Wyvern - I was just thinking about the ridges. I put the mountain shape on the hill shape sheet instead, which has a much softer blur.
There will be a range of volcanoes to play with - most of them smaller than these. These are supervolcano size.
Calibre - That's a shame. I wouldn't change it too much - the volcano symbols won't match. But on the bright side, these are mapped symbols, so as long as you have them on a sheet of their own you can use colour changing sheet effects on them too.
The softer background does blend the volcanoes in more, but now maybe a bit too much. Given these are meant as really big volcanoes, they should be in the mountains, unfortunately!
The oil-on-water texture for the lava (?) background is delightful, and looks really good. I'm not so sure it works as lava though... (I only come here to cause fresh problems 😎😉)
Iceland's pretty much a special case, as it's essentially an extension of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge that's a little above sea level (relatively speaking). You could argue from that that it's really just a very big mountain top! Plus it's mostly fairly recently-extruded lava (recent geologically speaking), rather than all being volcanoes.
A darker version of those fills might indeed work as lava. I do like the current texture though, so maybe we could keep that too, but call it something else?
My experience of volcanoes is limited to recent Icelandic and Hawaiian erruptions - the last 4 years of them anyway, so the fill reflects at least the mood of what I've seen of the relatively flat ground around those eruptions, which seems to be surprisingly pale except where vehicles off road and turn the surface to reveal the darker colours, but I'll keep it for something else and try a volcanic-coloured version of the tundra fills.
Another reason for making it relatively pale is that the darker the fill is, the darker the symbols have to be, and the darker the symbols are, the less effective the map files are, to the point where you can hardly see any shading at all. Map files work best on mid-tone symbols like rooftops. We'll be ok with the regular mountains because they aren't as dark as volcanoes, but the volcanoes are certainly proving to be quite a challenge.
For other volcanoes this is a usefully-illustrated introductory US National Park Service website that has links to other similar pages with more information that may help give you a better idea of volcano appearances overall.
I've taken a screen shot of that initial image showing the different types and stuck it in the file of reference material. That will be more useful for the regional version of the style. For me, this intial continental map style is more about the fact that this is a volcanic province and there are bumps on it - represented by the bevel ridges and the classic shield vocano cones.
I'm glad we've sorted things out a bit with the new terrain texture.
I think I might have sorted out the general volcanic theme. If you are happy with this as the toolkit I'll make the mirror copies of the volcano symbols.
Pretty awesome stuff. Thanks for showing us. Is that Gimp? I use mainly Inkscape and a bit of Krita.
I really haven't had time to do any custom stuff for my maps. One of these days maybe I will do an entire style. But oh so many other things to tackle.
This is Affinity Designer, which is a vector graphics app that can also do most things Affinity Photo can do - if you pick the bitmap mode instead of the vector mode. Everything except the warping of bitmaps, and since that is such fun I also have Photo.
I used Krita to do nearly all of the Ferraris Style, but I don't use it that often these days now that Affinity has taken over most roles. The only thing I can't get it to do is, ironically, the really simple stuff, like alpha mask. For that I export a png and work in GIMP.
It pays to have a wide range of tools in your toolbox for making new assets. I sometimes use CC3 to make new seamless textures from symbols like trees.
The only kind of app I don't have in my toolbox is rental apps, like PS.
First stage of refinement for the now-named "Mountain Spine 01" symbol.
I've been staring and staring at Google Earth images of the Himalayas for ages and decided the easiest way to do this in a CC3 map from above is to make a spine and stick side ridges on it here and there.
The old bevel mountains are still visible at the moment. I'm using them as a reference for the colour and shade required.
Once I've worked out how to do the ends, and whether this is possibly a connecting symbol or better placed by hand, I can do variations in wiggly-ness, curve and length.
The satellite imagery for mountains generally always seems very fractal-pattern to me - and I think we all know what making these features fractalised in CC3+ would mean.
Some form of lesser edge-feathering could work, though I'm less sure how that might be done - maybe adding something like partial "T" bitmap tiles in DD3 along the ridge edges, though I'm far from clear how you could work that as a seamless terrain fill. Maybe it's something that could be added after laying down the ridge-lines along their edges. I suspect this wouldn't be sufficiently workable in any case, unfortunately.
Comments
I am disliking the fill/texture on the volcanic mountains there...but I can just re-scale it. But the volcanoes look much much better.
Luv it!
Cal
Wyvern - I was just thinking about the ridges. I put the mountain shape on the hill shape sheet instead, which has a much softer blur.
There will be a range of volcanoes to play with - most of them smaller than these. These are supervolcano size.
Calibre - That's a shame. I wouldn't change it too much - the volcano symbols won't match. But on the bright side, these are mapped symbols, so as long as you have them on a sheet of their own you can use colour changing sheet effects on them too.
I have to say a blend between the two.
The first stand out a bit to much, the second almost look like a hole in the ground.
There wasn't much of a highlight on the lit side. I've tweaked them to show more light there now. Do they still look like holes?
I like them!
Good.
I can modify them later if I find a better way of doing them.
The softer background does blend the volcanoes in more, but now maybe a bit too much. Given these are meant as really big volcanoes, they should be in the mountains, unfortunately!
