# Mapmaking Discussion & Philosophy (WIP/Critique) > Virtual Tabletop/Battlemap Mapping >  Elven Ruins dungeon tile set **work in progress**

## aaronil

I've been marveling at the amazing maps you all make, and now it's time for me to take the map-making plunge.  :Smile: 

My first project is a dungeon tile set for elven ruins (for D&Ders out there think Myth Drannor or Cendriane) that I'm going to be tackling in GIMP. Any pointers, suggestions for map elements, ideas for cool ways to make use of dungeon tiles, or other input is welcome!

Right now I'm doing prep work, mostly sketching out the layout of the tiles and gathering inspiration, but I have put together some basic ground elements in GIMP. Here's the little I've got so far (hey, gotta start somewhere).



~Quickleaf

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## Bogie

Very cool!  Looking forward to seeing the set.

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## aaronil

> Very cool!  Looking forward to seeing the set.


Thanks Bogie  :Smile:  Nice battlemap gallery you have there, I especially like the winter forest road, lots of detail in that one!

I'm almost done with my concept sketches of the tiles...just a few more to do and then I'm going to GIMP.

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## Lalaithion

It looks amazing!

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## aaronil

> It looks amazing!


Thanks for the vote of confidence  :Smile:  

I really want to break the outside/inside division down (hence all the roots busting thru walls) and to create a three-dimensionality to the tiles. 

EDIT: I finished my concept sketches, check 'em out...

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## aaronil

Here's my first go at some basic empty tiles of a moss-covered stone floor. Nothing fancy, but I'd love any feedback. Especially as I'm selecting brushes to work with in GIMP, if anyone has suggestions for a "tree root" brush I'd be grateful.  :Smile:  

 Right now the closest I've found is a couple of other brushes combined with "Dirty Roots" (by Hypnotiza)...I'm looking at Brusheezy, Obsidian Dawn, and Deviant Art for suitable brushes.

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## Korash

do like those sketches  :Very Happy: 

Sorry that I can't help with the brushes....have you thought of making your own? not that I would know how to do that either...  :Wink:

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## aaronil

> do like those sketches 
> 
> Sorry that I can't help with the brushes....have you thought of making your own? not that I would know how to do that either...


Thanks Korash  :Smile:  Yeah, I'm learning GIMP as I go so making my own brushes are probably out of my league...then again you never know...

An aesthetics question for anyone: Does the moss appear a bit too "floaty" or is it just me?

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## Neyjour

What a great project!  I love the idea of an "Elven Ruins" set and your sketches look terrific!   :Smile: 

About the tiles...yeah, I also think the moss looks a bit like it's floating.

I dug through my collection and found some elements that you might want to check out.

Here's some vines:
Jungle Vines by surfbored
Vegetation - Single Vines by Kepli

Some really nice mossy rocks:
277Mossy Rocks by Tigers-stock
And a few more are included in this pack:
373 Mossy Steps by Tigers-stock

Several different versions of a jungle altar:
Jungle altar and grass transition by supercaptain

A stone circle that might work for your citadel.  The full-rez download should be large enough to span 4 connecting tiles:
Stone Circle by Steel Rat

Some spider webs:
Spider Webs by surfbored

This is one of my floor tile sets.  Not sure if you're set on the base tiles you've shown here, but I thought you might like to take a look.  It's sort of a dirty/grungy, mossy cracked stone:
RPG Floor Tiles 04

Some ferns, also one of my freebies:
RPG Map Elements 08: Fern Set

And some runes:
Tolkein Tengwanda Runes by dblade

Hope you find something you like!  And I'm looking forward to seeing your next update.  :Smile: 

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*EDIT:*

Been fiddling around with your tiles and moss overlay, and came up with this:

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## Bogie

Well done Neyjour!

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## Neyjour

Thanks Bogie.   :Smile:   Nothing fancy...just a very quick play-around with layers, darkness/contrast, and your cut pieces from Ryder Hook's grid.   :Smile:

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## aaronil

Good stuff Neyjor, your cracked tiles set is brilliant!  :Smile:  Mind if I use that as a base to work off of?

Did you change any layer modes to get the moss "nearer" to the floor, rather than how mine was floating?

Oh, and what's Ryder Hook's grid? Inquiring minds want to know!

