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arsheesh β Sundown Commission
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Published: 2019-08-19 07:11:17 +0000 UTC; Views: 19018; Favourites: 513; Downloads: 116
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Description
Here is a map I recently completed for Grasswatch Games, a startup RPG company that successfully completed a Kickstarter campaign to fund a first print run of the game several months back. The company reached their $5,000 funding goal just a few days into the campaign. The game is set at the site of a massive ancient meteor impact in a temperate coastal region. The creators describe the setting as:"...a low tech science-fantasy set in a transhumanist frontier, think Cyberpunk goes west marches."
The game focuses on themes of social status and identity. Colonialism, isolation, body augmentation, gender fluidity and social hierarchy tend to be key elements within the game. The system is rules lite, utilizing a simple 1d6 conflict resolution mechanic intended to foster a role-playing experience more focused on storytelling than on mechanics.
There was a lot of back and forth between me and my clients regarding the layout of the cities. The team provided me with a pretty detailed brief outlining the size, demographics, personality and cultural influences of each of the settlements. My clients were particularly keen to show off the architecture of each of these places, so I decided to incorporate insert illustrations to zoom in on some of these features.
Anyway, it was a fun project and my clients were wonderful to work with. I'd encourage anyone interested in the themes mentioned to head on over to their Kickstarter page and have look at the project.
Hope you enjoy,
Cheers,
-Arsheesh
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Comments: 61
You are in luck, the game is out now
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Truly one of the most breath-taking maps I've seen in a long time - I can really tell this was a true labor of love. Magnificent! 'Β Β Β Β Β
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Thank you.Β Yes, this was indeed a labor of love, and a very rewarding project to be a part of.Β I appreciate your kind words, and I'm glad to know that you enjoy the map.Β Cheers.
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This is seriously awesome, Tad! Love the soft tones and the wonderful detail. I'd love to go and explore this place!
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Thank you very much my friend, it was a labor of love but I'm happy with how it turned out.Β Cheers.
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Thanks to that I found this map by chance, I have been able to meet you. You make great maps
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Well thank you, very kind of you to say.Β It's a pleasure to meet you as well.
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Stunningly good map!Β Feels realistic, and the location inset artwork is magnificent!Β Congrats!
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Thank you very much, I appreciate the kind feedback.
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Magnificent! The crater geography and subtle radial ridges seem to be at once realistic and fantastical, and your relief work is masterful. Your water effects are great, too, especially how you incorporate waves. I love what you've done with the frame; it reminds me of the Dwemer from the Elder Scrolls with its geometric and angled style, and the way you incorporated lighting and reflective play into it give the map a nice, physical look.
The cities are especially well done, both in how you present them on the map, and in the zoomed-in detail circles around the perimeter add a lot of character to each. The way your roads move with the elevation of the land is perfect.
I have two very minor critiques. The first is the highways. Are they supposed to be elevated like the Great Wall of China? If so, well done! If not, then I'd suggest a more subtle approach. My other suggestion would be to re-look the map title. It looks flat and un-physical, especially since it's set in the middle of a brass-like metal frame. An engraved, etched, or embossed look might improve it slightly.
Overall, though, this map is fantastic, and I salute your artistry. I've generally preferred your more photo-realistic style to this more illustrative one until I saw this. Well done!
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Thank you Will-Erwin for your very thorough, constructive critique and praise.Β I appreciate your taking the time to describe what you like about the map and areas you think can be improved upon .Β Regarding the rads, yes, they are supposed to be elevated.Β The area in which they are located is a flood plain.Β Each year the lake floods and that (tall) grassland becomes a marsh.Β Thus, the roads were created to be high enough to permit travel even during the rainy season.Β
As to the title, you I think you are right about this.Β This was one of those elements that I wasn't quite happy with myself.Β First of all, I'm not all that fond of the font.Β I had a sort of Asian theme going on in this piece and wanted a good readable Asian font for the title.Β However finding such a font was difficult: the selection of (commercially) free fonts is somewhat limited and many of them are decorative but not all that legible.Β So I picked the one that I felt was the clearest.Β Then there's the fact that, as you point out, it's quite flat compared to the more three dimensionally rendered sun behind it.Β I had considered rendering the title to make it appear as if it was etched into the sun emblem itself, but worried that the title would be less easy to read, and clarity was important.Β Anyway, suffice to say I didn't arrive at a completely satisfying solution.Β
Thanks again for all of the great feedback.Β Cheers.
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Wow, great work!Β The raised roads, the connection to the pyramid in the lake, the insets- I am ready to tell stories just based on the map!
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Thank you very much my friend.Β It was a fun project to work on and the team over at Grasswatch games had a pretty clear idea of what they wanted so that made my job easier.Β I appreciate your kind comments. Cheers.
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Thank you, I'm glad you think so.
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Thank you very much my friend.
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Thank you!Β Yes, my clients were quite pleased with the final piece.
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What are the elevated roads going between cities? Who built them?
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The surrounding area is a flood plain.Β During the rainy season the area becomes a veritable swampland, thus the high roads are necessity.Β Incidentally that's also why the huts in Smallmouth are built upon stilts.Β I'm not sure who built the high roads though that may well be explained in the forthcoming RPG.Β I know the design team over at Grasswatch has done some real in depth world-building.
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So much cool stuff going on in here.
Wonderful work.
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Thank you very much John, I appreciate it.Β Cheers.
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for some reason, I really like the idea of a city set in a crater.Β Nealy rendered, too.
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Yeah I thought that was a cool idea as well.Β Props to the game designers for coming up with such a cool setting.Β Thanks for the kind words as well.Β Cheers.
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Oh wow, this map is so beautiful. I love the raised roads in the marsh areas, it's super clever.
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That's very kind of you to say, although credit for the design of the roads goes to the game designers over at Grasswatch Games.Β The area is a flood plain and thus the roads need to be raised 10' off the ground.
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Oooh. Still, you did a good job showing it even though they're so small compared to the scale of the map. Showing detail in maps can be so tricky.
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Well thank you.Β Yes, it was an interesting challenge and I wasn't sure how it would look at first.Β I'm glad to here you like the way they turned out.
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wow, the design is simply beautiful .. well done
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Thank you very much, I worked hard on the design, glad you like it.
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I love maps. This one is especially compelling with all the inset details.Β
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Thank you very much.Β I feel much the same way about maps as well.
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I've heard of Runescape but am unfamiliar with it.Β The design was an adaptation of my client's original reference map, it may be that they drew inspiration from Runescape, I don't know.
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Thank you, that's very kind.
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Such a detailed map! I love it. Maps are eye-candy for me.
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Thank you very much, I feel the same way about maps myself.
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Ah yes, I see youβre a person of culture as well. Well good luck with your art, fellow map-lover.
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