The oil-on-water texture for the lava (?) background is delightful, and looks really good. I'm not so sure it works as lava though... (I only come here to cause fresh problems 😎 😉)
Not all very big volcanoes are nestled between ordinary mountains. I was thinking of Icleland, which is entirely volcanic.
I'm not sure I know another way to depict lava from above in an interesting but seamless fashion.
Suggestions are welcome :)
EDIT: would something like a dark version of the tundra fills (the orange and red-brown patchy areas) be better?
Iceland's pretty much a special case, as it's essentially an extension of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge that's a little above sea level (relatively speaking). You could argue from that that it's really just a very big mountain top! Plus it's mostly fairly recently-extruded lava (recent geologically speaking), rather than all being volcanoes.
A darker version of those fills might indeed work as lava. I do like the current texture though, so maybe we could keep that too, but call it something else?
Make them....make them all.
There can never be enough Volcano's can there?
A volcano for you, and you, and you, you can have two...mwahaha. (Thus says those who reside in the 9 realms of H. E. double hockey sticks)
My experience of volcanoes is limited to recent Icelandic and Hawaiian erruptions - the last 4 years of them anyway, so the fill reflects at least the mood of what I've seen of the relatively flat ground around those eruptions, which seems to be surprisingly pale except where vehicles off road and turn the surface to reveal the darker colours, but I'll keep it for something else and try a volcanic-coloured version of the tundra fills.
Another reason for making it relatively pale is that the darker the fill is, the darker the symbols have to be, and the darker the symbols are, the less effective the map files are, to the point where you can hardly see any shading at all. Map files work best on mid-tone symbols like rooftops. We'll be ok with the regular mountains because they aren't as dark as volcanoes, but the volcanoes are certainly proving to be quite a challenge.
Do you like either of these? (the third one is at a different scale to the second one)
Initially I think the first one is the best. Looks more random. Great texture.
Yes, I agree with Don about the first version.
For other volcanoes this is a usefully-illustrated introductory US National Park Service website that has links to other similar pages with more information that may help give you a better idea of volcano appearances overall.
Thanks Don and Wyvern :)
I've taken a screen shot of that initial image showing the different types and stuck it in the file of reference material. That will be more useful for the regional version of the style. For me, this intial continental map style is more about the fact that this is a volcanic province and there are bumps on it - represented by the bevel ridges and the classic shield vocano cones.
I'm glad we've sorted things out a bit with the new terrain texture.
Of course, Ms. Sue, the original texture you used is niiiice as well. Can we keep it? It does fit the style, IMO.
I mean keep it included in the Fills.
thanks
Cal
I'm not sure it really represents anything, Calibre. What would you use it for?
Ok. Does anyone else still want the old volcanic texture, and call it "Volcanic 2"?
Sure! I like having multiple options.
Ok then. I'll leave it there for you two :)
I think I might have sorted out the general volcanic theme. If you are happy with this as the toolkit I'll make the mirror copies of the volcano symbols.
Brilliant - love it Sue. You are really a master (???mistress) of creating mapping styles.
Looks great!
Thanks guys :)
I thought you might like to see some of the process involved in creating the mapped mountains.
Here is the first prototype ridge - a simple edge faded thick line of the red tundra and a rocky texture for the spine.
And here it is in CC3 combined with a crude map file to test colours.
Don't worry - the volcanoes were just as crude when I started with them. This is just the initial stage - working out textures and colours.
Pretty awesome stuff. Thanks for showing us. Is that Gimp? I use mainly Inkscape and a bit of Krita.
I really haven't had time to do any custom stuff for my maps. One of these days maybe I will do an entire style. But oh so many other things to tackle.
I read that as Brian Cloud and thought my cousin was in here! HA! That's enough internet for the night.
Thanks Don :)
This is Affinity Designer, which is a vector graphics app that can also do most things Affinity Photo can do - if you pick the bitmap mode instead of the vector mode. Everything except the warping of bitmaps, and since that is such fun I also have Photo.
I used Krita to do nearly all of the Ferraris Style, but I don't use it that often these days now that Affinity has taken over most roles. The only thing I can't get it to do is, ironically, the really simple stuff, like alpha mask. For that I export a png and work in GIMP.
It pays to have a wide range of tools in your toolbox for making new assets. I sometimes use CC3 to make new seamless textures from symbols like trees.
The only kind of app I don't have in my toolbox is rental apps, like PS.
First stage of refinement for the now-named "Mountain Spine 01" symbol.
I've been staring and staring at Google Earth images of the Himalayas for ages and decided the easiest way to do this in a CC3 map from above is to make a spine and stick side ridges on it here and there.
The old bevel mountains are still visible at the moment. I'm using them as a reference for the colour and shade required.
Once I've worked out how to do the ends, and whether this is possibly a connecting symbol or better placed by hand, I can do variations in wiggly-ness, curve and length.
The satellite imagery for mountains generally always seems very fractal-pattern to me - and I think we all know what making these features fractalised in CC3+ would mean.
Some form of lesser edge-feathering could work, though I'm less sure how that might be done - maybe adding something like partial "T" bitmap tiles in DD3 along the ridge edges, though I'm far from clear how you could work that as a seamless terrain fill. Maybe it's something that could be added after laying down the ridge-lines along their edges. I suspect this wouldn't be sufficiently workable in any case, unfortunately.