Proto-First Map: to use terrain contours or not?
Barliman
🖼️ 2 images Traveler
Hi all,
As part of learning to use CC3+, I've been working through Joe Sweeney's videos on YouTube. (See: http://goo.gl/XP7m0a ) Made for CC3, they're still useful for the new program. I wasn't thrilled with the way terrain contours were looking even with sheet effects turned on, so I thought I'd try a little experiment and get others' opinion. I drew a small island off the main island, one about the size of Catalina here in California. One part would be hilly. Here is "Monks' Isle" without a terrain contour under the hills:
And here it is with the contour:
Sheet effects make most of the contour fade away, except for a core area, but I think you can still see its influence further out.
So, question: which version looks better to you and why?
Thanks in advance.
PS: Yes, I know there are trees growing out of the sea in the upper left. My symbol placement-fu is still weak.
As part of learning to use CC3+, I've been working through Joe Sweeney's videos on YouTube. (See: http://goo.gl/XP7m0a ) Made for CC3, they're still useful for the new program. I wasn't thrilled with the way terrain contours were looking even with sheet effects turned on, so I thought I'd try a little experiment and get others' opinion. I drew a small island off the main island, one about the size of Catalina here in California. One part would be hilly. Here is "Monks' Isle" without a terrain contour under the hills:
And here it is with the contour:
Sheet effects make most of the contour fade away, except for a core area, but I think you can still see its influence further out.
So, question: which version looks better to you and why?
Thanks in advance.
PS: Yes, I know there are trees growing out of the sea in the upper left. My symbol placement-fu is still weak.
Comments
The only place I use contours any more is in water or to designate the break between land and water. I use contours in deep lakes and oceans to designate between easily dive-able (can dive down and maybe swim around for a few seconds hunting for stuff), moderately dive-able (can dive down to the bottom, but you probably need to head right back up), and then too deep to dive without some kind of aid (magical or not). I don't use contours on land any more although I may color a terrain by geography (desert, grassland, mountain, swamp, forest, jungle, tundra and arctic would each get a different color with terrain over the top of that.
Other then that, both maps look ok to me, except maybe the top left corner where some of the trees look like they are growing out of the water and the one house looks like its on top of the spire of rock also sticking out of the water. But I'm assuming this is a test map done purely to try to illustrate some differences.
Viking, thanks for the advice on contours. I figure there's more than one approach to a problem, and I want to try various ones to see which I like best. You're right about those trees; I was just playing with symbols and got a bit sloppy. This is supposed to be a "workbook" as I followed along with Sweeney's videos. And the "house on the rock" is the lighthouse symbol, if I know which one you mean -- it comes that way.
Thanks again.