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## Neyjour

Thanks aaronil, glad you liked those!  And yes, of course...use them as-is, mod them, or whatever you want.   :Smile: 

This is how I altered your tiles/moss in PSP8.  With the base tile, I changed the Brightness to -30 and contrast to 35.  Then Shadow to 35, Midtone to 25, and Highlight to 15.  Then laid the moss on top and changed the layer to Multiply with an Opacity of 60.  Then the Blend Channel: Grey Channel to This Layer 38.  Then duplicated the moss layer and changed it to Darken with an Opacity of 60.  Then laid the grid pieces on top, with the layer set to Difference.

Ryder Hook did an awesome hand drawn grid/grout, and Bogie cut some of it up into very convenient 4x4 and 1x1 pieces.  Here's the link to Bogie's downloads:  Ryder Hook's Grid Template Covers.  The link to the original grid is at the bottom of the first post.

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## aaronil

> Thanks aaronil, glad you liked those!  And yes, of course...use them as-is, mod them, or whatever you want.  
> 
> This is how I altered your tiles/moss in PSP8.  With the base tile, I changed the Brightness to -30 and contrast to 35.  Then Shadow to 35, Midtone to 25, and Highlight to 15.  Then laid the moss on top and changed the layer to Multiply with an Opacity of 60.  Then the Blend Channel: Grey Channel to This Layer 38.  Then duplicated the moss layer and changed it to Darken with an Opacity of 60.  Then laid the grid pieces on top, with the layer set to Difference.
> 
> Ryder Hook did an awesome hand drawn grid/grout, and Bogie cut some of it up into very convenient 4x4 and 1x1 pieces.  Here's the link to Bogie's downloads:  Ryder Hook's Grid Template Covers.  The link to the original grid is at the bottom of the first post.


Thanks! Bogie and Ryder Hook did some nice work, great to see how you all build on each others' projects!

Now I just have to figure out what the Blend Channel equivalent is in GIMP  :Question:

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## Hai-Etlik

> Thanks! Bogie and Ryder Hook did some nice work, great to see how you all build on each others' projects!
> 
> Now I just have to figure out what the Blend Channel equivalent is in GIMP


Well I don't know for sure what "Blend Channel" is, but at a guess, Colours -> Components -> Channel Mixer

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## aaronil

> Well I don't know for sure what "Blend Channel" is, but at a guess, Colours -> Components -> Channel Mixer


Yeah, thanks Hai-Etlik, I was thinking the same thing, but the "monochrome" option looked weird. I probably just need to fool around with it some more.

Btw I found an amazing image set by username Frost... http://fbrushes.com/transparent-vine-brushes/

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## Lukc

Cool stock  :Smile:  so much of it, in fact, that I got lost looking through it.

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## aaronil

> Cool stock  so much of it, in fact, that I got lost looking through it.


Yeah, I found out about FBrushes from a Wired article on the best sites for Photoshop brushes (which can be used with GIMP). Others included DeviantArt, Qbrushes, Brusheezy, Brush Portfolio, PSBrushes, Fractured Sanity, 500ml Brushes, GetBrushes, and MyPSLink.

I'm a bit torn on using all this work from others, but it seems like that's how it's done with CG art. I need to catch up with the times!  :Laughing:

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## aaronil

Here's my new base tiles using the tile set you posted Neyjour. Will be adding crawling vines and roots cracking tiles next.

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## Troedel

This gets me thinking, I like it. Perhaps the texture is a bit to small for 5´ tiles because it feels more like a medium scale overland map of a jungle area. Opinions?

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## Ettrick

I think that if the resolution were decreased in the greens it may look more like a fairly level ground cover.  The highlights in contrast to the darker tiles make some areas look quite high.  But I really like your aesthetic and direction with this project.

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## jtougas

This is really great work. I think Ettrick is right with regard to the fact that it could use some re-sizing. (although while I was looking at it I came up with 2 or 3 adventure hooks based on giant spiders and a very steamy jungle...) Keep up the incredible work I'm avidly watching  :Smile:

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## wisemoon

I really like what you are doing so far with this project, and I'm very excited about the idea itself! I want to put some particularly elvish ruins in my campaign, along with current elven construction (villages and towns built into the trees), so this concept is dear to my heart. I thought your concept sketches were pretty cool.

Will be watching this thread to see how your project progresses!

wisemoon

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