Sephren

[Shall Teclex]

Hello Cartographers!

I've been quiet for a while, but not without a good reason - incited by some interest from my current/ prospective clients and fellow artists, I decided to spend more time working on traditional maps. Since I tend to draw rather fast (usually in one long session for each map), I don't have any WIP scans, so I guess it's ok to share just the finished maps here. I'm still exploring this style for pen&paper maps, so please don't hold back any sticks and carrots*, I'll welcome all comments and suggestions!

"Sephren" is inspired by Mediterranean islands, with typical biomes, terrains, and architecture (unfortunately I had no time to come up with an epic story behind this map). It was drawn with 0.3, 0.1 and 0.03 UniPin fineliners on 273x357mm drawing paper (100 gsm), than colored digitally in PS CS3. For the title I used a dip pen with a broad nib and I'm pleased with the result. Here are both colored and black&white versions of the map of Sephren:

Sephren Color M.jpg

Sephren B&W M.jpg




*I prefer celery

[Wingshaw]

Beautiful work! I'm always a little envious at how artists such as yourself (and a few other notable members of this guild) can make pen strokes that are so precise, neat and clean in the final version...

Wingshaw

[Eilathen]

I absolutely love those mountains! Very nice!
The forests, on the other hand, are not doing it for me. It looks more like bushes/shrubbery to my eyes.

Overall a very atmospheric piece, though. I'd love to discover it via a p&p rpg, no question!

[Kellerica]

Amazing job! Beautifully laid out island, lovely linework and nice color work too. I can't say I agree with Eilathen on the forests, I actually quite like them. The border decorations are just out of this world! Adding the directions to the border was a really cool idea, I might have to steal that...

You are an exceptional artist, no doubt about that. I'm super glad to see you posting again, I've missed seeing your work!

[IICubeII]

Wow, really cool little map ya got there! Super clean, and not even fully digital... damn... props for that.

So just because you asked;
- I don't super love the trees. Granted, if I was playing on this map, like for D&D, I wouldn't care at all. They just don't read... trees.

- I'd also love to see the rooftops of buildings to be changed slightly, and I mean slightly... just a few different colored rooftops, minor tweaks to the darkness even. Just something to break them up a little bit and make each one feel a little more unique!

- Lastly, the text isn't my favorite... but again I'm just being super nit picky here.

Honestly, this is an awesome map. When it comes down to it, I wouldn't really want to change much at all. It's very clean and exceptionally well done! You should be quite proud of it!

[Greason Wolfe]

On the whole, I think it looks just fine. I can see what some are saying about the forests, but I think that might be a personal taste thing. If I had to nit pick anything, it would be the roof tops. Some of them look an little odd to me, as if the angle of perspective has changed slightly, but that could just be my eyes playing tricks on me.

No celery, but how about a chew toy of rep?

[MistyBeee]

Absolutely, totally, definitely fond of this map. I'm in the "I love them so much" team for your forests, am fond of your colors and in awe with this border. Good job in every point, as we can always expect from you ! ^^

[Shall Teclex]

Hey, guys, my apologies for the late response, I had a weird weekend... But thank you all for the comments and the green veggies

Forests seem to be the main point of discussion, so here is a bit of explanation: I was not aiming to draw deciduous forests, but to come with the design for typical Mediterranean shrubs (like lavender and rosemary). So, if that representation "reads" as bushes/ shrubs, I'm satisfied On a larger map, with more diverse biomes, those shrub patches should be just one type of vegetation. On the other hand, if that design is not really pleasing to the eye, then I should try to think about another representation for this type of plants...

I agree about the rooftops, they looked just fine to me while I was drawing them, but in the daylight I see that those could and should be more consistent. That's a reminder to me not to draw tiny details on the traditional maps late in the night with just one light source turned on...

About the lettering: I did the title with the old fashioned dip pen & ink, but I used the standard fineliners for the labels on the map and I have to admit that there is an obvious difference in quality and design of lines. I'll try doing all text with dip pen next time (and hope for the best).

And there is another issue I need to mention - when I compare my original drawing and this scanned .jpeg version, I notice a significant difference in overall impression of the map (the digital version looks much rougher, lines are less refined). I tried every tweak I know in Photoshop, but I'm still not completely pleased with the digital version. So, if anyone has any advice about this traditional>scanned>.jpg problem, I would appreciate it very much!

Thanks again, it feels good to be back on the road with you, guys!

[J.Edward]

That's a beauty, Shall.

[arsheesh]

You drew that in a day? Damn.

Beautiful work. The border is killer and I really like all of the wonderful detail in this piece. Would that I had half your speed at map creation.

Cheers,
-Arsheesh