[unpaid]Fleshing out a very small town.

[theultimateend]

Commission: Probably Unpaid because I have about as much extra income as a failing bank *badumpish*. However! If I am blown away, which visually is isn't hard at all, I will pay something. I wouldn't expect more than 5 bucks because that's a meal for me. Anything created here that is used in my current story project will be credited to the individuals and if you want to provide your real name upon completion (if I say I'd like it) I will make sure to cite you in either the foreword or in some sort of creative bibliography at the end.

Time Constraints: They say that all good things come with time. Considering the town in question has a written history of roughly two centuries I should be lenient in how long it takes anyone here to redraw it with a bit of finesse. Basically if someone DOES make something I'll be happy, regardless of when or how long. Obviously if I finish and were to publish the book before the image was done there would be some issues but I'd be most thankful regardless.

Style: You know I don't know. I'm absorbed in just about any map style. If you own either oblivion or shivering isles those maps are great. But I also like the FF12 map that comes with it (the oblivion stuff is essentially brownscale, but the FF one has some color). I'd love to see any style at all, I think by the end of all the map projects I work through that I'll have tons of variations so that there is this really diverse feel to the art of the universe.

So be creative, if you have wanted to experiment with something, as long as you get the 'point' across on my map shown below (that is the layout is similar to the map and/or story) I am happy to see anything.

Description of Map: Now first I'd like to mention I am absolutely terrible with scale. I have to work VERY hard to get my descriptions of things to fit the visual I have in my head. Just work with the image and assume that the size of the homes in the image are for families of 2-4 people with an open floor plan. Probably not much bigger than a double wide mobile home kind of thing.

Quality & Size: Anything that is better than what I did is appreciated. I'd love to see what you can come up with. Yours might even not have smudges and coffee stains like mine does >_>. I have no idea on raster or whatever. I'd like the final image to at least fit nicely into a 22 inch widescreen monitor (1900 by 1280?) but that can be 'fluffed' with a nice forest and great plains region . Don't feel obligated to go extreme on the city, I just want something that helps open up the imaginative world in the readers head.

Copyright - If you make it and I like it I will credit you as fully as you'd like (full name, psuedonym, what have you). I'd love to release an art book once I get a few books out that has a collection of all the works every person I've met has made for the story. I already have a few artists I enjoy looking into character sketches and such so I think it would be neat. It's always fun to see things you made in print.

So basically I'd like the ability to use your stuff but I'd make sure that when people see it, if they love it, they'll come to you instead of me. Anything less I think is unfair to people who are nice enough to put the time in. If you ended up wanting to use it yourself for monetary gain later I'd just ask that you cite the original source (my story and universe) and I'm cool. Lawyers annoy me so I'm not gonna jam anyone into some hardcore contract. A simple "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours" deal unless the artist wants more.

Visual Example: http://islesofscion.net/content/Ambitus.png (The note in the corner is because this same image is in the closed reading of the in progress story.)
History of Town: http://islesofscion.net/content/Ambitus.pdf

Thanks for your time and I'm off.

- Rico

[Sigurd]

Your town write up is approx. 1100 words. Even your appeal for help is more than half that (700wds). Why not flesh it out, perhaps five or ten times larger, and include more geographic detail?

Might give people more to work from.

[theultimateend]

Your town write up is approx. 1100 words. Even your appeal for help is more than half that (700wds). Why not flesh it out, perhaps five or ten times larger, and include more geographic detail?

Might give people more to work from.

Well the write up is just a town history written for my readers.

I'll see about writing a geographical description sometime this weekend. .

[theultimateend]

Alright since I totally forgot about this (about to graduate college, been very busy) lets get this underway.

To the north west of the the town is the outcroppings of a large forest that itself stems into an even greater forest that is inhabited largely by elves. Generally speaking very little travel is done through the woods because of predators who have little fear of sentient creatures and for the fact that overgrowth makes the roads that are built unwieldy and essentially a pain in the butt.

Instead a road traveling down and around from the south is primarily used (not sure if its in the image but there is a fork and an unused road leads into the woods). In every other direction is a region known as the great plains. An area that is essentially nothing but long roving planes that change from gold to green depending on the season (not unlike regions in Africa and really anywhere else with plains and grass). There is the occasional tree which really are the only solace any traveler has from what can quite easily be a scorching sun overhead.

The plains themselves aren't very deep while it is seemingly endless rolling hills none of them stand out as exceptionally large compared to their kin. The lake in town bubbles from some unseen source at its base (they are too deep to reasonably swim to the bottom and live).

The farm land is simple crops that are easy to grow and feed the town.

The Island it is on is currently being drawn up and I'll upload it here in a bit once I'm done . Hope this is a little more, I can add as much as people need. Any specifics.

PS. I think I have reverse dollhouse syndrome. I am having troubles putting any real detail on my maps. Mainly because I hate setting anything in stone (sort of pun intended).

[Syt]

Hi, I looked at your sketch and felt reminded of the John Speed style of medieval maps, so I sat down and wipped something up using the John Speed template that came with one of the Campaign Cartographer Annuals (hadn't really used it much, so I thought I'd give it a try).

So besides transcribing your sketch into that template I deserve no artistic praise.

Let me know what you think, though.

[Korash]

WOW!

First post and a map, and in the Request forum yet!!

Have some rep to banish the Blue Pip of Newbdom

Looks good.

You should post something about yourself over in the Introduction Thread.

[Gandwarf]

Well, Korash seem to have forgotten to actually rep you, so I did

[Syt]

Thank you.

As said, nothing special, just something quickly whipped up with ready made components.

[Korash]

Doh!!!!!!!

Is MY face RED

I must of forgotten to click the "Add to Reputation" button. Sorry about that.

Situation has been corrected.

[Gandwarf]

I am interested to see what the thread starter thinks of this map.
I rather like it!

(Oh, and I didn't want to shame you Korash, you know I got your back )