How to I create a cave entrance?
HelenAA
🖼 17 images Surveyor
Yes, it's a real 'newbie' question but I've never done it before.
Having spent half an afternoon searching in vain for a Lamp post for a Narnia 'inspired by' map for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe I'm trying to do a map covering the discovery by the Pevensie children of Tumnus' ransacked cave.
I've got snow, and trees and bushes courtesy of Sue's Winter Trail, but the outline of the cave is puzzling me.
Thanks, as ever, in advance.
Comments
The most common way is to draw a section of rock as if you have sliced the top off a hill, and put the cave in there as if it was a reguler dungeon style cave.
It's a lot easier if you are using a dungeon style already.
What style is your base map?
You might find some help in drawing caves by examining the PDF Mapping Guides for any subterranean styles you may have, and also exploring some of the Galleries on the Forum. My own Gallery has quite a number of caves in a range of styles, for instance, though I'm not sure if it's just the way into the cave from outside that you're struggling with (from the topic title), or the layout of the whole interior cave (which seems to be what your opening question was about).
I saw one map somewhere that had part of the map being a wilderness style battle map with trees and the other have of the map was brown for example as the background color showing the edge of the cliff face. At the cave entrance they inserted a stone arch and then just drew the cave system in the brown area. Let me know if that makes sense. I know it looked simple to me but the cartographer probably spent quit a bit of time working on the stone are in the transition area to make it look as great as it did. I know I have done it while being in a bit of a hurry and it was less than perfect.
Sorry for leaving this unresponded to, but things have got in my way.
Here’s hoping I’m not going to get my knuckles wrapped for this 3-in-1 reply:
I started off with Winter Trail, hoping that the search for a top down early 20Century lamp-post wouldn’t be as fruitless as it turned out to be, @Loopysue , and that I’d be able to do the iconic scene at the lamp-post when Lucy meets Tumnus. Then I ’imported’ Winter Village after a dungeon, I think its the Basic CC3 dungeon but can’t be sure.
Its just the entrance that I’m not sure how to do, as when all four Pevensies get to the cave they find that it has been effectively vandalised @Wyvern and debris is the last of my worries in that bit of the map.
I think I know what you are getting at, @Frosty but its far more ornate for a faun - in my perception, anyhow.
In that case, the cave entrance could be something as simple as a dark-coloured polygon set against whatever hillside or cliff symbol, or terrain drawing, you're using, although this may depend on what style you're using for the map as to what will look better. This is pretty much how Pauline Baynes drew it for this very scene in "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe", after all - and you could use her drawing as a basis for yours!