@Calibre For many years I was (sometimes still) a landscape photographer, perhaps this study of nature's composition helped in the idealization of map designs. Basic composition rules always help, especially the rule of thirds.

Hey @Calibre After entering the rule of three, another resource that must be studied and understood is the leading lines. It adds a lot to the composition and works closely with the rule of thirds.

Mastering the leading lines in your composition adds a lot of "dramatic" appeal to the scene. Whether in video, photography or even map composition. In the example above it refers to the yellow lines.

This article is interesting as a first step.

https://iceland-photo-tours.com/articles/photography-techniques/how-to-use-leading-lines-for-better-compositions-in-landscape-photography

Cheers

Sometimes, it is possible to make lakes and waterways with a little patience when fitting images of hills and mountains.

Spectrum Overland has sharper and more interesting shadows than Mike Schley for example, but on the other hand, it is very difficult to invert the images to have more possibilities of varying the scenery.

Maybe you can use thatch building + wood and gate fence from Isometric City Schley + Horses from Mike Schley Overland style.

Make a Terrain SHEET to the stable where you put more MUD/Earth Terrain style to give the "dirty look" on floor.

The only image outside of CC3 is the image of the "nest", which was acquired from Mike Schley that sells on his website.

Many thanks to Profantasy for running the competition.

Many thanks to everyone involved in this competition full of high-level maps.

Many thanks to @Monsen for his tireless work here on the site, in the competition and in maintaining the community atlas.

@Royal Scribe for the glow behind the volcano I created two sheets for use with planet symbols and used two planet images one in each sheet (to emit a round glow).

A planet with an orange outter glow with more blur and Another planet with the red outter glow with less blur (smaller radius sphere). The only mike schley isometric symbols are the market stalls, the statue and the rowboats near the bridge, all others are from overland.

Maybe this little tut is some help for you. (ive made others using mike schley also)

https://forum.profantasy.com/discussion/13386/mixing-mike-schley-isometric-city-mike-schley-overland-symbols#latest

Cheers

@Lee Talman you can create as many sheet terrain/land features or even sea as you want. I frequently use this feature to be able to superimpose effects. In this image you can see 3 new sheets: 2 of land effects (the ice is on top of the tundra, and the SEA LAKE to produce the lakes on the map using the "water" of the sea.

You can also calibrate the inner opacity (I usually use between 40 to 80%) so as not to have a "too harsh" effect, sometimes even with low opacity the effects can mix, sometimes causing a desired effect - there is no reference rule for me, I adjust as I go.

Once your new sheets are created, and when you select the new terrain/land features effect... sometimes the program "sends" you to the original sheet, so you need to check and sometimes change to the desired sheet. However, even doing this, sometimes it happens to me that the program insists and places "base" terrain/land features on the sheet.

So what you need to do is go to the "change features" button, select the effect and click ok, then you choose which sheet you want to send it to. Normally this selection is easier when "activate sheet effects" is turned off, because the edge is easy to select, when edge fade inner is activated, it is usually difficult for me to select the TERRAin sheet I want.

Cheers

Hy @Loopysue thanks!

Using Adobe Lightroom, above and below I used graduated filter to darken by lowering the exposure.

in the middle - the mill and in some houses I used the radial filter to increase the exposure and "draw attention" to the buildings.

in the end, I increased the shadows in the corners using circular vignette.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8Fvz98lJ7Q&t=201s

Maybe this video will help something. For me, he was absolutely essential.