# Mapmaking Discussion & Philosophy (WIP/Critique) > Virtual Tabletop/Battlemap Mapping >  Multiple VTT WIP

## eViLe_eAgLe

Eventually multiple anyway. I am starting (finally) a Campaign and I need some maps for that. I was thinking. Road/forest encounter/stop/trade thing. No clue what I was thinking, but I got inspiration from Fables Darkwood Camp. Its like a rest stop for weary traders or travellers on the way. C&C is welcome and heavy opinions on the tree's please.. I don't think they look right. The grid is 50 pixel's = 5 feet. It might be  bit off-scale in places.

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## Redrobes

This is cool. I think the dark shadowing on the trees is a little heavy tho and makes them look cartoonish. If you still have the sources to them then id tone it down or blur it wider. Otherwise I think its great and I particularly like the tent and cart. Did you make them or get them as icons from somewhere ?

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## eViLe_eAgLe

The cars are from the CSUAC and the tent is also from the CSUAC.

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## eViLe_eAgLe

Without a grid so other people can use it if wanted.
But im done with Traders Stop. (now named it that.) And will add a couple other things in Maptool.

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## eViLe_eAgLe

Now im gonna be mapping the classic. *Tavern on a hill.

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## Hugo Solis

Looking real good! Are you using pregen stuff or is it all "hand-made"? I'm not too mapping-software-saavy (totally ignorant actually) and those look real good and pro.

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## eViLe_eAgLe

All in photoshop all I have to say is Overlay overlay clouds multiply  :Wink:  For the objects its CSUAC. And thanks!  :Smile: 

Although you could count the clouds pre-generated.

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## eViLe_eAgLe

I'm gonna try a Torstan esque hand-drawn style!

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## Ascension

Many have tried, few have succeeded.   :Smile:   Heh heh.  Good start, man.

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## eViLe_eAgLe

Got some more things fleshed out. The rocks aren't NEARLY as good as torstans.. But hey, what can you do?

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## torstan

Looking very nice indeed.

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## eViLe_eAgLe

I think I nailed down the Grass good enough.. And the castle thingy's. But, I think ill need to re-do the rock pathways.

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## Ascension

Yeah, the rocks look too clean and crisp when posed against the hand-drawn hay and cracks.  So I'd just trace over them by hand/tablet on a new layer.

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## eViLe_eAgLe

Yeah.. Thats grass! Ill be sure to see what I can do about the rocks, and grass.  :Wink:

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## eViLe_eAgLe

Here was a quick 2 hour project:

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## tilt

looking good, you've been busy - especially looking forward to your castle  :Smile:

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## eViLe_eAgLe

Managed to find some time to work on it.

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## eViLe_eAgLe

A quick Battlemap of a mining camp with a few 'secret' things in it. Thanks to Torstan for the symbols since I didn't have engouh time to draw them myself! Oh! And thanks for the tut too at: http://www.cartographersguild.com/sh...-I-hate-bevels

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## torstan

That's a cool cave map - nicely done!

Your castle's coming along too. I think you need some way for people to get onto the battlements - and from the battlements up to the towers. That might be stairs inside the towers, but then you need a trapdoor on the roof.

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## eViLe_eAgLe

Doh! I was thinking about that. But, I decided that it would be a door through one of the buildings.. Probably should get something else tho'.

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## eViLe_eAgLe

IronTower Mercenary camp. Started this around thursday for the game today. Got it done just in time! I plan to put torches on in MapTools.

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## eViLe_eAgLe

Have to work on another area today. Expect some updates.

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## Lukc

Nice. You use maptools for this?

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## eViLe_eAgLe

Yes, I do.

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## Lukc

I have got to try those ...

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## anstett

I thought that was a dead body on the table there when I first saw this map.  :Smile: 

BOB

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## eViLe_eAgLe

.. Is that good? Lol.. Im not sure what to think about that!

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## eViLe_eAgLe

I tried drawing something.. Enjoy!

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## Lukc

Is this hand-drawn? You know ... this honestly looks really great. Sure, it's "obviously" not photorealistic, but on the other hand, maps never are, and in this case it really sets a good mood and feel. And it's also cleear enough to easily use as a map. I like.  :Smile:

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## eViLe_eAgLe

Thanks! My first ever completed hand drawn map!

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## arsheesh

Very nice, especially for your first ever hand drawn map eViLe!

