Fantasy maps created using Xara Xtreme

[Karateed]

Hi Gameprinter,

I'm extremely impressed by your maps/drawings and their very authentic feel. Keep up the great work and we hope to see much more from you along the way.

[Big Frank]

Very nicely done illustration. Keep them coming, they're a joy to regard

[Gamerprinter]

Well I'm glad my work pleases you. Despite my sporadic postings (based on my RL schedule) and my very low post count, at least 95% of my posts include art, so I feel myself an adequate contributor to TalkGraphics. I don't usually comment outside this thread, since I am using an older version of Xara - I feel my comments might be outdated and thus not offer the best help for questions posted by other Xara users. But I will definitely continue to post, and create more maps and illustrations for your perusal as they become available.

I know that what I create using Xara is not what most use the application for, but in my experience, it really isn't the software, as much as the artist as to what can or cannot be created. I'm much more a traditional artist than a digital one, but Xara is my go to application for bringing a hybrid of the two. I tend to work very fast as an illustrator/cartographer and know that only Xara can match my speed best.

I'm pleased that you're pleased.

[Gamerprinter]

One of the side released products that will be associated with my Kaidan adventure is a racial book with new class mechanics for the Kappa (the turtle shelled yokai monster.) Mark Hyzer is my pencil work illustrator who is creating all my monster designs. Since the work is in pencil, my co-publisher suggested I create a cover design in B/W, as that seems to best match the illustration.

I wanted to give it a distinctly Japanese look, so I used a floral pattern (repeated) of an origami paper design. The pattern at the top and bottom are vector created symbols done in Xara, following the design of another origami paper swatch I found online.

Plus this is the first time I get to use my logo design, albeight in B/W only.

What do you think?

Michael



Link to larger file: Kappa book cover design

[Magnatude]

I've been checking out this thread, using Xara for RPG maps is very cool and I really like some of your maps.

Personally I've worked with NBOS software and worked on all of the titles there (exclusively RPG creation software: Fractal Mapper, Astrosynthesis, The Keep Campaign Manager, and Screenmonkey...).

I'm very tempted to do more of this sort of thing using Xara as well. Thanks for sharing your examples.

~Richard~~

[Gamerprinter]

I've got NBOS Fractal Mapper, Profantasy Campaign Cartographer - both mostly so I can print customer native map files in large format. My daytime job is running my own graphic arts/digital printing shop. I also run Gamer Printshop (hence my forum name) which is an RPG Map POD shop for gamers. So I'm familiar with FM, though I mostly use Xara of course.

Here's a full color version of the above posted "In the Company of Kappa" cover design. I thought the Rite Publishing logo disappeared into the background. Plus I used a Xara map technique to place the illustration onto a parchment background (giving the illustration the stain-glass transparency filter) which puts some color in the art, so I could try to do the full design in color...

Thoughts?

Michael

[Karateed]

Hi GP,

I tend to agree the colour cover brings out the logos much better. I'm not crazy about the rectangle behind the 'monster' but I don't know how I would change it...again, that's probably just me anyway....overall a very nice design....

[Gamerprinter]

My intentions is that the art itself is a wall hanging and the background is a wall panel shogi screen in style. I may have found better Japanese textile pattern for the backgrounds though, one being painted bamboo symbols to better emulate the homeland of the kappa as lakes, rivers and marshes. Still its close to a final design. I just found out that this book is being released Feb 22nd, this month!

Plus regarding my adventure cover design, the print publishing partner (Cubicle 7) of my co-publisher is printing a hard cover book in June to be released in August 2011, and I'll be using my original second adventure cover art. Once I have that designed for the final total adventure I'll post it here. Each of three adventures is 56 page long, thus 168 pages total for the full book and it will be fully illustrated and include my cartography. I am greatly looking forward to holding a hard cover book in my hands! They will be distributed to game stores across the US. If I meet the page count format, I get a discount per book printed for a better profit overall, or a cheaper cover price.

[Gamerprinter]

Let's try this again. I tried to fix the rectangle behind the kappa into a defined shape. I changed the floral background to bamboo, but I'm still not pleased by it, though better.

Here's the update:

[Gamerprinter]

I needed a half page illustration for a Yurei ghost of an Innkeeper's Wife, for my adventure - since I'm doing layout. Of course I lack the budget and the time to commission a proper illustration, so I whipped up a pencil illustration, actually drawing the hand/arms separately from the main drawing - I was drawing each at a size on too small of paper, so I composited three separate illustrations, then applied some linear transparencies.

Simple, but does the trick I think. If her right arm seems disjointed, its still works, she's a ghost so she not all there...