Ah ha! an improvement, then. That's good, although the credit must go to everyone who helped me get it there I just couldn't see what to do with it, for staring at it too long!
It looks great, but it also looks [to me] as if it's floating above the water, which is actually what I thought you meant until you recently posted otherwise.
Drop shadows are visual cues to indicate a slight distance between the object "casting the shadow" and a surface. The "drop" in the drop shadow is the idea of the shadow being cast (dropped) into the space under (or behind) something.
I don't know that there's a good visual cue for something floating on top of water. Islands already kind of look that way — we just know that isn't normally the case. Showing ripples may not help since that's commonly used simply to indicate waves or surf normally found around coastlines. Personally, I think the bevel helps, as does the lack of the coastal outline displayed by the main continent.
Are there any other floating islands? If not, perhaps labeling it as such will be enough. For example: Flotsammia (The Floating Isle) or Jetsammia (The Untethered Isle), something along those lines — though that last one is fairly vague or cryptic. If there are other floating islands, then you could add an additional modifier so you get "The Great Floating Isle" or "The Floating Island of the North" or what have you.
I think you might be right, but doesn't it also depend on how clean and clear the ocean is?
I will do something about thinking up a relevant name, since 'Realm of the Aeurin' doesn't really say anything about whether its floating or not, does it.
Posted By: Loopysuedoesn't it also depend on how clean and clear the ocean is?
I suppose. It would have to be insanely clear, though, I think. Even clear water eventually becomes dense enough to obscure light, not to mention issues with reflecion and refraction. Also, it wouldn't change the fact that a drop shadow is a graphic design construct created to produce the illusion of floating above a surface and most people (perhaps not everyone) sees that illusion.
I really like the last iteration. It looks beautiful. It just also gives me the impression that the island is hovering over the water. But that could just be me, personally.
Good luck! I'm eager to see the final result (even if it's just the current iteration with labels).
I drew the waterfalls in CorelDraw (Others have told me you can do the same thing in GIMP, which I see from your other recent post you are already familiar with using). I used the waterfall.png files I made to make new symbols for myself. You can do this by saving the waterfall.png files in your C:\ProgramData\Profantasy\CC3Plus\Symbols\User folder. Then, when you open your map in CC3+, you can use the waterfall images in the User folder by clicking the open folder button below the options button (both are at the top of the symbol pallet.
I am bad at explaining things, so if you say I'm not making sense, one of the others might come to our rescue ;-)
If it was the waterfalls you wanted in particular I have attached them again here, although you will find the same or similar files attached to the Errispa 3 conversation, where they are discussed in far greater detail. The falls are specifically designed to fit the cliff symbol from the Herwin Weilink style, and may not work very well with other cliffs or styles.
Something I have noticed about using home made graphics as symbols, is that you need to be careful about just how white they are. Text placed in front of these waterfalls has a tendency to disintegrate, as if the white is too bright and is burning its way through the text.
Comments
Drop shadows are visual cues to indicate a slight distance between the object "casting the shadow" and a surface. The "drop" in the drop shadow is the idea of the shadow being cast (dropped) into the space under (or behind) something.
I don't know that there's a good visual cue for something floating on top of water. Islands already kind of look that way — we just know that isn't normally the case. Showing ripples may not help since that's commonly used simply to indicate waves or surf normally found around coastlines. Personally, I think the bevel helps, as does the lack of the coastal outline displayed by the main continent.
Are there any other floating islands? If not, perhaps labeling it as such will be enough. For example: Flotsammia (The Floating Isle) or Jetsammia (The Untethered Isle), something along those lines — though that last one is fairly vague or cryptic. If there are other floating islands, then you could add an additional modifier so you get "The Great Floating Isle" or "The Floating Island of the North" or what have you.
Just spitballin'.
Cheers,
~Dogtag
I think you might be right, but doesn't it also depend on how clean and clear the ocean is?
I will do something about thinking up a relevant name, since 'Realm of the Aeurin' doesn't really say anything about whether its floating or not, does it.
Thanks Dogtag *)
I really like the last iteration. It looks beautiful. It just also gives me the impression that the island is hovering over the water. But that could just be me, personally.
Good luck! I'm eager to see the final result (even if it's just the current iteration with labels).
Cheers,
~Dogtag
I drew the waterfalls in CorelDraw (Others have told me you can do the same thing in GIMP, which I see from your other recent post you are already familiar with using). I used the waterfall.png files I made to make new symbols for myself. You can do this by saving the waterfall.png files in your C:\ProgramData\Profantasy\CC3Plus\Symbols\User folder. Then, when you open your map in CC3+, you can use the waterfall images in the User folder by clicking the open folder button below the options button (both are at the top of the symbol pallet.
I am bad at explaining things, so if you say I'm not making sense, one of the others might come to our rescue ;-)
If it was the waterfalls you wanted in particular I have attached them again here, although you will find the same or similar files attached to the Errispa 3 conversation, where they are discussed in far greater detail. The falls are specifically designed to fit the cliff symbol from the Herwin Weilink style, and may not work very well with other cliffs or styles.
Something I have noticed about using home made graphics as symbols, is that you need to be careful about just how white they are. Text placed in front of these waterfalls has a tendency to disintegrate, as if the white is too bright and is burning its way through the text.