Cheers,
-Arsheesh

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## eViLe_eAgLe

Thanks Arsheesh, I have done linework before for the castle.. But I never colored it, so this is more of a test for that I guess.

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## geamon

Yeah very good.  The only thing I would prefer is just a little more oomph color wise. Here's what i got after just fooling around for 5 mins.

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## eViLe_eAgLe

I guess thats a bit more my fault  :Razz:  I tend to be a dark person.

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## Lukc

Upon a pale horse, the master of death, rode past the river crossing and all the grasses and all the trees turned pale and brittle, mere ashen imitations of what they were in life.

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## eViLe_eAgLe

Nice Lukc!  :Very Happy:

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## Lukc

Yes, as winter approaches I turn more and more pale.  :Very Happy:

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## jfrazierjr

Hmm... actually Lukc, I think you might be on to something here.     I was thinking along the lines of 4 maps of the seasons, specifically, what a place looks like during different times of the year.  Specifically, a battlemap "for sale" product that gives alternates of the same map.     For that matter, this might make a really cool challenge.. such a map would basically stay the same, but there would be some big color shifts along seasonal lines if in a temperate earth like climate....

BTW, Evile, that's a really nice map you got there...

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## Lukc

Hmm ... JF, that mike actually make an interesting challenge, I agree. Depending on the climate, the winter map in particular might be very different, since snow tends to wipe out a lot of features - it might actually require a re-draw of the base map. Late autumn would require quite a few bare trees, while the summer and spring versions could use similar bases ... I'm visualising a work flow with a base terrain layer for rock and dirt, a layer for grass areas, a layer for tree-trunks and bushes (sans leaves), a foliage layer, and a snow layer ... if there was water, then there should be at least a water and ice layer, and possibly a summer water layer for reduced water-flow if the region is dry in summers ...

If it's a "for sale" battle-map, there should probably also be variant terrain effects - snow in winter, mud in autumn (or spring) ... I'd be interested to see what comes up!  :Smile:  Heck, it might be a fun challenge for me too!

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## jfrazierjr

Yea lukc, as you are talking, i am thinking about how a cliff and waterfall style Battlemap would look over 4 different seasons....ooooohhhh

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## Lukc

Frozen waterfall in winter, so you can climb up it, +4 to your climbing check if you're wielding a military pick  :Smile:  that's how it would look. I've got a lot of waterfalls near my house that tend to freeze in the winter, some of them end up with 10 to 20 meter ice stalagmites  :Smile:

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## eViLe_eAgLe

I suppose updating this is better than making a new thread, so here we go.
I made these for Splork Games, Map Flats, copyright belongs to them.

You can go to their site here.













And here's something I finished a while ago, just never put up on here.

Since it's too large for this site, you can see the full version here.

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## Jacktannery

I love your style - great maps, and the white walls really fit in with my own maps for them. Did you intentionally go for a similar visual style to me, or did we both end up thinking alike through our separate geniuses?

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## eViLe_eAgLe

I -think- I adopted the white walls after I saw your map - it looked so much better than textured ones, so yes, I thank you for that  :Wink: 

Edit: I remember, mine were originally black or gray, and I changed them once I saw yours.

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## Jacktannery

Well I think it's great that you did that; it makes both our contributions to the project look far better than they would have had you not tried it out. I'm really impressed with your windmill top floor map, you did an absolutely amazing job with the gears and paddles.

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## eViLe_eAgLe

> Well I think it's great that you did that; it makes both our contributions to the project look far better than they would have had you not tried it out. I'm really impressed with your windmill top floor map, you did an absolutely amazing job with the gears and paddles.


That part of the map probably took me the longest, I really wanted to capture what an actual windmill would look at, so I looked at a bunch of designs for the mechanisms and that sort of stuff  :Smile:

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## eViLe_eAgLe

I don't know if this will be of any use to anyone, but I was looking for a new style for my new campaign (taking place in the future.), and took a huge pint of inspiration from Hotline Miami in the colors and the way it represents.
What I have right here is a basic test of what I think would look good, probably a bit more details then it currently has (But not too much, as I want to be able to add details anytime I want, sort of like the old blue dungeon maps.), but for the test, I think it looks good - and it's also pretty easy to make.



For any would interested, here's the city map, almost all the game will be spent in this city-state like city.
(For some reason, the resolution is pretty gigantic.)

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## eViLe_eAgLe

Another small one in the same style.

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## madcowchef

Nice to see some futuristic battlemaps rather than exclusively fantasy.  Thanks for sharing.

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