[WIP] 1000th Map Competition: Elkton, Alarius North Central
Loopysue
ProFantasy 🖼️ 40 images Cartographer
I've been a bit busy doing DD4 things, but I'm going to take a few breaks this week/next week to map Elkton for the competition.
The map notes for Alarius are that it is a continent of high fantasy and magic. I'll have to see what I can do to capture that kind of atmosphere. Elkton is one of the most northerly settlements, so there are bound to be a few legends from the cold dark north.
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I have been looking forward to seeing what you do since you first claimed Elkton.
Also: DD4 things! Squeeee!
DD4 is most of what I do these days ;)
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A little background info on the village...
The people of Elkton are a mix of dwarves and humans - many of mingled blood. Some of the inhabitants prefer to live underground, especially in winter.
There are mines in the foothills of the mountains just to the north of the village where most of the people work to extract precious gems. Among the most highly sought gems are called elk diamonds for their sheer size - hence 'Elkton'
The mining community are supported by hunters and fur traders, but they don't have an easy time. Other predators compete for the game but are rarely seen by anything other than their tracks. It is rumoured that some of the hunters are more than just human or dwarf. There may be werewolves living in this community, but if there are their identities are unknown.
There is also a rumour that the pureblood dwarves have a secret cavern somewhere in this area where the largest and most perfect elk diamond is housed in a secret temple of wealth.
Sure they aren't were-elks Sue? 😉
Are were-elks a thing in high fantasy?
were-anything could be in fantasy, i reckon. Even were-platypusses
A were-platypus is only slightly stranger than the normal platypus.
Were-trees?
Oh wait - some novels have elves that can shift to trees.
And don't forget dryads! And ents!
Oh yes.
Are ents a were-something?
They could be if you write it that way.
Hmmm.
Considering whether some kind of wake can be shown behind a tree...
Well, were-elks are we going to find them 😎 ?
LOL! Where would I be without you, Wyvern?
I know! I know! Some-were-elks, I guess.
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I don't usually do a preparatory sketch, but I was waiting to drive my mum somewhere, so here's a quick sketch of the basic idea.
I'm going to use Winter Village for the base, and add from other styles to create the brighter colours of the tundra in the low area to the south of the map. The whole village is on a slope with higher ground to the north.
I'll do the map at first all in Winter Village and modify it where necessary once the basics are in.
There aren't any rivers marked on the area map. Should I take these out?
There aren't any rivers marked on the area map. Should I take these out?
Up to you, but I'd say not, since the place needs a reliable water source, and the area map is truly vast, so small streams and even modest rivers, likely wouldn't feature.
And were-elks will the were-elks get a drink 😉?
[What have I started...]
Ok. The streams stay :)
Can't have the were-elks wandering away in search of water.
Still playing with map size and composition, but soon it will be time to start looking at the rocky north and the tundra plain in the south.
Experimentation with rocky bits and patches of possible mud and tundra.
I hope it looks like the village that isn't there yet is on a steep slope.
Not looking so steep to my eye yet, Sue. Maybe some contour-like slumping lines in the snow might help, and also some longer shadows for the trees on the steeper sections (only). It is tricky though, as maybe the houses will help the illusion - with garden/yard platforms, say.
Good suggestions. Thanks :)
Starting to have a bit more shape.
Do trees really have longer shadows on a slope if viewed from directly above?
The length of shadows depends on the height of the shadow caster and the relative angle of the light to the shadow receiving surface. Thus, a shadow of a tree on a slope might be shorter, longer, or the same length as the shadow of the same tree on flat land depending on the angle of the illumination.
Yes, I see.
I think I'm stuck in dungeon mode at the moment. I'm automatically assuming that everything is lit from above, which is quite wrong since the shadows in the map indicate a north west light source. I might flip that to a more realistic angle from the south, bearing in mind the position of the continent in the northern hemisphere.
I made more trouble for myself by making the snow really thin. Maybe it should all be in the valley bottom with the slope bare.
Anyway! I decided that snow loaded pines looked wrong on the ground that wasn't snowy and switched them out (maybe temporarily) for trees from Darklands City.
I like the map with these colours, but it doesn't really make sense.
If it gets the idea across, the pure technical aspects are much less important. I say it often, but cartography (art in general, yes) is about abstraction: reducing the unimportant stuff to make the important stuff clear. So much of what I see called "realism" these days is about adding extraneous details, often to the point of obscuring the main point. {insert:old man yells at cloud.gif}
Maybe your right, and I worry too much :)
You can tell I haven't done an actual map for years. I'm still trying to get the right size and shape, and make enough space for a legend.
I replaced those Darklands City trees with Forest Trail pines, and laying out the roads for a split community - some of them live on the tundra in the valley, while others live on the steep slope above it. This being a village at the end of the civilised road, the only things that leave Elkton apart from the road into the village from the west are trails. Animal trails...
I got a little more done this evening after work. Quite pleased with the way the terracing has worked out.
And a little more...
I really like how you've succeeded in showing the elevation changes. The retaining wall along the road going up the mountainside is a great idea.
Thank you :)
I decided I didn't like the rocky stuff at the top of the map, so I replaced it with a stony bluff that probably marks the cap of the hill. This is a hill, after all, and not an actual mountain.
Don't worry about that unintentional pattern in the tundra plain. I'll be carving that up a bit later today.
I hope you like the experimental snow slump lines, Wyvern ;)