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Thread: Untitled Refinement in Process

  1. #1
    Guild Journeyer Peter Toth's Avatar
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    Default Untitled Refinement in Process

    Hello all Cartographers!

    I've been sedulously studying actual satellite maps, scanning for patterns, and trying to duplicate them in my own original way. This involved a very complicated process that does NOT rely on actual DEM data, as I've reiterated many times. Today, however, I've made the process a bit more complex and arrived at the following results. I don't know if I'm quite there yet, but here is another attempt. Although I must admit I hate the "shape" of it, I need to know if there's anything I can improve so that I can proceed with my BIG project.

    Please let me know what you think!

    Peter

    Click image for larger version. 

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  2. #2
    Professional Artist Tiana's Avatar
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    It's a bit grainy at the full zoom. If it's not intended to be rescaled for print, slap an anti-aliasing on the brush you used for it, or do it with vector lines instead for maximum clarity. The colors for the depth communication look great, I agree with you the shape's a bit weird... I think it's for an artistic reason, we generally expect to see things broken up into thirds, so with the split in the middle and just a portion of ocean on one side, and the continent being cut off just before the sea on the right, the balance of it is all thrown a bit off, it isn't quite resolving in a satisfactory layout kind of way.

    The graduation in the landmass works for what you mean to communicate and the ocean color is decent, though I much prefer the darker blue with ocean depth shading in the Rammstein map I just commented on, compared to this flat blue. If you truly do a huge project it would be worth it to work in those ocean depth layers, even if you select a lighter blue to evoke the more traditional atlas.

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  3. #3

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    I don't have any idea about the way you proceed, but the result is really interesting. Congratulations !

    If I may, I'd personnaly change the color of the rivers a bit for some darker tone. I can barely see it in the heights.
    I agree with Tiana, there's a kind of "dashed texture" over the continent, and shores and rivers are a bit pixelized; but I'm not sure that's an issue. It gives a certain flavor to the map, I like its vibe

    Quote Originally Posted by Tiana View Post
    If you truly do a huge project it would be worth it to work in those ocean depth layers, even if you select a lighter blue to evoke the more traditional atlas.
    Yup I would have say the same it would be pretty cool to actually see what lurks in the seas in terms of topography (at least)

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