Fantasy maps created using Xara Xtreme

[Gamerprinter]

Since this map is a Xara file, to accomodate both Big Frank's and Egg's critiques, here's an update to the last map. Some twisted I-beams, some concrete and asphalt rubble. There is still a path cleared through the rubble at this important river bank shared by many survivor and marauder bands alike.

[Boy]

I have a suggestion for the piece of roadway that has landed in the water. Give its reflection a slight wave ripple and also a bit of an angle to match the light source. You might also want to try a wave-ripple effect on the shadows that are cast by the road section that is still standing.

[Gamerprinter]

I have a suggestion for the piece of roadway that has landed in the water. Give its reflection a slight wave ripple and also a bit of an angle to match the light source. You might also want to try a wave-ripple effect on the shadows that are cast by the road section that is still standing.

Though it may appear as a reflection, that is not the intent. The piece of road in the river is partially submerged and you can see the submerged portion disappearing under the murky water - that's what you're looking at.

To be honest, I've created 3D objects that had sections of clear glass over other sections and I applied a refraction quality in the glass so that light bends, and what appears under the glass differs from the same part extending past the glass. While it is certainly more realistic, most viewers of the map called into question the refracted part of the image, not understanding that this is how it would actually appear in reality. For us more worldly people who understand the properties of light passing through water and how light bends, means nothing to the general population who just consider it some kind of mistake. In order to not confuse nor consternate those who don't understand, I now avoid including refraction and other scientificly proven alterations of what one sees represented on a map.

Again, I was using my local Illinois river as a reference for the behavior of the river in this map. I could throw a floating ball into the river, then walk at a very slow pace on the bank and still be walking faster than the ball is floating in the current - the current is extremely slow. So effects of objects beneath the water's surface being disturbed by the current would be negligible, and so I imposed that in the map.

[Boy]

I should have known that you researched all of this very meticulously and made your choices of how to craft your images with good reason.

Thanks for the explanation.

[theinonen]

I put this question here as it does not really belong to that Extracting portions of an image thread.

I saw your example in that particular thread and was just wandering if it would be easier just to render with an alpha channel and then skip the whole clipping stage alltogether?

[Gamerprinter]

I put this question here as it does not really belong to that Extracting portions of an image thread.

I saw your example in that particular thread and was just wandering if it would be easier just to render with an alpha channel and then skip the whole clipping stage alltogether?

Sometimes I do just rely on PNG alpha channel for a given image, but as in that spider sample in the thread you mentioned, I needed the shadow to be partially transparent, and the spider to be solid, because I needed to mix 2 different kinds of transparency requirements for that job, clipping the image and shadow separately, then applying transparency to shadow makes more sense.

Also, sometimes after I create a specific map object, I might want to export it at multiple resolutions for the differing needs of those that might use it. Some like it 72 dpi, others want 200 dpi. Rescaling a PNG alpha channel has the same problems of rescaling any bitmap image, images get jaggy and create artifacts attempting to make them bigger than the original. By clipping the image and keeping it vector, I can more effectively export it the varying resolutions and scales, ending with much more cleaner end results. Once I create a number of related map objects, like adding the spiders to creepy monster set or invertibrate set I make it available at 72 dpi, 100 dpi and 300 dpi, the latter for use by publishers that might want to use the objects in a high resolution, large format printed map. I make these map object sets available for sale. Note the 3D rendered files are created at 300 dpi, so I'm working at maximum resolution when I start the job, so I'm not trying to upscale a 72 dpi to 300.

My spider example had a white background, so it might have been easier relying on alpha channel PNG instead of clipping it. But what if your original file is a photo with a background you don't want, clipping makes more sense.

Clipping the image gives me more versatility, than just creating a transparent PNG file from a single image. And its a production process I'm use to doing, so I prefer to clip.

[Gamerprinter]

Working on a 3 decked merchant ship to serve as a gondola for an airship, as a commission for FASA Games - for a Steampunk setting called 1879.

While I've already created the engine/cargo deck, that map contains "secret information" regarding the publishers steam engine, so I won't post that. However, I will post the crew deck, the deck above, because there's nothing secret about it. Unusually, the captains quarters is in the fore of the ship, instead of the usual aft - the publisher wanted the galley to go over the hot engine room beneath, and relocate the captain to the opposite end, and be more comfortable. Enjoy!