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Working on a map: Ashpires

RichardRRichard
edited February 2010 in Fractal Mapper General
funny, you know how people are always searching for tutorials and such on programs... I noticed that CC3 has a few users helping promote the product my uploading videos on youtube.

If I have some time I think I'll do some myself.
I'm trying to figure out a cool way to do some mountains besides the usual 3/4 view... I'm going to try to use the bevel/feather to create some "relief" styled mountains.

WIP:

Comments

  • RichardRRichard
    Well I went with the 3/4 mountains, so I created a bunch of them using FM8 and plotted them out.
    The Random Symbol in areas where it was filler (25% spacing) but a majority of them were placed by hand with the random on.

    Anyone got any different ideas or examples of creating mountains?
  • MarkOlivaMarkOliva
    Richard wrote:
    Anyone got any different ideas or examples of creating mountains?

    That depends a lot on your goals. Right now, your maps are line tones with isometric symbols from CC3 upon them. Isometric symbols are popular with a lot of people who make their own campaign maps, but their popularity has waned considerably in professional RPG circles. Topo style raster maps play a bigger role today. You can see a quick and dirty FM8 example on these forums at:

    http://www.nbos.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=132

    However it is quick and dirty. One can make one that looks a lot better. In the next day or two, we'll be releasing Version 3 of our free and open Fills & Textures Set, if you're interested in having fill patterns to try. The current version 2 has about 40 symbols, but the new version ups that to 80 or 90, if I remember correctly.
  • RichardRRichard
    might just check those out Mark.

    I went with the old-school look. Added the hills, worked out ok...
    I decided to keep with the "drawn" look JRRT style maps but with simple color.



    Once I finish this map, I'll post all of my vector symbols as a downloadable set.

    I think this is as far as I go with the symbols on this map, the submaps will have detailed forest vector trees and veggies. The towns/villages Icons will be replaced with actual buildings.
    I just got Xara webdesigner, I thought I'd make an interactive website out of this map.
  • Ed_NBOSEd_NBOS
    Those look great Richard.

    if you want to go with a topo look, you might try using thin strips of fractal polygons w/ some level of transparency, to simulate mountain ridge shadows. I've never done that - its jsut something I thought of when looking at the map.
  • RichardRRichard
    Ed_NBOS wrote:
    Those look great Richard.

    if you want to go with a topo look, you might try using thin strips of fractal polygons w/ some level of transparency, to simulate mountain ridge shadows. I've never done that - its jsut something I thought of when looking at the map.


    Yeah, thanks,
    I was thinking about that too and I did try that, but I wasnt getting the effect I wanted for my time constraints... I'm hoping to launch this map for a game very soon.

    But I will try it again with that method. You definitely have to be careful of your zoom level when you do that kind of an effect, I noticed the further you zoom out and do the bevel, the more rounded and larger the effect is, the closer, the more chiseled it looks but smaller edge is effected... so a bit of experimenting would be needed for the look to be just right. My next map I will do some of this on.

    I'm kinda partial to the Tolkien map look, so I was trying to get the drawn look with a bit of simple color.
    I'll be using this map for both a D&D game and for a "cartoon".

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