Posted By: DogtagCongratulations, Loopysue! This is a masterwork map and a true work of art. I think anything I write in an online forum post would be insufficient to express how impressed I am and how breathtaking I find your map, so I'll fall back to something simpler that I hope will somehow suffice.
Even that is not as big as the true original, however, which is 5000 x 5000 pi, and if it was printed out would be about 16" square. Its far too big for either site, however, so I guess that will be one for the wall in my writing study!
I've not followed the entire saga as I only got back to this Forum after 2½+ years in early October, by when you were already a month in, but I have tried to keep up with developments since, and it's been an incredible journey.
If you're still stuck for fresh ideas, how about "Merelan by night" - with phosphorescent glows in the water, street and house lights, and all - or even "in springtime" with the trees in blossom? Always happy to help fill other people's time up with projects that may never end...
Stunning map Sue! Congrats on such a superb work of art! It really is the most amazing use of CC3+ I've ever seen. I doff my cap as well. Extremely well done!
I just wanted to thank you for allowing us to share in this artistic journey. Please, do let us know when you have finished writing your books. I do want to read them.
Beautiful. There are no other words that do this map justice.
Posted By: TeresaThis is amazing and so inspiring - thank you.
Thanks Teresa I'm glad you like it. There's a bigger version over at the Guild which I have allowed to go up on the Guild FB page here.
My Ethran map is far more famous than Merelan City over at the Guild, but it hasn't once been pinned since it was put on the Guild FB page. Merelan City, however, has had a staggering 27 WIP versions pinned on Pinterest already (mostly from my threads over at the Guild), and was beginning to somewhat resemble a pincushion in my mind. I guess the decision to make it public on my part was more to reclaim my ownership of the map than anything else, so its there in all its hi-res glory
Tonnichiwa's city map is there as well, and a lot of other work by CC3 mappers
Posted By: ShessarI almost missed that you have finished Sue.
I just wanted to thank you for allowing us to share in this artistic journey. Please, do let us know when you have finished writing your books. I do want to read them.
Beautiful. There are no other words that do this map justice.
Thanks Shessar
I only hope the writing won't disappoint. You will have to forgive me for being a bit slow to complete the task! LOL!
I have a really basic question that I hope someone can either answer, or point me to a link or something. Not looking for a tutorial, just a point in the right direction:
I've never seen hills lighted and shaded in this way, at least not so effectively, in any other CC3+ map. How is the shading accomplished? The only thing I can imagine is that you've got different contours/fills for each shade of grass, rock, etc. that you're "painting" in the right places. Is that it? or is there something easier / more sophisticated going on?
The grass is the secret here. 9 shades of gradually more yellow and pale grass as the altitude increases with each stratified layer of the island. This is achieved purely buy using a single Hue Saturation Lightness Effect on those sheets, which are sandwiched between the 8 different rock layers so that the grass disappears under the rock layer that sits on top of it.
The 'shading' is a pair of identical Sheets right at the bottom of the sheet stack (on top of everything else in the picture). Each has been set up with a Blur effect followed by a Blend Mode effect, and each has a complex polygon of Solid black on it where the shadow is.
And that's all there is to it.
There was a somewhat complex process I went through that involved making a 3D model in Bryce and eroding it to come up with the actual shape of the shade polygons, but a very similar effect could be had just by drawing the polygons by eye.
I'm a little pressed for time right now, so apologies if this is a bit brief and not all that helpful, but I will be back to describe it in more detail for you in a couple of days time if you are still curious to know more
Comments
Thanks Dogtag
Even that is not as big as the true original, however, which is 5000 x 5000 pi, and if it was printed out would be about 16" square. Its far too big for either site, however, so I guess that will be one for the wall in my writing study!
I've not followed the entire saga as I only got back to this Forum after 2½+ years in early October, by when you were already a month in, but I have tried to keep up with developments since, and it's been an incredible journey.
If you're still stuck for fresh ideas, how about "Merelan by night" - with phosphorescent glows in the water, street and house lights, and all - or even "in springtime" with the trees in blossom? Always happy to help fill other people's time up with projects that may never end...
What a superb idea - except that it would be very dark, since they have no electricity.
Still...
If I get stuck with the writing I could certainly have a go at it
I just wanted to thank you for allowing us to share in this artistic journey. Please, do let us know when you have finished writing your books. I do want to read them.
Beautiful. There are no other words that do this map justice.
My Ethran map is far more famous than Merelan City over at the Guild, but it hasn't once been pinned since it was put on the Guild FB page. Merelan City, however, has had a staggering 27 WIP versions pinned on Pinterest already (mostly from my threads over at the Guild), and was beginning to somewhat resemble a pincushion in my mind. I guess the decision to make it public on my part was more to reclaim my ownership of the map than anything else, so its there in all its hi-res glory
Tonnichiwa's city map is there as well, and a lot of other work by CC3 mappers
I only hope the writing won't disappoint. You will have to forgive me for being a bit slow to complete the task! LOL!
I have a really basic question that I hope someone can either answer, or point me to a link or something. Not looking for a tutorial, just a point in the right direction:
I've never seen hills lighted and shaded in this way, at least not so effectively, in any other CC3+ map. How is the shading accomplished? The only thing I can imagine is that you've got different contours/fills for each shade of grass, rock, etc. that you're "painting" in the right places. Is that it? or is there something easier / more sophisticated going on?
Thanks!
The grass is the secret here. 9 shades of gradually more yellow and pale grass as the altitude increases with each stratified layer of the island. This is achieved purely buy using a single Hue Saturation Lightness Effect on those sheets, which are sandwiched between the 8 different rock layers so that the grass disappears under the rock layer that sits on top of it.
The 'shading' is a pair of identical Sheets right at the bottom of the sheet stack (on top of everything else in the picture). Each has been set up with a Blur effect followed by a Blend Mode effect, and each has a complex polygon of Solid black on it where the shadow is.
And that's all there is to it.
There was a somewhat complex process I went through that involved making a 3D model in Bryce and eroding it to come up with the actual shape of the shade polygons, but a very similar effect could be had just by drawing the polygons by eye.
I'm a little pressed for time right now, so apologies if this is a bit brief and not all that helpful, but I will be back to describe it in more detail for you in a couple of days time if you are still curious to know more
So, yeah, I'll mess around with it tonight and I'm sure over the next few days and come back with more questions, more than likely.
Thanks so much for the explanation so far! It's such a striking effect.