May/June '20 Lite Challenge: The Isles of NoSea

[Ilanthar]

Héhé , I've used your second reference picture as a wallpaper on my laptop some while ago.

It's a very elegant map with what it needs of colours and contrast! I'm with Thomas about the shading... and probably a few labels ?
Oh! And glad to see you back, Kacey!

[kacey]

Oh! The contrast! Suddenly the rest of the map pops out. I really like it. And the stars beneath the islands take it to a whole other dimension!

Thank yo so much, I really appreciate the kind words.

Héhé , I've used your second reference picture as a wallpaper on my laptop some while ago.

It's a very elegant map with what it needs of colours and contrast! I'm with Thomas about the shading... and probably a few labels ?
Oh! And glad to see you back, Kacey!

Thanks Ilanthar! I am really struggling with those darn trees so I’ve moved on to designing the city icons for now. Hopefully I can get an update out in the next few days... It’s been so nice outside lately I’ve hardly got anything done at all.

[- JO -]

Thanks to Ipad! Thanks to it, you're back! That's great news!
You haven't lost any of your talent, obviously! The result is great! I'm looking forward to seeing more details ... and also, like Thomas and Ilanthar, a little relief for these trees, but it's all very promising!
Which application do you use for the Ipad? For my part, I use procreate and anything related to shadows is a real problem for me on the Ipad. Until now, I always came back to Photoshop to draw shadows: a question of selection and brush, I guess.
Anyway, I hope all is going well for you and yours... and I'm really looking forward to seeing the rest of this map!

[kacey]

Thanks to Ipad! Thanks to it, you're back! That's great news!
You haven't lost any of your talent, obviously! The result is great! I'm looking forward to seeing more details ... and also, like Thomas and Ilanthar, a little relief for these trees, but it's all very promising!
Which application do you use for the Ipad? For my part, I use procreate and anything related to shadows is a real problem for me on the Ipad. Until now, I always came back to Photoshop to draw shadows: a question of selection and brush, I guess.
Anyway, I hope all is going well for you and yours... and I'm really looking forward to seeing the rest of this map!

Thanks Joe! I’m glad to be back. I’ll do my best on those trees, but I’m not making promises at this point.

I’m using Procreate on the IPad, and I absolutely love it. This will be my first digital map outside of Photoshop so there’s a learning curve for me this time around. the only real thing I miss about Photoshop is my trusty brush, the one I used to do my line work with. I can’t quite emulate it in Procreate yet so I need to learn more about how the brush settings work. Right now I’m just using the technical pen for the lines. Shading mountains in procreate has been a breeze though, I really love the soft airbrush and I’m not experiencing any lag at all like I’m used to in Photoshop.

I plan on getting back to work on you’re map next, so I was glad to see you around. I already got the photoshop file transferred over, but I’m going to have to completely redo the line work just because I won’t be able to match my old brush... I’m sort of excited to get started on something a little bigger since I’m working on a really small canvas right now, and the size is driving me crazy.

[- JO -]

Thanks Joe! I’m glad to be back. I’ll do my best on those trees, but I’m not making promises at this point.

I’m using Procreate on the IPad, and I absolutely love it. This will be my first digital map outside of Photoshop so there’s a learning curve for me this time around. the only real thing I miss about Photoshop is my trusty brush, the one I used to do my line work with. I can’t quite emulate it in Procreate yet so I need to learn more about how the brush settings work. Right now I’m just using the technical pen for the lines. Shading mountains in procreate has been a breeze though, I really love the soft airbrush and I’m not experiencing any lag at all like I’m used to in Photoshop.

I plan on getting back to work on you’re map next, so I was glad to see you around. I already got the photoshop file transferred over, but I’m going to have to completely redo the line work just because I won’t be able to match my old brush... I’m sort of excited to get started on something a little bigger since I’m working on a really small canvas right now, and the size is driving me crazy.

That's a lot of good news !!!!
If you have some time, I would be glad to learn how you did the shading of the mountains on procreate : I find difficult to make gradients. Do you make a big stroke with a really wide brush and erase half the line? Or do you use the selection tool to work only on one surface? Or another method? (Did you see that you can make a video of the progress of your work? It's kind of fun to watch)
I've seen how to parameterize the brushes according to your will: as you said, there are a lot of parameters and they're not all easy to understand. I hope that with a little time you will be able to reproduce the brush you like on Photoshop.

As far as last year's challenge map is concerned, don't feel obliged to finish it. The most important thing is that you are back in the world of maps and have fun drawing them... Choose the projects that stimulate you the most ! It's so good to see your art again !

[kacey]

That's a lot of good news !!!!
If you have some time, I would be glad to learn how you did the shading of the mountains on procreate : I find difficult to make gradients. Do you make a big stroke with a really wide brush and erase half the line? Or do you use the selection tool to work only on one surface? Or another method? (Did you see that you can make a video of the progress of your work? It's kind of fun to watch)
I've seen how to parameterize the brushes according to your will: as you said, there are a lot of parameters and they're not all easy to understand. I hope that with a little time you will be able to reproduce the brush you like on Photoshop.

