Verena region

It has been a long time ago since I last used CC3 for overland/regional maps, as I have been using CD3 exclusively. This weekend I started experimenting with a regional map and this is the result. It's a small city located on the edge of civilization. Snow and ice claim large parts of the land and directly to the north the eternal snow plains start.
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Comments

  • edited August 2009
    Great map!
    I like the way you placed your trees and mountains. It looks very natural.
    What doesn't though is that the base of the moutain range is more white than the snow. What about some light tan color, with blured edges ? Or is it meant as ice and the other snow ? In that case I would use your snow bitmap for the ice and the same, but lighter, for the snow.
  • I really like those mountains. Tightly placed but still looks great. That's exactly the type of mountain effect I'm trying to achive with my current map.
    Very nice.
  • Thanks guys. And I can see what you mean Joachim. I will probably experiment some more with the base of the mountains.
  • Nice work, Gandwarf. My only comment would be to put ice on the mountains, at least on the peaks. Of course, it there is something geothermal responsible for such sharp contrast between near-tundra and green valley....
  • Thanks. I thought CC3 didn't come with snowcapped mountains that I could paint black. Someone told me it did. I will have to look into that as I agree some snowcapped mountains would be nice.

    And there is a good reason for the contrast, yes :-)
  • Posted By: Gandwarfsnowcapped mountains that I could paint black
    They are in the same catalog as the mountains you used. Scroll down more (after mid-point) and see the Mtn sc vari.
  • Very nice, Gandwarf! I really like the mountains, and I think you could create the same illusion of depth/3D with the forest as well. I would decrease the symbol size of the trees towards the top of the map, and increase the symbol size for these as you progress downwards towards the bottom (the tree symbol size you are using now works for the bottom of the map, especially in the valley, so I would decrease the tree symbol size from that point working towards the top of the map). It might be a little more "painstaking", but visually I think the results would be worth it.
  • Hmm... the depth in the mountains wasn't something I planned. They are all symbols with a size of 3 :-)
    Although I like what you are saying about the trees, I think I am going to leave it like this. The depth wasn't really something I planned for.

    I will post another version soon though, with some snowcapped mountains and a border.
  • Looks good Gandwarf :) What font are you using?
  • edited August 2009
    Added some snowcapped mountains and a border. I am done tinkering with this map for now.

    Bigger version: http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/6103/verenaregionfinal3.jpg
  • And another fine map.
  • Thanks to Monsen I learned how to expand my map canvas :-)
    So I am enlarging this map... this is a work in progress of course.
  • Can't wait to see it finished and zoomed...
  • Ah, I'm liking this even more. I can't wait to see it finished either. How are you creating those cities, if you don't mind my asking? And... are those sheep?
  • edited August 2009
    I don't mind you asking...
    The sheep are part of the Symbol Set 1. The cities are basically several house symbols that I placed (sometimes I added in a tower or castle). I created a couple of custom tools to create walls and the farmland.
  • edited August 2009
    Well, next work in progress. I hope Profantasy doesn't mind I am posting multiple versions of map. I can always clean up.

    I had to redo a lot of stuff today as my sheets and effects had become a mess. I hoped to finish the map today, but alas...



    As an added bonus, a bigger version:

    http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/9669/verenaregionlarge2.jpg
  • Like it, like it a lot.

    Am not sure about the river coming out of the mountains (just below the sunken lands).
    Doesnt look quite right in my opinion.

    All in all, I would be proud if this was one of my maps.
  • edited August 2009
    That river has been nagging me as well... I might have to kill it :-)
    Is it all the rivers or just the one directly under the Sunken Lands label?
  • To my eyes, just the one under Sunken Lands. It looks like it's twisted at the begining, out of ground plane. Try node edit to make it emerge from the lake perhaps...
  • I will look into it tonight, thanks.
  • edited August 2009
    Ok, I think I am almost done. Let me know if there's weird stuff happening.

    Bigger version: http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/8440/verenaregionlarge4.jpg
  • I think this may have been said before, but I think the forest to the north needs some perspective and depth, potentially by enlarging the tree symbols slightly and progressively from the background foward, or maybe with a different forest shape.Not sure. It also needs a background color - it can be 'ice' not forest green, but it needs a transparent PNG with 50-70% opacity or something to create a shadow under the forest.

    I think this is an attractive map and I like some things you have done here, although the fields - IMHO - are a little overdone and are losing their impact. That may be just me, but the quilt look seems too much and I'd like to see it thicker near the main cities and thinner between settlements. For instance, the fields between Westdiep and Dudsmerp (?) to the east are equally thick for the entire length, including right along the coast (is this sea or lake? the water/salt air might make a difference to the farm proximity). The heavy, heavy fields to the SE corner is also too much - but, again, just in my humble opinion. sometimes 'less' is 'more'.
  • Now that Kolyana point it out i realize what I have been missing with the forest.
    Its not the depth thats my concern. Its the background color.

    Think a bit less fields would be visual more appealing.

    But its still a good map and a nice example of what you can do with CC3.
  • Well, the forest doesn't disturb me at all. The lack of background suggest a permanent snow covered ground. I agree though that the fields are overdone and should be scaled down (not necessarly the overall size, but essentially the filling pattern). I still don't understand the white border of moutains and rocks.
  • Thanks for the feedback!

    - Adding perspective to the forest has been suggested before, but I wasn't aiming for a realistic perspective look (also, if I start adding perspective to the trees, I might have to add perspective to some hills and mountains, I am not prepared to make such an investmest at the moment).
    - I experimented with several backgrounds for the forest and dropped them all. As Joachim also said, to me it suggests a permanent snow covered ground (or rather semi permanent, as in high summer the snow is gone).
    - The white border around the mountains and rock doesn't actually make sense, but I like the look of it.
    - And as for the patchwork farmland. You seem to all agree I need to do something about it. Still, I like it a lot :-)
    I might try softening it a bit up, but it was my full intention to make the farmland dominating the southern part of the map. That part is heavily urbanised, so there's not just farmland around the cities, it's connecting them. The water to the south is fresh, it's basically a large lake. The area is very fertile and it can be considered the bread basket of the northern part of my world.

    Did you see any other weird stuff?
  • Posted By: GandwarfDid you see any other weird stuff?
    Well, there's something with the red roofs on the city houses. If I look at the bigger version, no trouble at all, it's nice and clean. A the small one above, it looks more like some jelly was poured on the houses. So it really depends what you intend to do with your map... If it's designed for poster size, all is right...
  • edited August 2009
    LOL @ jelly roofs. I definitely see what you mean though.
    The map was designed for poster size (not that I am going to print it). I am using it as a reference for my stories. I had an overland map of my world and maps of some of the cities, but not a regional map like this one.

    I will definitely experiment with the farmland some more and I might experiment with the background for the hills and mountains. A cartouche is also something I would like to add. So much to do, so little time...
  • I am finding it very hard to stop working on this map :-)
    I made several more expansions... will post a bigger version later.
  • That is fantastic. I love the way you were able to expand outwards like that.
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