Late Christmas Present from the Fraternity

Discussing all things Ravenloft
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Late Christmas Present from the Fraternity

Post by Jester of the FoS »

Okay, it's really from me. But I'm a member of the Fraternity of Shadows so if you really want to get technical...

Here are the working maps of Souragne for the eventual Gaz. Just a little something to show we are working very hard to by-pass the map curse that plague our favourite setting.


Image

Image

So, Happy Holidays, drive safe, and stay away from green eggnog.
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Post by Kel-nage »

Heheh... somewhat strangely, one of my RPG group guys gave me the printed compilation of "Map A Week" maps (taken from the Wizards site) as a Christmas present, so I'm tempted to say...

"BAH! Just what I needed, another lot of maps!"

But I won't, because I'm not ungrateful (and I'll actually be able to use these maps, but shhhhhh!) Looks great by the way guys, you've surpassed yourselves. Now I actually know where Marais d'Tarascon is!
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Post by Neggarroth »

So where's the scale ???

he he he, just joking......

Thanks, they look great.

And i hope everyone is having/had a great xmas/holiday break...
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Post by Gonzoron of the FoS »

they look fantastic. One minor quibble: I would choose a differnt color for the lettering on the first one. Some of the words are really hard to read because the black blends in. Another option is to do a thin outline of a light color around the letters. That way it shows up on both light and dark backgrounds.
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Post by alhoon »

Thanks there. :) It seems nice.
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Post by Jester of the FoS »

gonzoron wrote:One minor quibble: I would choose a differnt color for the lettering on the first one. Some of the words are really hard to read because the black blends in. Another option is to do a thin outline of a light color around the letters. That way it shows up on both light and dark backgrounds.
Easier said than done, especially with photoshop rookies.
But they are works-in-progress. They've undergone radical changes as the Gaz has developed (such as "How about colour instead of just the black-n-yellow handout style map", "Is there any way to make the swamp more apparent?", "Add Murky Sea, Masison d'Sablet and Thibaut" and "Could you make the water brown?").
Thanks a bunch Joel :twisted:
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Post by alhoon »

Bah, Don't worry! I like it that way. I believe that anyone will be able to read the black letters without problem.
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Post by JinnTolser »

Awesome job! I think the lettering's fine. Would like to see a few more features on the land of the main island though, to break up that solid green.
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Post by Joël of the FoS »

David of the FoS wrote: (such as "How about colour instead of just the black-n-yellow handout style map", "Is there any way to make the swamp more apparent?", "Add Murky Sea, Masison d'Sablet and Thibaut" and "Could you make the water brown?").
Thanks a bunch Joel :twisted:
*lol*
JinnTolser wrote:Would like to see a few more features on the land of the main island though, to break up that solid green.
In the Survey, you will have a complete description of the dry land. There are many settlements not on the map, but their population is usually less then 100 persons.

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Post by JinnTolser »

Actually, I just meant the map itself. That mono-chrome green just screams "I was done in Paint!" What I meant was to kinda mix in some different greens in there, if you could. Sorry I wasn't clearer there.
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Post by Joël of the FoS »

For your info, I don't think it was done with Paint :)

And this is Ravenloft's curse with map: not everybody is happy all the time...

Jo
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Post by Gonzoron of the FoS »

Whoa, did you change the map on me? maybe it was the screen where I was, but the background (water and green area) was much darker when I saw it last. Now the black definately stands out. I retract my previous comment. BTW, not neccessary anymore, but the lettering outline is actually pretty easy in photoshop as long as you haven't merged the layers. let me know if you need any photoshop tips. I'm still an amateur, but I've been getting somewhat decent at it.
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Post by Jester of the FoS »

Nope. Same pic. Funny how it changes depending on the monitor or the time of day.

And actually, it was done in paint. Or rather the initial rough drafting was. I like to keep it simple at the very begining. But I probably should add some range to the green, don't want it to be too boring and amature-ish.
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Post by Jonathan Winters »

I really like where you guys are going with this so far!

Not just the maps, but the project as a whole!

Patrick

PS: David, I know you are trying to fill big shoes here with this Gaz project, but since this is your first Gaz, don't try to compare yourself too much. I don't think you guys can top the Shadow Rift's map so early in your career.

PSS: It's a little joke (before JWM comes down on me like a ton of brick!).
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Post by JinnTolser »

David of the FoS wrote:Nope. Same pic. Funny how it changes depending on the monitor or the time of day.

And actually, it was done in paint. Or rather the initial rough drafting was. I like to keep it simple at the very begining. But I probably should add some range to the green, don't want it to be too boring and amature-ish.
I didn't think it actually was. :shock: It just reminded me of the maps I used to draw in Paint, which I was never satisfied with because of that single shade of green all the time. Didn't seem textured enough to me, like a real map.
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