World of Thra (Dark Crystal): WIP

[Marc]

To be honest, I also have a preference for the traditional version at this point (it just looks soooo good, and now I'm wondering how it is without being digitalized).
That being said, the digital version is interesting and very nice too...

And you are talking about people who are crazy about maps, so why not doing both versions ?

I'm sure I will do both versions....eventually

When I look at the traditional version, here at home, it's all vibrant and all the colours look good....but when I look at the picture of the map it just feels bland in comparisson to the digital one

Here's the traditional version:



And the latest update:

[jshoer]

I love what you did with the purples in colored pencil. The crystal and the title text look translucent and glowing - as they should! (Don't look into the beams for too long, though.) It looks like you got a pretty good scan/photo, too, so I don't think you have an issue with lighting. To punch it up, you might just apply more pressure for deeper saturation in the greens, browns, and tans.

You could also always manipulate the hand-colored photo in Gimp, to add saturation, modify hue, or even brush in more bright colors.

[Ilanthar]

Joseph is right, once scanned you can certainly use some filters in a software like Gimp to adjust the colors the way you like.

[Marc]

I'll take your advises with me for the next one guys, thank you so much!

But first I'll keep on working on this one...digitally

Latest update:
Been working all over the map lately, adjusting, changing and adding.
Currently the title box has gotten my attention, it's not done but I really wanted to share it:

[jshoer]

Nice addition of Lore! I also really like the little Gelflings holding all the clan markers.

[ThomasR]

I love what you have here but I cannot shake the feeling that you had better lighting on the pencil piece... have you tried using different brushes for the rendering ?

[Marc]

I love what you have here but I cannot shake the feeling that you had better lighting on the pencil piece... have you tried using different brushes for the rendering ?

This was my first digital map and I started with the basic big solid circle brush GIMP has in its arsenal.
I am still using it because I don’t want to do all the linework again in this stage but I know there are alot more interesting brushes out there
Any advice on brushes and their particular use Thomas? (And where to get them)

[ThomasR]

For the Gimp, unfortunately I have no precise advice nor place to get them but you should search for Grunge Brush or watercolor brushes and use them at a lower opacity. Playing with color jitter or size and angle variation has good results too (to avoid similar shapes). Also, dunno if Gimp has those, but overlay layers and such give good results for texture when used with low opacity brushes. I hope this helps.

[Marc]

Thanks Thomas! Will step on the search wagon today and see what I can find
Still alot of work on this map so I think I can put some new brushes to good work before the end!

[ThomasR]

Maybe a pencil brush with a setting like the Wet brush in Photoshop (bords humides in French) will get you the same effect as your hand drawn map because the ornaments on that piece really look awesome (if I were you I'd do a mixed version, scan and digital add-ons with traditional looking brushes but ones gotta do what ones gotta do ).