Nov/Dec '17 Lite Challenge: Mayeux Farm

[QED42]

If I start a thread that means I'm more likely to actually start a map right? Also first one to start a thread gets extra votes?

I don't actually have anything to post yet but I do have an idea in mind of the style I want to go for and I've been hunting up inspiration images so hopefully that counts for something! The hardest part has been done though as I did pick a name for the farm after clicking through a name generator more times than should have been necessary.

Maybe next time I'll post a WIP, maybe that could even be tomorrow! But lets not get carried away with ourselves.

[Chashio]

If I start a thread that means I'm more likely to actually start a map right?

Start, maybe. Finish... ? Not in my personal experience [hopefully you're not like me] but I look forward to whatever you come up with.

[Straf]

I was going to post a thread tonight too but I got distracted by something and then decided to have some refreshments. I, too, have no map but I do have an idea. I even have a picture in my head of what I want to do.

[Bogie]

Come on in QED42, people have started with less!

[QED42]

Fine Bogie, I guess you can have a WIP!

### Latest WIP ###
mayeux.png

Not sure how much of this I'll keep or why I put everything offer centre like that. I guess we shall see how things develop.

[QED42]

I finally got round to doing some more to this map but it's not really been turning out very well in my opinion. When I don't like how something is going is when I tend to procrastinate the most.

### Latest WIP ###
mayeux2.png

[Chashio]

When I don't like how something is going is when I tend to procrastinate the most.

I know that feeling.

I like the direction it's taken but....
What do you think could be improved, or... what aspects don't you like about it at this point? Also, what software are you using to build it?

[QED42]

I know that feeling.

I like the direction it's taken but....
What do you think could be improved, or... what aspects don't you like about it at this point? Also, what software are you using to build it?

Well I like the background texture I picked but that's about it! I'm not sure I like the colour, the composition or the shapes even.

I wanted to do something like the fortified farms they have in Northern France (there might be a name for them but I can't recall it). Here is a couple of reference images I started with.

france-eure-an-old-fortified-farm-aerial-view-BABX55.jpg
france-eure-medieval-farm-with-fortifications-normandy-aerial-view-A7YHT6.jpg

I really love J.Edwards maps and think he has some of the best small village ones out there so I was trying to do something in a similar style. Obviously I don't have the talent to come close but these are the kind of maps I had in mind as inspiration.

https://www.cartographersguild.com/a...chmentid=74096
https://www.cartographersguild.com/a...chmentid=70621

Maybe I'm just being overly harsh on myself! I did want to show a bit more of the land surrounding the farm so I might shrink it down a bit to give more space round it.

[Chashio]

I don't know what they're called either but I love those.

ok, so the colors you don't like... what I see in J's maps is actually quite limited for color palette/range. They are also very earthy and natural. Where his roofs are colored 'red' for instance, they're actually brown and just feel red relative to the more cool, grey and greener tones around them. If you study your reference images, the roofs are actually a lot closer in tone to the colors around them than what your brain is trying to say is 'red' ... so using colors that are closer together and not so clean would probably help you get closer to what you want and tie your whole image together. Try selecting colors directly from one of the reference images and use those to fill in your map and see if you like it better.

the layout and shapes... the type of farm you're going for is quite rectangular and boxy, it seems to mainly be laid out in a very boxy format and part of the interest of a nice layout/composition is not doing that. If you look at J's maps you linked to, many of the buildings and other things aren't square and lined up to the document edges. Looking at your lower reference image, I see a couple of things that could help... if you're going to show more land around the main compound, you could try adding an outbuilding or two that are angled differently to the main structures, and you can also make the paths/roads more curved and such. Looking at the top image, one of the buildings is round, thus adding some contrast from the rest of it.

the style... part of the charm and energy of J's style is because he doesn't use straight lines. he draws everything by hand and, especially in his Bourmout map, his buildings are rather crooked but that's something that adds flavor to it. It's a lot more work than using a digital tool to make a line, and you might not have an option to do that easily with what you have, but that's what I would suggest trying to do... which can be sort of counter-intuitive but basically... make it look less perfect.

Just my thoughts. I hope some of it is helpful.

[Bogie]

A lot of good advice from Chashio! I would add one more specific thing, the floor tiles are a nice irregular, non repeating pattern, but the tiles are to large and to bright. I would make them 50% smaller and lower the color saturation or brightness (probably both).