Swamplands...looking for some inspiration again

Hey all. Just worked this up this morning instead of the paperwork for work i should be doing as my "home office day", but my morning coffee just compelled me to sit down at my computer and work up a map. So eventually my players will find themselves in a region where it is quick murky and swampy. Here is a WIP on some swamplands. Im trying to work out a way to make my paths looks a bit muddy....any suggestions on technique? I've got loads of fill styles to work with but none that are really like "MUD". Anyone have something like this? i just don't know exactly how im going to make it look more like a swamp and less like a botanical garden path....lol

Comments

  • is it possible that Shessar's stream tutorial could be adapted for this? After all... swamps are dark, murky waters that can sustain certain trees, are they not? Just an idea
  • I don't know about the mud... unless maybe you try a medium dirt bitmap fill, overlaid by a mostly transparent water sludge bitmap?
  • edited May 2016
    So I added some more water, a few downed trees and a bit of water in the path....You can't see well in the png, sadly, but I do have several layers within the water and a stream bed..but i don't want it too clear, as it is a swamp, and i dont want a "shore" of sorts, as it should appear the water is just rising from the ground, not a moving stream. but here is an update...
  • uhm... update didn't come through....
  • There ya go....i tried to sharpen it up a bit :)
  • edited May 2016
    Lorelei, didn't you buy Genetica? If you did, you should go download their free bitmaps. There are 7 different groups of them for free on their website. Some of those have mud I believe. I know I have one bitmap of mud that is dried and cracked, and I think I remember some that were wet and icky.

    I like what you are doing here but to me it looks a little dry. Maybe you could load a bitmap of water and put some spots of water in, then make them transparent so you can still see the water, but you would also be able to see the stuff underneath it. Hopefully that described it well enough.
  • Posted By: tonnichiwaLorelei, didn't you buy Genetica? If you did, you should go download their free bitmaps. There are 7 different groups of them for free on their website. Some of those have mud I believe. I know I have one bitmap of mud that is dried and cracked, and I think I remember some that were wet and icky.
    Genetica? No. I will check it out....and i do have a dry cracked mud...i will have to search around for some "wet" stuff
  • I found this....its a bit pixelated, ill work on that....any better? Its a bit lighter than i'd like it though
  • I think it looks much better. It is certainly muddy! Now, I'm not real sure how to get it to be a darker shade of mud.
  • edited May 2016
    Ok, I think this is it....im pretty satisfied with a map made in a morning....well, i little into afternoon, all the while I am playing my Weekly online text only D&D game on Roll20. My DM is in southeast indonesia so its a bit slow....which is why i usually get to make a map in the few hours we play. Im usually off wednesdays so i get actually "play" as a character instead of just being a DM 2x a month. So i think this might be printed up unless anyone has any other suggestions?
  • I think it looks much better, if my opinion counts for anything :) Definitely looks muddier, wetter, and alltogether yuckier. Perfect ;)
  • edited May 2016
    Posted By: LadieStormI think it looks much better, if my opinion counts for anything :) Definitely looks muddier, wetter, and alltogether yuckier. Perfect ;)
    Thank you! Of course it counts! I changed the top portion of the map based on YOUR suggestions ;) I just fixed the spider web in the middle - it was just attached to the muddle ground, which is stupid, and sent it off to print. Can't wait to use this map!
  • Yup, this is perfect. I love this map!
  • DkarrDkarr Traveler
    There is a fill style that has brownish/greenish grass that has transparent areas. You could use it with an effect applied to the sheet to get the "muddy" visual.
  • Lorlei, this is wonderful! The details of the land are great and quite believable.

    I think the spiderwebs stand out a bit too much but since they are symbols, there isn't much to be done about that, and it isn't a deal breaker.



    There is one thing that bothers me, and again it is the nature of the medium. Your land looks like a top down map because the symbols have an outer glow rather than a directional shadow. The pebbles in the water/mud have a directional shadow that looks out of place with the rest of the map and makes it seem like I'm looking at it from an angle.

    Please don't take my comment as criticism. It isn't. It is just THE major drawback of the photo-realistic style. Different photographers taking photos at different times of day and artists using different glows and shadow offsets, can create a map that looks like pictures were cut out of magazines and pasted to make a picture.

    Our brains make many assumptions based on shadows, time of day, height of an object, light source position, and the material the object is made from; so choosing art with consistent shadow direction can make a difference in the believability of a photo-realistic map. It is why I love the ProFantasy symbols so much and find myself using them more often. Unlike most user art, they have no shadows and allow the user to determine shadow size and direction.

    Just something to consider when working in this style. :)
  • edited May 2016
    Posted By: ShessarLorlei, this is wonderful! The details of the land are great and quite believable.

    I think the spiderwebs stand out a bit too much but since they are symbols, there isn't much to be done about that, and it isn't a deal breaker.

    There is one thing that bothers me, and again it is the nature of the medium. Your land looks like a top down map because the symbols have an outer glow rather than a directional shadow. The pebbles in the water/mud have a directional shadow that looks out of place with the rest of the map and makes it seem like I'm looking at it from an angle.
    I agree wholly Shessar.....The spiderwebs are NOT my favorite (although when i print it up at Staples the grid and spiderwebs are very muted in comparison to this pic)...and I completely see the symbol issue. Some of the symbols i used have that annoying "glow"....i've been hard pressed to find some really GOOD pngs of dead/bare trees without some sort of glow around it and presently my homebrew world is experiencing an all out attack on forests and wildlife, so dead is good :) I've got a few, but then i don't have any variety in trees....ill keep looking for better quality symbols as i find myself making more photorealistic "outdoor" maps. Im not a huge fan of the vegetation of most of the ProFantasy symbols of trees and bushes so that's why i tend to lean towards this style

    Also, the mud in my trail is off a bit....something about it...there's an angle maybe? i dunno.


    Thanks for the critique....i'll keep it in mind on the next map. For a quickie map for my players its all good. They don't even appreciate my maps a fraction of how much i do :)
  • edited May 2016
    Lorelei wrote:
    Also, the mud in my trail is off a bit....something about it...there's an angle maybe? i dunno
    With the mud, to me it seems the light comes from picture right, while with the moss-green-vegetation, it comes from picture top-left, I think.

    Lorelei wrote:
    I've been hard pressed to find some really GOOD pngs of dead/bare trees
    That's why I try (and mostly fail) to make my own sybols. Sadly, I'm seldomly able to find enough references to work from (ever tried to find a bird's eye photograph of a cow in acceptale resolution, for example?) and usually I'm not good enough to work up a presentable result without.

    Lorelei wrote:
    They don't even appreciate my maps a fraction of how much i do :)
    I have to apologize, but I'm kinda relieved that I'm not the only one that's happening to. :-D
  • they would probably appreciate them much more if they saw the work that goes into them! My hubby has a real appreciation for the maps I'm making, but then, he's actually seen how long it takes me to make them, how I have to get this just right, and that just so...
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