Feedback Request! (First Build) *UPDATED*

This is my first map! After watching all the tutorials I could find and following along over the past few days I finally did my first build on my own. Please give me feedback and criticism. I know the map isn't labeled I am looking for feedback on my eye and layout.

Thanks!

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Comments

  • I love it. Perhaps the trees need to be scaled down - they seem a little large for the mountains (or vice versa). Ditto the settlements. Either that, or increase the size of your mountains, esp the front ones to give a kind of perspective. But what a grand start.
    A scale helps us others to get a handle on relative proportions.
  • Great feedback, yes I think you may be right on the scale I will start taking more notice of that.

    Thanks!
  • Josh.P.Josh.P. Traveler
    edited January 2018
    Seriously awesome first map!

    It would appear you started with grass for your landfill and have then gone over the grass with another sheet but this time in snow. I would delete the original sheet as there are a few obvious points that stand out.

    Also I'd challenge your obvious skills to try and make the shorelines more believable. If you look around the reef there is obvious slash as the waves crash against the rocks. This tells me there are waves. Try find a way to give your shorelines a similar feel perhaps?

    Going to be keen to see your second map ;) really like the first.
  • Thanks!

    One thing I have noticed using the fractal poly mapping is it doesn't lend to fine detail or at least I don't know how to get that detail as of yet. Any pointers would be appreciated on how to get the most out of making landmasses.

    Thanks again!
  • ScottAScottA Surveyor
    Looks fantastic. I would echo the suggestions to adjust the scale of the trees and buildings, but that's easy. To make the coastline more realistic you can use the Fractalize tool on it. That will produce lots of little jagged irregularities like a coastline has. Since you apparently put the snow over a green landmass try giving each a fade inner effect, the snow slightly higher than the land. This will pull the snow back a bit and give you a faded, blended look. Also if you give the snow fade an inner opacity of 85ish you will see a hint of the land beneath which will also help with a blend and more realistic look. You'll have to play with the numbers on that, depending on what you want or like.
  • GatharGathar Traveler
    I think this map is aesthetically very pleasing, but I have a hard time figuring out its size. That may be linked to the scale issues reported by others. When I look at the features of the map (their size, but also their spacing), I think something like 20km wide, but when I look at the mountains, it's more like 200km.

    I'm not totally sold either on the transition snow-sea in the flat area, but I'm not sure what is the issue, and I can't make any suggestion...

    Anyway, it's still very pretty, and even if it was not a first map, it would be a very nice achievement!
  • LoopysueLoopysue ProFantasy 🖼️ 40 images Cartographer
    Oh it looks just like a Christmas card!

    How lovely :)

    Map symbols to me are just the size that they are. I quite like the oversized trees.

    The mismatch between land and snow is caused by the fact that the land outline is composed of straight lines between nodes, while the snow has curves and cuts off the corners. This is easily remedied by adding the edge fade sheet effect to the show - as Scott suggested above.
  • I took the feedback and created my second test, and am looking for feedback and criticism!

    image

    Thanks!!
  • I like the main look of the map but on my screen both the sea and the ice are really pixelated. The symbols of the trees and everything else is just fine though. I think you've done a great job of blending everything together in this map. From the way you have used different mountains, to how close together you've made the trees. It is a really nice map overall.
  • LoopysueLoopysue ProFantasy 🖼️ 40 images Cartographer
    The scale of the sea and snow fills is better in the first map - because of the pixilation that Tony has just mentioned.

    The land sheet (I assume you deleted it, since that was suggested) had some desirable glow effects which made the edge of the sea paler. Its gone now, so don't worry about it too much. You can mend the situation in this one map by adding a similar glow to the snow sheet, since the snow just happens to cover the entire extent of the land.

    Other maps you make might have snow that only covers part of the land, though, in which case it would be better to have used an edge fade inner sheet effect on the snow sheet, rather than deleting the land sheet.

    Its possible to hide sheets instead of deleting them. If I think I'm not going to need something I just hide it. If its still hidden by the time I've finished the map (ie I've discovered I *really* didn't need it), that's when I delete it ;)
  • GatharGathar Traveler
    Hello again!

    I think I really prefer the colours used in the first map, especially the trees and the road marks.
    For the ice-water transition, instead of a glow effect, you might also try to use a different texture color (with edge fade) to display shallow water close to the coast?
  • DogtagDogtag Moderator, Betatester Traveler
    edited January 2018
    This is a wonderful first map, ahawk1972! (orders of magnitude better than mine, that's for sure).

    Looks like a cold place to adventure! I kind of reminds me of Icewind Dale, from the Forgotten Realms. That's a good thing. ;)

    I hope we'll see more of your work as you improve on your already-growing skills!

    Cheers,
    ~Dogtag
  • I really love both of these maps, really fantastic first map! Looking forward to seeing more from you, you have quite the talent for it.
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