City map test - honest opinion

[Redrobes]

I have to say I like the style trees and all but I think the clouds distract from the map esp when there are elements like the chimney emitting similar looking smoke. The border is ok but I agree with XCali in that the texture is too small and repetitive. If your going to have a border then something with a distinct pattern works better than a texture.

But overall I thought the test map looks great.

[Inc]

The dark shaded areas in the trees seem a little overpowering at full resolution, but aren't too bad at thumbnail resolution.

- trees definitely need some rework, thanks for remark - that streghtened my feeling about them

The hard shadows on the building and corresponding lack of shadows on the scene dressing (animals, carts, fences, trees) look a little odd.

- animals, carts etc. drop shadows, but I tried to keep it real, so its not that visible as they are way smaller then building, which drop way bigger shadow. It may be a little sharp - ill rework it .

Whether the clouds (and smoke and cart in the street) are useful is entirely a matter of the purpose of the artwork. If it's mostly a piece of art with some minor mapping purpose, then the clouds might be good as a way of breaking up things. If the purpose of the map is to help the viewer find things, then they might be pulling attention from the areas of interest that will be keyed to the map description toward relatively uninteresting areas.

- clouds were just something to experiment - but You've opened my eyes about pulling attention to other areas with it ! THANKS !

If I was you, I'd consider an alternative approach to colour and texture (my personal preference is a more painted look). Keep the linework style that you've got, but maybe reduce the intensity of some of the outlines (the trees and fields, for example, are very heavy black lines; you could try using a thinner line, a different colour than black, or reducing the opacity a bit, or a bit of all three). Can't say much about scale from such a limited sample. Saturation, shading and contrast seem good to me. Maybe the shadows are a bit too hard-edged, but not much.

- many many thanks for those comments. I am actually pretty happy about ground textures (that is what You are refering too right ? ). I try to keep everything in style - so that one thing doesnt look comic like and other looks more realistic. Need to find balance.

And what about those textures below? Better ? Worse ?

I love the building. It's a cool style. The other assets around the building is fine. I do not however feel the trees fit with that style. They are quite a bit more cartoony than the building.

On your question about the border, that type of border feels like a very repetitive texture. I feel simple lineart of a page with some tears would maybe fit better. Borders are a bit tricky sometimes. If in doubt leave until you feel ready to tackle the border, or just maybe leave it.

- Im glad to hear that You like building - that is my main focus actually. About borders - i know it sucks, just made it quick to see how it closes the picture. About trees - I already wrote above - they will be reworked ! THanks a loT !

I have to say I like the style trees and all but I think the clouds distract from the map esp when there are elements like the chimney emitting similar looking smoke. The border is ok but I agree with XCali in that the texture is too small and repetitive. If your going to have a border then something with a distinct pattern works better than a texture.

Thank You for Your comment - i will probably drop the clouds for now, as well as the border. I also like those trees, but I feel like it need a little bit more work !

Thank You guys !