Avatar

Wyvern

Wyvern

About

Username
Wyvern
Joined
Visits
2,456
Last Active
Roles
Member
Points
4,378
Rank
Mapmaker
Badges
23

Latest Images

  • Might we see a new Mike Schley Per3 style?

    Just had a proper look through the latest new adventures tome from Wizards of the Coast supporting 5th Edition D&D, Candlekeep Mysteries. At the back of the book is a pull-out poster-sized map of Candlekeep itself (don't worry if you didn't know that it's a library-fortress in the D&D Forgotten Realms setting!), drawn in perspective style by Mike Schley - D&D Beyond image link.

    Which of course made me wonder if perhaps we might be lucky in seeing a new Per3 style from Mike Schley at some stage?

    Can't hurt to ask, surely!

    LoopysueTheschabiDaishoChikarajmabbott
  • Live Mapping: Sailing Ships

    Just finished watching the stream as VOD, since I couldn't catch it live. It was very interesting to see some of the issues Ralf ran into with this older drawing style. I recently created some ship plans as part of my efforts for the Community Atlas (they're finished, but the write-up isn't, and they'll only be submitted some months down the line, as I've quite a number of other items to submit ahead of them). I spent quite a bit of time tinkering around with effects to get things to work nicely, as I was constructing a more medieval style of craft than the circa 18th century vessels the style is better suited to. A lot of the work is done already with the fill style and drawing tool options, however, though more symbols - for things such as capstans, anchors, chains, ropes, and ship's boats - would have been helpful, and perhaps as Ralf hinted, we may get to see some of these in future if the style gets updated.

    Beyond those, should that update happen, it would be useful to have a full range of wood-look fill styles, instead of just as planks, to better complement what's already accessible as those plank-formed fills. I ended up making and adjusting some of my fill style choices simply on the basis of which wood-look fills were available, which was a little restrictive, as these are fewer in number than the different fill colourings available as planks, for instance. Naturally, such things would have uses well beyond ship designs too, for any wooden constructions or items.

    A greater range of ship options would be excellent too, again as Ralf mentioned very late in the stream. Personally, I'd like to see sample options showing pre-gunpowder vessels, going way back into the ancient era - Greek, Egyptian, Roman vessels, for instance, maybe even some "properly" ancient Mesopotamian river and sea craft from the 4th-3rd millennium BCE, say!

    For inspiration, maybe these drawings from the latest digital pack from Handiwork Games for their new Beowulf: Age of Heroes (for 5e D&D) RPG, a "Dark Ages"/early Medieval longship might be of interest:

    Tiny, I know, but the pack's only just been released to us KickStarter backers in the last couple of days (ahead of its more general release at some future point), so I can't show you more than this thumbnail at present! The originals are full-scale for 28mm miniatures. If the style, or topic's, of interest, there's a free PDF introductory scenario that was released early in the KS campaign last summer, The Hermit's Sanctuary, available for download still via DriveThru RPG (to which that link goes; no boats in that, however). Thus it's been a bit of a "ships" week here, as you may tell!

    BlackYetiLoopysueMedio
  • WIP: Community Atlas Competition, The Lost temple of Ankun-za

    You could just copy the edge of the necessary floors to a new Sheet above the floors one, and make them into very thin (but not-zero thickness - that can make its presence felt at different view resolutions sometimes) lines at the edge of the floors. Make the lines a suitable colour - a mid brown might work in this case - to help disguise them, set an appropriate Outer Glow on their Sheet and see how that looks. You might need to try other Effects too, but it's worth experimenting. You don't need anything very solid to cast shadows, for instance, because all CC3+ looks at is edges.

    You might also find it works better if you only have the lines in some places and not others for shadows, but once you have the concept, you can play around with it as much as you need. I find it's helpful for making stairs look differently shadowed sometimes - as if they're partly below a floor level. I used some of this technique in my ongoing Wyvern Citadel castle maps, for instance.

    jmabbott
  • WIP: Community Atlas Competition, The Lost temple of Ankun-za

    This is a fine-looking map!

    The doors could maybe use some kind of shadow or glow effect, as the doorways all look open currently.

    Maybe add some heavier shadows, or an Inner Glow to the floors in the Training Arena (7) and its connected areas, as they seem meant to be lower than the rest of the layout.

    Perhaps label the stairs down in this section too, and move the "S" secret door symbols off their walls for better clarity?

    Mind you, for a lost temple, those beds seem awfully neatly made...

    jmabbott
  • Grimdark Fantasy (renamed "Darklands") - development thread

    @Loopysue - "Shadowlands" and "Borderlands" come with additional baggage from other fantasy-related sources, and which don't really relate to the style of symbols in this style, unfortunately. "Dark Ages" has very time-specific connotations, which don't fit these symbols at all.

    "Edge of the Wilds" or "Twilight Realms" seem to work rather well though, assuming the images you've shown in your most recent illustrated posting cover the range of symbols and terrain-looks included in the style.

    I'd agree with your later comment that a personal name wouldn't really work here, because your own style clearly isn't limited to just one or other of the PF style-packs you've constructed.

    Loopysue