WIP (so what isn't?)

[Wolv0rine]

Map Update

Well, here's the further progress of the kingdom of Dyfell.

 

[GentleGiant]

A third possibility is drawing a hill & using it to create a custom PS brush: this way you could just "click" them in vs. drawing, etc. In fact, if you make a bunch of different hills you can create a bunch of different brushes to dab in, so as to hide the repetition. (If you've not done it before, it's amazingly fast & really easy: here's a website h showing how to do it, although draw a hill instead of the swirly thing in the tutorial!

Keep up the great work!

Minor threadjack in progress...
I followed the link to the tutorial quoted here and tried to follow it. However, as you can see from the picture below, my Photoshop doesn't exactly do the same thing as in the tutorial. Anyone got any ideas as to why?

 

[ZombieButch]

Minor threadjack in progress...
I followed the link to the tutorial quoted here and tried to follow it. However, as you can see from the picture below, my Photoshop doesn't exactly do the same thing as in the tutorial. Anyone got any ideas as to why?

The tutorial fails to mention that you won't get exactly the image they created unless you make your black square exactly centered in your image, which I suspect is your problem.

 

[Aristotle]

The updated map looks great. The hills look good, and the little lake sort of balances things out I think. I'll definately be playing around with this. I'll likely use a more generic "dots and stars" map key though as my "little building" keys tend to look cartoonish or out of place with the rest of the map.

 

[GentleGiant]

The tutorial fails to mention that you won't get exactly the image they created unless you make your black square exactly centered in your image, which I suspect is your problem.

AHA! Thanks for that info... now get back to making more awesome tutorials!

 

[Wolv0rine]

The updated map looks great. The hills look good, and the little lake sort of balances things out I think. I'll definately be playing around with this. I'll likely use a more generic "dots and stars" map key though as my "little building" keys tend to look cartoonish or out of place with the rest of the map.

I was actually surprised no one asked... the cities & towns use a ding font called (aptly enough) Buildings. Where did I get it? Gods I have no idea anymore, but that's the 'secret' there.

 

[Pyrandon]

Those hills turned out wonderfully, Wolv0rine--great submission by jaerdaph & excellent use on your part!

Now that this map is nearing completion I am seeing something I didn't notice before: the mountains are HUGE in comparison with the rest of the map's images & details. This may have been your intention (since mountains really ARE huge! ) but the map as-a-whole seems a tad dominated by them IMO. I think a more pleasing effect yet giving the same vast extent would be to shrink them (you can marquee select 'em & then just Edit>Transform>Scale) & then fill in the resulting gaps with more mountains of the same, smaller size. Just an idea.

Also, I would do that same shading from the mountains on at least some of the hills (to a smaller extent)--perhaps even in the original pattern reapplied so you don't have to wreck your wrist on the individual hills. At least a suggestion to tie it all together, but that's just eye candy, so maybe just to play with when time allows. (& if you're like me, time never allows!) (Curse you, time.)

Anyway, this is coming along so very well! Nice, nice work.

 

[Wolv0rine]

Well, I said previously that I'd post an example of the more 'realistic' mountains I worked up for that style of mapping, so I clipped a section of an older out-of-date map that had them.

I was fairly happy with the look of it, but it was a BEAR to concoct.

EDIT: And in the event anyone wants to know, this is how I did it.
Layer Style>Bevel and Emboss:
Style: Inner Bevel, Technique: Chisel Soft, Depth 1000, Direction: Up, Size: 204
Shading: Angle: 120 (I believe you can play with this and see what you like, not sure offhand how much effect it'll have on the mtn effect), Altitude: 30, Gloss Contour: Linear

Layer Style>Bevel and Emboss>Contour:
Contour: Linear, Range: 30

Layer Style>Pattern Overlay:
Blend Mode: Normal, Opacity: 75%, Pattern: Dirt, Scale: 100%

After that I just grab a brush (usually either gray or black, but it may not matter) and just paint 'em in. Brush gives an entirely different mountain range than pencil.

 

[Wolv0rine]

*Shameless Bump*

Hmm, no comments on the 'realistic' mountains technique?

 

[Galethorn]

I've experimented quite a bit with that myself. I ended up deciding that the 'lots of little mountains drawn in' style was more fulfilling, though. I'll see if I can scrounge up one of my Layer Styles Insanity maps later today.