Jungle Map with Mike Schley Style SS4

Here is map i intend to use for an encounter in my DnD campaign that take place on the Island of Chult in the Forgotten Realms setting. My group is about to finish the campaign "The Lost Mines of Phandelver" so i want to continue to use Mike's art style for the next chapter.

So the delima was finding a way to emulate a jungle environment using the SS4 symbol set. While it didnt come out exactly the way i wanted, i think it was a nice lil compromise. Of course i had to use other symbols, like the rain forest from CSUAC, but i still think it has the SS4 "feel".

Let me know what you guys think.

Comments

  • Thanks Guys! I'll try and post more as the campaign develops.
  • I really like the part of the bridge that is above water and also submerged. Can you tell us how you did that?
  • Very nice map, gives a real jungle atmosphere.

    I'd perhaps add some Edge fade, inner effect to the path and ground shapes.
  • edited February 2015
    Thanks for the tip Joachim and will do. Yea I was thinking the path's outlines were too abrupt and needed some blending or smoothing.


    Yes warhound i can:

    1. As you may assume the river is the background map. So i simply placed my bridge, debris and rocks symbol on top of it.
    2. I then add a new effects sheet and label it "Water Transparent" (Up to you what you want to name it). I add the Transparency effect to it.
    3. Using the draw tool, and making sure my Water Transparent Sheet is selected, i draw an outline of what i want covered, but being sure to leave exposed what i don't want under water.
    4. Then with the shape selected i edit its properties and choose a fill style (Water) that matches the river. You can also add it to the Water Transparent sheet if you forgot to do it in step 3 above... for some reason i always forget to do this. BTW I have learned to love the "Hide Sheets" Function when doing this, especially if you have to work with a bunch of symbols and sheets stacked on each other!

    You can experiment the with shapes and other affects as well. For example, in my next version of this map i want the "tips" of the rocks in the water to stick out above the surface, so instead of one shape covering the rock im going to place two crescent shapes to form a donut shape, with the "tip" of the rock in the center. Later, to add even more detail i will figure out how to add ripples around those surfacing objects as well as along the beachfront.

    As with anything, there are plenty of ways to skin a cat. What i did above was learned through exploration of the tool set. Its probably the most rudimentary way of doing it and likely there is a more efficient way.
  • Great technique SlaveOne. Thanks for sharing.

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    R A Jacobs
    Learning CC3+ @ Funny-Shaped Dice
  • Yes, it definitely does have the same feel as the SS4 set. I like it. Thanks for telling us how you achieved objects under the water and out of the water at the same time. That will definitely come in handy for some of my future maps. Very well done.
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