As far as last year's challenge map is concerned, don't feel obliged to finish it. The most important thing is that you are back in the world of maps and have fun drawing them... Choose the projects that stimulate you the most ! It's so good to see your art again !

Hey Joe, I did my mountain shading in Procreate the same way I do in Photoshop with a light hand and fuzzy brush... I don’t use any fancy selections or the eraser tool, unless of course I make a mistake... Think of it as if you were shading a drawing on a piece of paper with a pencil. Like I said, I love the soft airbrush in Procreate even better then the soft brush in Photoshop... It’s the very first brush at the top of the airbrushing section.

I always start with a new layer, under the line art, but above the background texture.

Set this layer to multiply, and then with the colour picker select a light colour from the background texture, usually a light beige colour.

Slowly add a light layer to the right side of the mountain, it will appear only slightly darker then the background, I find this helps to transition the mountains into the ground... Apply more pressure towards the top of the mountains, and less towards the bottom, fading gently into the surrounding terrain.

After this, which is hardly noticeable I add another layer set to screen... Using the same colour as you picked before do a similar process to the left side of the mountain, this will slightly lighten the other side.

Once the base shadow and light are established pick a warm brown, quite a bit darker then the original colour, and create a new layer over top of the first shadow layer, set this layer to multiply, and lightly add colour to the shadow side again, applying more pressure towards the peaks, and less towards the bottom... don’t go down as far as the first time... Adjust the opacity of the layer to suite your needs, I find somewhere around 80% usually works quite well.

Then again add a new highlight layer above the first highlight layer, and again set it to screen. Pick the same light colour as before from the background texture and reinforce the highlights focusing mostly along the top ridges with a smaller brush.

After this I usually add a new layer set to colour above the shading layers, but below the line art, and select a nice neutral grey... lightly add this colour to the peaks of the mountains, and slowly fade down towards the base with lighter pressure to fade it out towards the bottom... I generally turn down the opacity of this layer as well, play around with the slider until you find the colour you like. I personally don’t like the grey to be too pronounced, but I imagine that’s a matter of preference.

If all of this makes no sense to you at all, then check out Max’s thread here... https://www.cartographersguild.com/s...t=32696&page=2 page 2, post #19. Though slightly different, he probably does a better job at explaining basically the same process that I’ve followed since I first read it years ago.

[kacey]

Here’s my latest update, I’ve mostly focused on the city icons since the last update... Let me know what you think, you’re feedback is always appreciated.
### Latest WIP ###

[Bogie]

Looks Great Kacey! The mountain shadows are excellent.

Don't forget the WIP tag.

[kacey]

Thanks Bogie, I always forget to add the WIP tag.

[- JO -]

Hey Joe, I did my mountain shading in Procreate the same way I do in Photoshop with a light hand and fuzzy brush... I don’t use any fancy selections or the eraser tool, unless of course I make a mistake... Think of it as if you were shading a drawing on a piece of paper with a pencil. Like I said, I love the soft airbrush in Procreate even better then the soft brush in Photoshop... It’s the very first brush at the top of the airbrushing section.

I always start with a new layer, under the line art, but above the background texture.

Set this layer to multiply, and then with the colour picker select a light colour from the background texture, usually a light beige colour.

Slowly add a light layer to the right side of the mountain, it will appear only slightly darker then the background, I find this helps to transition the mountains into the ground... Apply more pressure towards the top of the mountains, and less towards the bottom, fading gently into the surrounding terrain.

After this, which is hardly noticeable I add another layer set to screen... Using the same colour as you picked before do a similar process to the left side of the mountain, this will slightly lighten the other side.

Once the base shadow and light are established pick a warm brown, quite a bit darker then the original colour, and create a new layer over top of the first shadow layer, set this layer to multiply, and lightly add colour to the shadow side again, applying more pressure towards the peaks, and less towards the bottom... don’t go down as far as the first time... Adjust the opacity of the layer to suite your needs, I find somewhere around 80% usually works quite well.

Then again add a new highlight layer above the first highlight layer, and again set it to screen. Pick the same light colour as before from the background texture and reinforce the highlights focusing mostly along the top ridges with a smaller brush.

After this I usually add a new layer set to colour above the shading layers, but below the line art, and select a nice neutral grey... lightly add this colour to the peaks of the mountains, and slowly fade down towards the base with lighter pressure to fade it out towards the bottom... I generally turn down the opacity of this layer as well, play around with the slider until you find the colour you like. I personally don’t like the grey to be too pronounced, but I imagine that’s a matter of preference.

If all of this makes no sense to you at all, then check out Max’s thread here... https://www.cartographersguild.com/s...t=32696&page=2 page 2, post #19. Though slightly different, he probably does a better job at explaining basically the same process that I’ve followed since I first read it years ago.

Thanks a lot !

It's very useful to see other's processes ! I'll try your way very soon, but I understand it take a lot of practice to succeed the gradient as you do... I always find difficult to make several strokes side to side and keep the same gradient (Or are you using a broad brush ?... in this case, how can you stay inside the lines of your mountain ?)

Anyway, your last WIP is just great : some details that gives life to the whole picture ! I find the lighthouses specially a great idea, as the portal... and the ship The whole map is just splendid !