Fantasy maps created using Xara Xtreme

Here is the latest map for the above named project, a bridge across a small river in a mountain pass, where an encounter with a hebi-no-onna (demon snake woman) will occur. A trap causing the middle section to fall into the river as the adventure party is trying to cross. Unseen in the map is a lost salt-water crocodile awaiting for fresh meat.

This of course combines a scanned hand-drawing given stain-glass transparency filter, then beveled and dropshadowed shapes placed beneath to give a sense of depth, and some depth in the water with varying stacked layers of transparent blue shapes.

Enjoy!

GP

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I'd be interested in how you did your water treatment. Very nice.

John

First of all, notably I have several stacked beveled shapes above and beneath the water's surface. Of those layers 'below' the water surface, I place blue rectangles between each layers with 50 - 90% transparency applied, so you can see the layer below. With additional shapes of blue transparency above it, the transparent and ground layers beneath get darker blue. Finally at the water surface, I place a repeating bitmap image of water refraction - its basically a painted white lines on blue to emulate water.

Here's the next map for this adventure. This one is a wider perspective with a different scale applied.

Attachment 79554

Looks great Michael. Keep up the good work.

Thanks! This is my last needed map for the soon-to-be-published: The Gift - Curse of the Golden Spear (my first adventure of three, for my Kaidan: a Japanese Ghost Story setting)

This is the Assault on the Town of Agoya. The player characters having made a rough crossing through a dangerous mountain pass, arrives in this small forest town for some rest and recuperation, but the dangers aren't over. The antagonist a hebi-onna (snake armed woman oni - demon) has setup 3 ambushes up to this point against the adventure party. This assault on the town arranged by her, consists of a large band of bandits (nobushi) that will attack the town. Though the town features its own defenders, they are weak and the adventure party will have to lead the defense. So this is more a strategy map helping the referee know the direction the assault takes place. The numbered label locations area featured in the adventure itself, so not added to a legend here.

There will be one final attack on the party by the demon woman on the road, but no map as of it.

I have commissioned artists to create the cover design and some interior illustrations, some illustrations are mine (to save money), undoubtably, my publication will be rich with maps - its what I do best.

As always, this is a hand-drawn map onto 18" x 24" paper digitally scanned on my large format flatbed scanner in two pieces, composited and finished in Xara.

Enjoy!

Link to larger file: Assault on Agoya

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I love watching the development of your maps. I've never been involved in this kind of graphics although when I played Dark Age of Camelot I created my own horse route maps :)

Thank you , BeretGascon! I admit that maps while fun is a very unique part of graphics, so its not as common.

Here's something more common, and not a map. I needed to create a logo for my upcoming adventure setting. I could have done it half a hundred ways, but decided to avoid beveled shapes and keep it simple. I tried it as B/W and if worked, but I preferred to add a touch of red. I think the Japanese castle, cherry blossom trees and moon has a nice touch yet still mostly lineart.

This is a 100 ppi PNG file with background transparency so it can easily be used in any layout. I have a larger 300 ppi version for pubilcation use, but only posted the thumbnail version at 100 ppi.

Thoughts?

GP

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I commissioned artist, Jan Pospisil, to paint the inset image on this cover design. However, I did all other layout for this using Xara Xtreme. Note the subtle detail in the background (if you can even see it at this resolution), but I placed lineart of my main regional map overlaying the black background. All other text placement and necessary logos for publication is part of my page layout for this.

Note, the name on the cover is my author and lead designer, Jonathan McAnulty. However, I get plenty of credit on the title page as concept creator, cartographer, illustrator, art director, designer, developer and technical advisor.

This publication including 14 of my maps will be released sometime Feb/March 2011.

Michael

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I thought the cover design was excellent GP. The background suited the foreground perfectly. The artist you hired did a great job, and your design work finished it off very well.

The logo is excellent too. I did have a small suggestion, regarding the sun, and I have attached a Xara file with the details.

Keep up the great work!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by James Allen

I thought the cover design was excellent GP. The background suited the foreground perfectly. The artist you hired did a great job, and your design work finished it off very well.

The logo is excellent too. I did have a small suggestion, regarding the sun, and I have attached a Xara file with the details.

Keep up the great work!

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I appreciate the pointers and comments. Actually the co-publisher, my project designer and various patrons on the project critiquing it, I've changed the design somewhat to accomodate. (I actually prefer the original design even with your suggestions, but its gone a slightly different way - we needed to include a horror element...)

More of a sunset/moonset, broke the fung-shwei of tree size, etc.

I will probably yet remove the gradient completely from the moon/sun but its enlarged size has become mandatory to the design... the setting is called Kaidan: a Japanese Ghost Story - it is a Japan-inspired Asian horror Roleplaying Game setting. So horror was needed in the logo.

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