Map to End All Maps (Part 1)
Posted 07-14-2008 at 04:19 AM by Ciderhelm
The title is misleading -- this won't end all maps. So, apologies on the bait and switch. 
As some of you know, my hobby is a strange one. I draw maps. I love maps. And I happen to have a very good excuse for this time-consuming activity -- it's for the Evensfell game project!
Yesterday I began something I had been dreading, not because I didn't want to do it, but because I know how long it will take me to do it. Think Gandalf telling Frodo to go from the Shire and throw a ring into a volcano smack in the middle of Mordor -- that kind of dread. This is a potentially weeks-long project that spans a series of maps. More specifically, a series of the same exact map, with some designed for the server to read (elevation maps, etc.), and some designed for the player to view (the fun stuff).
Oh, and the size. It's 3000 x 3000 pixels. Photoshop reminds me with by warning me every time I save it.
What I'm going to link shows one of the most painstaking processes involved in my work -- the coastal outline. It involves matching types of geography to their appropriate regions, as well as adding a bit of creativity to the design. Since I had already done a 750 x 750 version of this, it was a matter of giving it a more realistic feel.
This is going to be a geographically accurate map unless I absolutely can't maintain the fantasy feel. In other words, it won't use mountain symbols. I want to do this to push my cartography to the next level. An example of a geographically accurate map would be the Firefly Vineyards map I created in February.
About 8 hours of work, and all you get is an outline (overlaid on the original map for a little bit of color)! Also, fair warning, there are some small changes I intend to make to the continent and some rivers. I started work on the outer coastline (look towards the middle-north).
So, here it is:
View Map Here (609kb).
I'm not responsible if this map crashes your browser or squishes a gnome.
As some of you know, my hobby is a strange one. I draw maps. I love maps. And I happen to have a very good excuse for this time-consuming activity -- it's for the Evensfell game project!
Yesterday I began something I had been dreading, not because I didn't want to do it, but because I know how long it will take me to do it. Think Gandalf telling Frodo to go from the Shire and throw a ring into a volcano smack in the middle of Mordor -- that kind of dread. This is a potentially weeks-long project that spans a series of maps. More specifically, a series of the same exact map, with some designed for the server to read (elevation maps, etc.), and some designed for the player to view (the fun stuff).
Oh, and the size. It's 3000 x 3000 pixels. Photoshop reminds me with by warning me every time I save it.
What I'm going to link shows one of the most painstaking processes involved in my work -- the coastal outline. It involves matching types of geography to their appropriate regions, as well as adding a bit of creativity to the design. Since I had already done a 750 x 750 version of this, it was a matter of giving it a more realistic feel.
This is going to be a geographically accurate map unless I absolutely can't maintain the fantasy feel. In other words, it won't use mountain symbols. I want to do this to push my cartography to the next level. An example of a geographically accurate map would be the Firefly Vineyards map I created in February.
About 8 hours of work, and all you get is an outline (overlaid on the original map for a little bit of color)! Also, fair warning, there are some small changes I intend to make to the continent and some rivers. I started work on the outer coastline (look towards the middle-north).
So, here it is:
View Map Here (609kb).
I'm not responsible if this map crashes your browser or squishes a gnome.
Total Comments 9
Comments
 |  That's pretty pro I must say. Nice stuff. |
Posted 07-14-2008 at 05:21 AM by Caulle  |
| | This gnome survived unscathed, although the plate armour may have helped a little |
| Posted 07-14-2008 at 06:01 AM by Shorty |
| |  That's some really cool stuff. What impresses me most is your willingness to share it. Maybe its just me, but I think a large part of the difficulty in such things is the courage to share it with other people. The maps are brilliant and are of the quality(or better than) you'd expect to grace the inside cover of a fantasy novel or the map screen of a fantasy MMO. etc. |
| Posted 07-14-2008 at 06:19 AM by Horacio |
| | That's some excellent work. |
| Posted 07-14-2008 at 06:49 AM by Orenus |
| |  soooo where's my game... =x |
| Posted 07-16-2008 at 09:13 AM by Kazeyonoma |
| | WOW!! That is some wicked pro stuff man. I always had a intrest in maps(i loved land navmap reading when i was in the USMC).Thanks for sharing im lookin forward to seeing more from the world of Evensfell. |
| Posted 09-01-2008 at 12:48 AM by Stograth |
| | Ciderhelmmmmmmm!! |
| Posted 10-24-2008 at 11:01 AM by Xepri |
| | More info!Did you read any tutorials that helped you create your techniques? One of my guiltiest pleasures is DMing a Dungeons & Dragons campaign every Friday night for my guildies that live locally, and I've created a lush world full of original content for my players to ruin and extort, I've just never been able to convert my pencil sketches into anything this polished. I tried looking for some decent fantasy cartography tutorials, and couldn't find anything of worth to me. Ancillary question: What tools do you use? (Illustrator, Photoshop, etc) |
| Posted 12-17-2008 at 05:01 AM by Wao Updated 01-24-2009 at 03:36 PM by Wao (typo) |
| | bump for answers! |
| Posted 01-24-2009 at 03:37 PM by Wao |
Recent Blog Entries by Ciderhelm
- Map to End All Maps (Part 1) (07-14-2008)
- AOC Raiding Impressions (vs. WoW) (07-08-2008)
- Tank Skill (WoW wins over AoC) (07-03-2008)
- Barrow Dens Are Where Dreams Are Sent To Die (03-16-2008)
- I Hate Raiding. (03-09-2008)
