day 10 I'll set no time limit.
• from day 11 to day 20 I'll limit myself to only 2 hours each day.
• from day 21 to day 30 I'll limit myself to only 1 hour each day.
• I'll be trying different styles and types of maps, as often as possible.
• Each map will be posted to this thread

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Day 1:
Medium: digital
Type: town
Time taken: 3:09

This was a town map inspired and referencing J.Edward's fantastic "Ward of Chiezbehrg" [here and here]. Obviously it isn't finished, but I think it has turned out alright, so far. I might try to finish it sometime, after this challenge is over.

Wingshaw

[Wingshaw]

Day 2:
Medium: traditional (Copic Multiliner 2.0 and A4 paper)
Type: town
Time taken: 3:09

Another town map, same style as yesterday. I decided to give myself the same length of time as yesterday, too, and I was interested in seeing that I was able to get much more done when drawing in traditional materials.

Comments, anyone?

Wingshaw

[nopkin]

I think it looks great, love those little piers. I much prefer the organic look of the traditional one to the straight lines of yesterday.

Congratulations for embarking on this challenge (even more so as it's a self-imposed one). Hopefully you'll get it completed, as I believe such endeavors help a lot. Looking forward to the next posts, and maybe you will also tell us how does it feel along the way (later on in the month). Is it stressful, motivational, encouraging to see progress, discouraging in any way?

[Azélor]

It is definitely a good idea to improve mapping skills.

It is 3 hours and not 3 minutes I hope?

[Ilanthar]

Well, I can't say I'm surprised to see you draw cities... as I'm not surprised by the result.
Those are really fine maps, Wingshaw! I hope you'll finish them at some point.

[J.Edward]

Both look good, Wingshaw
And it's a great way to increase speed and control.
I'll be watching this thread for sure.

[Arkidemis]

Starting off strong thats for sure. Looking forward to the maps from the days to come.

[Wingshaw]

I think it looks great, love those little piers. I much prefer the organic look of the traditional one to the straight lines of yesterday.

Congratulations for embarking on this challenge (even more so as it's a self-imposed one). Hopefully you'll get it completed, as I believe such endeavors help a lot. Looking forward to the next posts, and maybe you will also tell us how does it feel along the way (later on in the month). Is it stressful, motivational, encouraging to see progress, discouraging in any way?

Thanks nopkin. I hadn't thought about giving that kind of insight into my process, but I'll keep it in mind

It is definitely a good idea to improve mapping skills.

It is 3 hours and not 3 minutes I hope?

Thanks Azélor. Yeah, those are hours... 3 minutes! I wish

Well, I can't say I'm surprised to see you draw cities... as I'm not surprised by the result.
Those are really fine maps, Wingshaw! I hope you'll finish them at some point.

Cheers Ilanthar. Yeah, cities are kinda my thing, but I'm also trying to branch out a bit with these maps. I'm even going to try my first dungeon maps later in the month.

Both look good, Wingshaw
And it's a great way to increase speed and control.
I'll be watching this thread for sure.

Thanks J.

Starting off strong thats for sure. Looking forward to the maps from the days to come.

Cheers Arkidemis.
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Day 3
Medium: digital
Type: regional
Time taken: 2:10

So, this time I tried doing a regional map, and the result is this mountainous island. Using digital media makes it much easier to add colour and shading then my traditional materials, and I think that is demonstrated quite nicely in this piece.

What do you all think of it? Any suggestions for next time?

Wingshaw

[Ilanthar]

I thinks it's two hours well spent! It's looking great .

[Wingshaw]

Ninja'd

Thanks Ilanthar
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Day 4
Medium: traditional (Copic Multiliner 2.0 and A4 paper)
Type: regional
Time taken: 2:09

Going for a fairly old-school map style with this one. I'm finding it interesting to explore the relative strengths of the different mediums: digital art makes it easier for me to add colour and shading, while traditional drawing makes it look more authentic. That's my opinion, at least.

Wingshaw