Sleeping Sun Map

[Kellerica]

Ihh. This map was a pain.

During the process of creating this I hated pretty much every single element I put in, re-did it at least twice and still ended up going "oh WHATEVER I don't even care anymore" rather than "okay, I think it looks good now" most of the time when moving on to the next step. I came very close to just tossing the whole thing out a couple of times, but lately I've been trying this new thing called Actually Finishing Crap I Start, so I decided to push through.

In the end, I'm glad I finished it. I still think it's far from being my best effort, but considering how absolutely awful it looked when still in the works, it could be a lot worse.

I'd love to hear your thoughts, but in a "Things to remember the next time around" sort of way - I swear to God, I am never touching this thing again.

SleepingSun2FIN.jpg

[J.Edward]

Three cheers for finishing things
It can be tough when things are less than satisfying - I know this well.
Sometimes it finishes well and sometimes just meh.
I think this came out well. It has a nice mood and atmosphere.

I particularly like that you have the nice shadows for all the trees.
Also like the mood lighting on some of the mountains. [some seem lit more than other areas]
The coastlines look good. Maybe some more lower foothills leading up to large mountain ranges next time.
Border and legend look good.
For curved text - I would just go with a gentle U curve.
I've tried multicurve paths before and they usually don't work so well.


I think it works all-in-all though.

[kacey]

I like this enough that I put it in my inspiration folder as soon as I saw it. The colours are really great, you have a way of choosing colours that really give allot of atmosphere to you're work, and I love how you manage to make maps which don't have too many locations, this is something I struggle with, trying to figure out the balance between too much, and too little when it comes to labeling, and you manage to pull it off without things looking too empty, or too crowded. I also really like the border, it's very simple, and clean, and the corner embellishments look really good.

There's really not much I could pick apart in this map, I like it, you did a good job regardless of how it may have started.

[Josiah VE]

Wow, this is stunning. Very nice!

[Greg]

Great work on this Kelleri! I like the border and composition a lot and you've made great use of colours and contrast here to make it stylistic but clear to read - which darker maps easily can become.

The only thing I can really think to constructively comment on is perhaps a bit more texturing on the land, and maybe as J said some smaller foothills or mini-mountains leading up the the bigger ones, but even with those, they're not a necessity and more down to style.

A really nice piece!

[Kellerica]

Three cheers for finishing things
It can be tough when things are less than satisfying - I know this well.
Sometimes it finishes well and sometimes just meh.
I think this came out well. It has a nice mood and atmosphere.

I particularly like that you have the nice shadows for all the trees.
Also like the mood lighting on some of the mountains. [some seem lit more than other areas]
The coastlines look good. Maybe some more lower foothills leading up to large mountain ranges next time.
Border and legend look good.
For curved text - I would just go with a gentle U curve.
I've tried multicurve paths before and they usually don't work so well.


I think it works all-in-all though.

Hah, yeah I'm still learning the ropes of map-making, so every map is an adventure - never ever do they come even close to what I originally had in mind. I don't know if over time, with more practise, I ever will be able to actually make what I originally plan, or is it always like this. Any insight from the folks who've been at this the longest? Do you plan a map and actually manage to create the thing you planned?

As for the curving labels, thanks. A good tip, I'll definitely keep that in mind. Along with forests, labeling is probably the hardest thing for me about mapping - doesn't help when it's always one of the last things I do, and usually by the time I get that far I'm pretty sick of the map anyway...

And thanks Kacey, Josiah and GLS!

[snodsy]

Hey Kelleri, I feel your pain, I have about 4 or 5 maps that I've attempted a few time and can't seem to get right, that said every one you do provides a learning opportunity, now you know what you don't like . I actually like it, although it seems a little dark, but the mountain ranges and forest are really laid out nicely. Give it a rest and look at it in a couple weeks, I think you'll see that it's not so bad and you may even want to tweak it a little, if not, I'm sure you've learned something while working on it.

[Diamond]

Beautiful work, Kelleri. I'm a sucker for dark, atmospheric maps like this; I love the color mix you've got here, it's really framed and complemented well by the border. The legend/key is great. Font choice(s) are spot-on. Mountains, forests, rivers all look fantastic. I like the overall layout; it's all self-contained, but hints at a much wider world beyond.

I really only have two critiques:

1. The difference in appearance between cities/towers and abandoned ones is too subtle. The two town symbols show greater differences, which makes them easier to tell apart.

2. The roads are way too faint; it's really hard to even see them. I actually didn't even know they were there until I'd looked over the map for several minutes.

Love this map! One of my favorites over the last few months. Have some well-deserved rep!

[Eilathen]

For me, the map is a bit too dark. I like maps that are easier to see overall.
Other than that, a very atmospheric map, well done. I like the composition and landforms. I do think you could try to go for a more intricate mountain-style! They are a bit too simplified for a mapper of your skill, imho.

[Kellerica]

Beautiful work, Kelleri. I'm a sucker for dark, atmospheric maps like this; I love the color mix you've got here, it's really framed and complemented well by the border. The legend/key is great. Font choice(s) are spot-on. Mountains, forests, rivers all look fantastic. I like the overall layout; it's all self-contained, but hints at a much wider world beyond.

I really only have two critiques:

1. The difference in appearance between cities/towers and abandoned ones is too subtle. The two town symbols show greater differences, which makes them easier to tell apart.

2. The roads are way too faint; it's really hard to even see them. I actually didn't even know they were there until I'd looked over the map for several minutes.

Love this map! One of my favorites over the last few months. Have some well-deserved rep!

Thanks, Diamond. It really means a lot to me. As for your critiques, yeah, I totally agree. Good points, especially about the roads. The icons' differece was a bit clealer when the map was full size, I think - what you're seeing here is a little smaller version due to size limit on the forum. Or maybe it just looks more obvious to me since I made the icons...

For me, the map is a bit too dark. I like maps that are easier to see overall.
Other than that, a very atmospheric map, well done. I like the composition and landforms. I do think you could try to go for a more intricate mountain-style! They are a bit too simplified for a mapper of your skill, imho.

Hmm. I'll try, but don't get your hopes up - I'm really not that good at drawing . One of the reasons why I work digitally, it's easier to hide that fact