May Symbol Challenge
pkfrye
🖼️ 38 images Surveyor
After some discussion in the thread “Symbol Challenge?” (thanks to everyone for sharing their thoughts,) we seem to have reached consensus on the idea of running a month-long friendly throw down on creating a mapping symbol to depict a shipwreck (sunken, shoreline, reef, orbital, etc.) or similar maritime symbol(s) such as wreck debris, ruined docks, etc.
The competition will run for the entire month of May. The symbol you create can be a vector or bitmap symbol. You don’t have to limit yourself to a particular set of colors or mapping style and you have the freedom to choose a science fiction, fantasy, or modern symbol depiction. If you feel especially daring, you can even create a Perspectives symbol.
Entries will be uploaded to this thread for viewing in JPEG format and you may enter as many or as few symbols as you like.
Symbol Use – Please state any use or rights limitations that you want to place on any symbols you enter. I’m hopeful that we will get a wide variety of symbols which the community will be able to access when the challenge is completed.
Voting – Each community member participating in the challenge will have one vote to vote for the winner but cannot vote for one of their own entries.
What are the stakes? – Bragging rights, that’s it. Since I’m suggesting this challenge, I feel it only fair to recuse myself from voting or the possibility of winning (LOL, like that would happen) however, I still plan to contribute one or two symbols. SO, there you have it. I look forward to seeing what everyone comes up with!
Comments
Just to get the ball rolling, these are free for private and commercial use in maps but not for re-sale as stand-alone symbol(s)
But... but... it's not May yet!
(only joking)
Great work, pkfrye :)
Thanks Loopysue. I am really looking forward to your new map style!
These are free for private and commercial use in maps, but not for resale as stand alone symbols.
Free for private and commercial use in maps but not for resale as stand alone symbols
Free for private and commercial use in maps but not for resale as stand alone symbols
What I would love to see is an extension of the Jon Roberts symbol collection for his overland style. I love the symbols that are there but have not had the time to create any in that style and although I have the artistic skills to do a symbol that would look like that style I don't yet know how to size it correctly in Profantasy or have forgotten how. LOL.
I think (but am not sure) that JR's interest in making maps and fantasy mapping may have waned a bit in the last 4 years. His most recent video on Fantastic Maps is 4 years old. I may be wrong, however, since he seems to have stopped before I ever started, so I don't know what his avatar names are on all the more popular sites.
I have been working on learning to use Blender 3d for the last couple of weeks. I thought would drop in to see if anyone else had posted for the challenge yet. Still plenty of time if anyone is interested.
Oh snap! LOL!
Not easy is it - especially now they've gone and changed the whole app - again!
I've been relearning everything myself. The hardest bit is probably texturing, and making materials, once you've got the modelling straight. There are all kinds of tutorials on YouTube. I tend to watch at least 3 by 3 different people and then pick and mix the best aspects of each one. I learned how to make wood last week, though I've yet to apply it to a hull, or even attempt a wreck model.
@pkfrye I'm really sorry but I have to back out of this competition. A recent OS update hosed my system. I tried to roll back and my problems grew. I tried online image repair tool and my problems continued to grow. The harder I tried to fix things the worse they became until startup was taking over 20 minutes and my dis and cpu were running 100% continuously. Sigh. So I made sure my backups were up to date and then wiped it all down to the ground. I'm up and running again. I now have the horrific task of reloading everything. Sometimes I hate computers.
Oh dear, I have to download and install everything from PF. I wish there was an easier way to install CC and it's zillion add-ons. I dread this so much that it's going to be a while before I do it.
@Shessar - Had a similar meltdown on my laptop...
It took me almost 2 Months to sit down and install the whole of PF...
BUT - apart from the download time of all the latest install files, the install itself was very much paint by numbers.
Good luck, don't wait that long ;-)
I guess you do have to do it for each separate link in comparison of other softwares. Those other softwares manage the licenses on the PC itself usually instead of online, so it tends to involve licensing issues/installation/setup when reinstalling a PC instead of separately downloading each 'piece' that you own.
