Thursday, February 03, 2011

New Old Map


Starting a map is much easier than finishing one.  This fact is never so true as when to are working a map that you really love.  The more time and work you put into the it the more there is to do.  You like something, then decide you can do it better so you go and change it.  You think of another thing to add so you go and work it in messing up a host of other things you've done previously so you redo them all to match the new thing.  On and on it seems to go.

That's kind of where I am with my Caliburn map.  I've been working on it on and off for months now and have made so many changes that it barley resembles the map I started with.  Maybe I'll never be done with the damn thing, maybe I'll keep going back and making little changes here and there, but every time I do go back and redo the map it really seems to get better.  

This latest, and possibly final version, deals with a host of problems that the previous version had.  One of them was the transparent mountains and hills which caused the political lines to look a little silly.  I fixes that problem and made the towns, castles, and other settlements stand out more on the map by giving them a fill as well.  I also did some altering to the coastline, filled in the forests, and added some additional labeling. One of the things I tried to do but still seem unable to pull off are roads.  They just never seem to look right for some reason.  If I add anything else that will certainly be at the top of the list.


3 comments:

Anonymous said...

For the record, your Caliburn series has been an inspiration of epic proportions to me; running a pseudo-Arthurian game myself, your work has helped me stay inspired and even got me into digital cartography myself. I also completely stole the idea of using the same physical map and making ethnic and religious maps off the same template. Your work is incredible. Thanks.

Labyrinthian said...

Thanks, Actionpoint! I went over to your site and took a look at your new map and I must say it looks awesome. Keep up the good work!

Joseph Gambit said...

This is my first visit to your site but this Caliburn series map is truly breathtaking. And from the comment above I can now see that this is a take off on a real topographical map which is an inspired idea.

One of the things that I notice about all creative endeavors is that the more you care about them, the harder it is to bring them to completion. To end something you love is almost heartbreaking sometimes. On the other hand it is not a thing, complete and in itself, until its finished, so sometimes you just have to cross the T's and dot the i's and try to move on. Either way, its already a truly magnificent effort.