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Embellished Islands map
- Thread starter Pyrandon
- Start date
XCorvis
First Post
I like it, but really the map is the embellishment for the frame. Since the map is the focus, I'd like it see it take up more than 1/3 of the total area of the image.
Like Meloncov, I don't like the render cloud too much. Perhaps replace it with some kind of parchment/tapestry pattern?
Like Meloncov, I don't like the render cloud too much. Perhaps replace it with some kind of parchment/tapestry pattern?
Pbartender
First Post
I'm with the other guys... Not enough map, too much "empty" space.
Zoom in on the map, and then shrink your dragon (and it's a beautifully done dragon, by the way) down so you can wrap him around just one corner of the map or perhaps perch him across the rounded top of the map, instead of the whole thing... Or, if you can manage it, put the dragon inside the map, wrapped around a compass rose or legend.
Zoom in on the map, and then shrink your dragon (and it's a beautifully done dragon, by the way) down so you can wrap him around just one corner of the map or perhaps perch him across the rounded top of the map, instead of the whole thing... Or, if you can manage it, put the dragon inside the map, wrapped around a compass rose or legend.
Great advice, fellows. Thanks.
I resisted the parchment because although I like it for many maps, I (and most other mappers, I believe) use parchment to the point of cliche nowadays; I was trying something new, tending toward danger as novelty so often does.
Thanks also for confirmation on the clouds background; ot my first choice, either. Anyone who knows Photoshop a tad knows they take 2 seconds & zero effort. My ultimate plan is to have the background comprised of a large, unfocused map of the continent of which "Thoracia" is but an island group. But that will have to wait for another day. Or week. Or month. Or... :\
I appreciate your input, one and all. Thanks!
I resisted the parchment because although I like it for many maps, I (and most other mappers, I believe) use parchment to the point of cliche nowadays; I was trying something new, tending toward danger as novelty so often does.
Thanks also for confirmation on the clouds background; ot my first choice, either. Anyone who knows Photoshop a tad knows they take 2 seconds & zero effort. My ultimate plan is to have the background comprised of a large, unfocused map of the continent of which "Thoracia" is but an island group. But that will have to wait for another day. Or week. Or month. Or... :\
I appreciate your input, one and all. Thanks!
jaerdaph said:
Thank you so much for the compliment, that's very kind of you. Yes this was done in Photoshop as two separate documents: the map & the frame/dragon. If you're interested, I created a tutorial on it--mainly because writing down my own steps better helps me think through the process. Here's the link.
Enlarging the map itself would be a simple matter, but since this is more as an exercise in decoration than in utility, I'll pass. Thank you so much for the input though, I really appreciate it; everyone's input has given me tons of food for thought. What a wonderful community this is.
Take care.
Angel Tarragon
Dawn Dragon
Great map; just needs to be larger. 
James Heard
Explorer
I'm not a big fan of the text. I like the font, but I think it probably needs to be played with until it's a lot clearer.
It would also probably help if you went back over the original pencils in digital too, just to even out the transition. You've obviously got a lot of fine details that you're struggling to recapture, and sometimes I think the only way to really get them back is just to trace over them by hand once it's on the computer because of the fuzziness Photoshop tends to lend when you're just trying to make things "darker" in the myriad ways it's able to.
While you were at it, a little bit of variations in color tones in the dragon that you could do with some really faint, soft bushes might make it seem more "alive." If it seems like you're suddenly at "too much color" I think you're still better off keeping the variations and then desaturating the image to tone it down.
Finally, I think you've got such a nice dragon sketch going on I think that it might look pretty cool if you did a little more with the map in general. Make sure it's a little more centered on the canvas and it might be ultra-cool to skew/perspective the thing and see if you can't add some additional depth to the image like you've already started on by having the dragon's tail lick the map like that. You could even pull the whole thing up toward the top then and work on a snazzy "spill" from the oceans.
I don't have as much problem with the background as other people seem to. I think the issues aren't so much with the background as the picture needing to bring the viewer's focus definitely to a single point on the map and then pull the eye around in a way that the background could be anything.
It would also probably help if you went back over the original pencils in digital too, just to even out the transition. You've obviously got a lot of fine details that you're struggling to recapture, and sometimes I think the only way to really get them back is just to trace over them by hand once it's on the computer because of the fuzziness Photoshop tends to lend when you're just trying to make things "darker" in the myriad ways it's able to.
While you were at it, a little bit of variations in color tones in the dragon that you could do with some really faint, soft bushes might make it seem more "alive." If it seems like you're suddenly at "too much color" I think you're still better off keeping the variations and then desaturating the image to tone it down.
Finally, I think you've got such a nice dragon sketch going on I think that it might look pretty cool if you did a little more with the map in general. Make sure it's a little more centered on the canvas and it might be ultra-cool to skew/perspective the thing and see if you can't add some additional depth to the image like you've already started on by having the dragon's tail lick the map like that. You could even pull the whole thing up toward the top then and work on a snazzy "spill" from the oceans.
I don't have as much problem with the background as other people seem to. I think the issues aren't so much with the background as the picture needing to bring the viewer's focus definitely to a single point on the map and then pull the eye around in a way that the background could be anything.
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