I kind of like the way PF does it instead but I can always see the appeal of less clicks.
@Shessar, I hate when that happens and I feel for you. No worries. @Loopysue, no Blender is not easy to learn. But oh boy is it amazing for a freeware program. I cheated the learning curve and bought a couple of online classes from Udemy. One specifically for modeling. Best $15 I ever spent, because I'm sure I would be ripping my hair out right now if I hadn't :-) I'm hoping to use Blender to create some high quality Perspectives type mapping symbols since I don't have the talent to draw them to my liking. I was amazed to find that I could actually output a wavefront .OBJ that opened in Bryce. I slapped a texture on it using the Bryce deep texture editor and it didn't look half bad, so I was able to sidestep Blender's material engine and rendering engine for the time being.
Don't have much time to fiddle with intricacies, but I had an idea for these kind of very simple tokens for flotsam, jetsam, lagan, and derelict (I am obsessed with these :p) These are free for private and commercial use in maps but not for re-sale as stand-alone symbol(s).
flotsam
jetsam
lagan
derelict
Well, it is June and the challenge window is officially closed. Congratulations to Tex for his winning entries. Tex, I hereby bestow bragging rights for your win.
Congratulations Tex :)
pkfrye - what happened to May? I didn't even notice the time flying by!
@Loopysue, LOL I don't know about you, but I had a case of "Blender Head" all month and that just made the time fly by for me.
I had a lot of Blender stuff to sort out too, among other less interesting real world things. At least you managed to get some symbols done, though - and pretty good work too :)
Congratulations.
Sorry to see you didn't get more entries, but unfortunately, only a few people ever get into making symbols of their own. And contest participants are always only a smaller subgroup of the total possible number.
Even getting people for a mapping competition can be hard, I've had challenges with as low as 3 people for a month-long challenge.
Last time I did symbols, years ago, I was very less than satisfied with my work. So, I don't make them. Last time I tried to use Blender, I got a severe headache.
Thank you @pkfrye Tex is very proud of her entries even though they were the only ones ;p But I come from a small community and this is nothing new for me. I have several swimming medals that I got because there were very often only 1-3 participants in my age group in the region :p (of course one doesn't always mention that when bragging :p).
Thank you @Loopysue May did indeed go by fast. All of a sudden its summer! Or, well, you know, whatever counts for summer up here XD
Thank you @Monsen A lot of people probably think they aren't good enough so they don't enter. I didn't think my symbols were good enough but I entered anyway. For a start it's mostly for fun, and secondly who cares? Just the challenge of coming up with an idea and putting it down and making it real was reward enough :)
Sorry for the faulty assumption Tex. You would think I would know better since my wife Kyle gets that all the time! She even got a notice to register for Selective Service based on her name alone. @JimP Yup headache here too friend.
I keep getting US Army adverts on youtube when I watch videos. I'm about a decade or more too old to join up.
@pkfrye no problem. :) My husband says that the only reason that he's been able to stand living with me for twenty years is that I am to all intents and purposes "a dude" :p He's the one who came up with the Tex nickname so you should blame him. :p Love that your wife is named Kyle! There are not many such names here because we have very strict naming rules :| And in any case the surname would give it away cause all the females are somebodies -dóttir (daughter) and all the males are somebodys -son (son). :p
Oh, so you are from Iceland, Tex?
Isn't Greenland the same way on names ?
Tex as a nickname, made me think of Texas.
@Loopysue Yes :)
@JimP I don't know about Greenland. I've not studied Kalaalit Nuunat :p "tex" makes me think of shipping containers. :p
I was referring to the -son and -daughter endings..
I know very little about other languages. I took a version of Spanish in high school that is used in only one province in Spain. I have no idea why they didn't teach us a more useful version.
I had a refuling stop in Iceland on a training deployment for the U.S. Army decades ago. Nearly froze to death walking 200 feet from the aircraft to the shack that the Air Force called a "lounge." That was all I got to see. We landed, fueled and left again in under and hour and a half at some unholy hour of the night.