July 2016 Challenge: Tirothell

[Abu Lafia]

Yeah Snuzzi is really a having a rough time, but there is (as always) hope! Thank you guys for the comments, really appreciate it. So, after finishing two older maps of mine and starting a new one because i felt a bit stucked here, i got back to Tirothell...
- I blurred the star-trail a bit, although i'm not entirely sure if i'll keep it in this form.
- I worked a bit more on the realm of Gleamore and the mountains to the north-west.
- Tweaked the labels' size and position a bit. Think this wasn't the last time...
- Also sketched in some more rivers. They aren't final yet, but i found out something really cool, i want to share with you. In this map i followed the advice from Torstan and Xpian on their fantstic tutorials, and "squeezed" the original coastline vertically to 57,7% to make it look more isometric. Now i wondered what to do about the rivers. Ofc, i could have put them in before the vertical scaling to make them fit the iso style from the start, but i found a nice way for people like me, who have a messy workflow, or just want to add rivers afterwards: It's rather simple, i just changed the Aspect Ratio of my brush to 0.57 so it is squeezed as well, This way your rivers get a bit of an isometric look.
- Added the next station on Snuzzi's Journey. The Yestergate:
"Where Buck reappears to show her a window into another time. A glimpse into the happy, but long gone days of her childhood,let Snuzzi tremble in pain. Yet, the ocean of grief and sorrow flooding her heart, slowly turned into a decisive stream of defiance, baring the knowledge about what there is left to fight for..."
### Latest WIP ###

The textblocks on the map will become quite a lot. Not sure what to do about them in the end. I may keep it the way i do it at the moment, but i also thought about integrating them into the border somehow. So or so, i think i have to increase the width and decrease the height of my canvas to make it look less cramped. Any suggestions how to deal with it are very welcome!

Cheers,
AL

[J.Edward]

I quite like those text blocks and the story
Though.. something that denotes the start would be good - I read it all backwards I think.
I like the iso grid on there too.

[snodsy]

This is really beautiful and the story is fun to follow, I like the star path, and Gleamore's gate is so cool. Absolutely love your unique mountains great job so far.

[Ilanthar]

Excellent story! It's the cherry on the cake for this beautiful map. Will Snuzzi go in the Dreamweaver Forest?
Oh, And I love the Dawn Gate!

@Diamond : of course, it's a "grim(m) fairy tale", don't forget the guy lives in Germany .

[Diamond]

@Diamond : of course, it's a "grim(m) fairy tale", don't forget the guy lives in Germany .

Oh yeah!

P.S.: I like the blurred star trail better now; seems more subtle.

[Neyjour]

This is really cool, and beautiful! I love the path idea and how we're following Snuzzi's journey. Maybe consider an entry for one (or more) of the ocean portions of the journey? I only suggest that because at first I was a bit confused about if that was in fact a journey path, or some type of regional border.

The softer/blurred path does look better than the previous one, but a more defined trail of dots and stars might look better, using a more "solid" star. Eg: ★ ● ● ★ ● ● ★ ● ● ★ ● ● ★

I also love the Path to Es, Yestergate, and the Gate of Dawn! I hope you'll be including more special locations like that!

Just a couple things I noticed: there's a typo of Snuzzi's name on the far right (for the Dark Wood), and your text is overlapping the border (also on the far right).

[Abu Lafia]

I quite like those text blocks and the story
Though.. something that denotes the start would be good - I read it all backwards I think.
I like the iso grid on there too.

Thank you John, i'm glad you like story so far! Yes, i try to arrange the texts in a way it is more obvious where the journey starts, although i really like the idea of a circular story, where you can start and end to read wherever you like... maybe the next project ... ^^
Oh, i forgot to make the isogrid invisible, now the perspective flaws become more obvious XD . It won't make it to the final version i guess.

This is really beautiful and the story is fun to follow, I like the star path, and Gleamore's gate is so cool. Absolutely love your unique mountains great job so far.

Thanks a lot snodsy, much appreciated!

Excellent story! It's the cherry on the cake for this beautiful map. Will Snuzzi go in the Dreamweaver Forest?
Oh, And I love the Dawn Gate!

@Diamond : of course, it's a "grim(m) fairy tale", don't forget the guy lives in Germany .

You bet, she'll have to pass the dreamweaver forest Ilanthar! Spoiler Alert: It'll be the last station, before she faces Drec the Dark Wyvern Lord
Btw. funnily i found an article the other day that proclaims the informants for the Grimm brother's tales haven't been grumpy old german women, living in the forests, but some bourgeois girls from rich huguenot (french protestants migrating to germany in the 17. century) families, telling them the stories they knew from Charles Perrault's collection of tales "Histoires ou Contes du temps passé"! XD So, the "germanness" of these tales is rather doubtable. But in the end, like languages and people in general, myths and tales give a damn about borders...^^

Oh yeah!

P.S.: I like the blurred star trail better now; seems more subtle.

Thanks Diamond, that was a god hint!

This is really cool, and beautiful! I love the path idea and how we're following Snuzzi's journey. Maybe consider an entry for one (or more) of the ocean portions of the journey? I only suggest that because at first I was a bit confused about if that was in fact a journey path, or some type of regional border.

The softer/blurred path does look better than the previous one, but a more defined trail of dots and stars might look better, using a more "solid" star. Eg: ★ ● ● ★ ● ● ★ ● ● ★ ● ● ★

I also love the Path to Es, Yestergate, and the Gate of Dawn! I hope you'll be including more special locations like that!

Just a couple things I noticed: there's a typo of Snuzzi's name on the far right (for the Dark Wood), and your text is overlapping the border (also on the far right).

Thanks for the comments Neyjour, greatly appreciated!
Yes, i have to make the whole depiction of the journey more clear in the end, i have no idea yet (except for one part) how she's actually travelling the sea.
I like the idea of the mixed trail of dots and stars. I'll definitely give it a try.
Glad you like the locations! Suggestions for more of them are welcome!
Thanks for the sharp eye on the typo!

Edit: Argh, those smileys again! XD

[J.Edward]

Edit: Argh, those smileys again! XD

Haha, I always remove the smileys from other people's comments, so I can add more of my own
Even then, I end up with too many.