Zombie Attack: A Modern's Map Exercise

Mateus090985

Here is a VERY fast map that I made just to see if I could handle a modern style. I did not put effort in the details, effects, sheets or even the terrain itself. It took me something like 2h to put this togheter.

Mateus090985

I got a building draw! Hura! Now I have to figure out how I could draw an entrance and windowns...

Mateus090985

Ok... I got a door. But I cant give it a deep feeling... =(

Monsen

Getting those things right in perspective can be very hard. Personally, I just draw buildings in those kinds of maps from straight above. Means I can't see doors/windows, but also means I don't have to deal with perspective and figure out what do do with all those nearly empty walls to make them look alive.
For an example, look at my map from Shessar's battlemap competition a few years back.

Mateus090985

I am toying with perspectives. Just to exercise.

mike robel

Are you meaning to look inside the building?

Mateus090985

Posted By: mike robelAre you meaning to look inside the building?

For this exercise I am not.

DaltonSpence

The sidewalks need a little work to look realistic.

1. While rural streets may have outer painted curb lines that's because they usually have gravel verges, not raised concrete sidewalks.
2. Modern urban sidewalks are divided into square sections by grooves with every block of two or three sections separated by a thin buffer of compressible material to allow thermal expansion and contraction without cracking. Each section may have a roughened inner surface for better traction with a smoother 3" border.
3. Modern urban street corners are usually curved with an outer radius of at least twice the sidewalk's nominal width. The curved sidewalk itself should have an odd number of grooved sections.
4. Sidewalks should have curved bevel edges, not sharp ones. Street corners and driveways should have flat lips extending a few inches into the gutters.
5. Older city streets may be lined with cobbled brick gutters for drainage although newer ones usually rely solely on storm drains.

[Deleted User]

It depends on what country you are in. I think in UK and certainly pARTS OF aUSTRALIA, AN UNBROKEN LINE BESIDE THE FOOTPATH MEANS NO PARKING - PLEASE CORRECT ME IF i'M WRONG

Loopysue

Its a double yellow line in the UK.

Was that the Caps Lock key you hit by accident?

Just to add to the proliferation of paint on our tarmac, and to general confusion, in London the lines are red, and if you even just pause on them for a few seconds you are heavily fined.

Mateus090985

Thank you for your input Dalton. I am in Brazil. Here we normaly use white lines and my representation would be right if I change the colour. But I think yellow looks nicier . My intention was not to realistic represent a city on this map. I am just toying with resources and techniques.

[Deleted User]

Yes Sue, it was, and I was too lazy to retype.

DaltonSpence

Also road lines should not be blurred since they are painted on the tarmac. I live in Ontario, Canada and am only personally familiar with the pavement markings here. There is also a good autotrader.ca article that discusses the subject in greater detail on a national level. For U.S. road markings there is this page on a U.S. Department of Transportation website. I hope this helps.

Loopysue

It's a good map, Mateus

The yellow lines are a bit of a problem, aren't they. You could try a very, very narrow Edge Fade Inner instead of a blur?

How about just a tad of transparency so they aren't quite so bright? Even when its fresh the yellow paint on our roads never looks that bright.

Mateus090985

I will look at the suggestions. Thank you.

Monsen

For reference, the blurring is the default effect in SS3. Don't know who put it there, but I definitively agree, they should not be blurred, especially not that much, although a very thin blur at the edge works when giving them the painted feel.