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Thread: Living on the back of a turtle: Shaxzis! (FINISHED)

  1. #1
    Guild Expert Facebook Connected Caenwyr's Avatar
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    Default Living on the back of a turtle: Shaxzis! (FINISHED)

    Hey all! So this map shows a floating island that is actually a massive turtle, benevolent enough to stay floating at the surface so its inhabitants (a few hundreds of thousands of people!!) can lead a pleasant prosperous life. The Bulwark—the ridge covering the frontal bits of its shield and its flippers—protects the Shaxzissians from the enormous waves that would otherwise sweep them to the unfathomable depths when Shaxzis swims.

    Client asked me for a a geography-and-biomes-only map, which I was very happy to provide, but he was okay with me producing one with a sprinkle of towns and cities too. So I drew a bunch, and gave them all nonsense names: all of the settlement names are mutations of words I heard this morning while listening to the radio, and the regions are all Latin names for different turtle species. Oh the laughs I had!

    No labels:
    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	Shaxzis (13a).jpg 
Views:	93 
Size:	2.73 MB 
ID:	126472

    And "my" version with labels, frame and title cartouche:
    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	Shaxzis (FINAL).jpg 
Views:	123 
Size:	3.09 MB 
ID:	126473

    I hope you like it, and if not, be sure to tell me what I can do to improve!
    Last edited by Caenwyr; 11-23-2020 at 05:36 AM.
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  2. #2

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    Can't rep you again so soon but it turned out great. When you started the map I imagined it as covered in forests but this version is certainly more habitable!

  3. #3
    Administrator ChickPea's Avatar
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    Fantastic work, and such a great concept.
    "We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams"

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    Guild Master Facebook Connected - JO -'s Avatar
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    Quite an original map ! I love the way you draw it !

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    Guild Expert Straf's Avatar
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    That's brilliant.
    I started a DeviantArt page
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    Guild Artisan Adfor's Avatar
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    The textured feel this has is so appealing. You know how to please an eye.

  7. #7
    Guild Expert Facebook Connected Caenwyr's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by QED42 View Post
    Can't rep you again so soon but it turned out great. When you started the map I imagined it as covered in forests but this version is certainly more habitable!
    Hey thanks! There's a ton of lore to Shaxzis and I won't go into detail since I'm not the inventor of the place, but I feel confident telling you that there's about 450,000 people living on there, and that over the past centuries the "island" has been sort of terraformed (with generous help from Shaxzis the turtle itself) so it could easily sustain such a population despite its fairly small size. Which means just enough forest to be self-regenerating, taking into account the need for lumber by the population. There's also a ton of farmland and some mountains with good ore, so all in all there's a very delicate balance at work here.

    Quote Originally Posted by ChickPea View Post
    Fantastic work, and such a great concept.
    Thanks ChickPea, although all the praise for the concept goes to the client!

    Quote Originally Posted by - JO - View Post
    Quite an original map ! I love the way you draw it !
    Thanks Jo, you're entirely too kind!

    Quote Originally Posted by Straf View Post
    That's brilliant.
    Hey Straf, thanks!

    Quote Originally Posted by Adfor View Post
    The textured feel this has is so appealing. You know how to please an eye.
    Gee Adfor, thanks a lot!

    You guys are really too kind, but thanks for the kind words!
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    Very original and perfectly executed... The painterly style of the mountains looks really good.

    Now, how about adding some elephants ?
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  9. #9
    Guild Expert Facebook Connected Caenwyr's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Marc Moureau View Post
    Very original and perfectly executed... The painterly style of the mountains looks really good.

    Now, how about adding some elephants ?
    Lovely idea Marc, but nope, it's turtles all the way down
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