# Mapmaking Discussion & Philosophy (WIP/Critique) > Regional/World Mapping >  Riven - my work in progress

## SandmanNet

So, I didn't find a forum for works in progress, so I decided to post it here. Feel free to tell me how stupid I am for not finding where this was supposed to go.

I posted about my earlier, finished, Myst Maps in an earlier thread and got some positive feedback on the mountain shading. I myself doesn't like them very much though and I think the Stoneship map (the one with the boat in the rock) looks awful. I have been trying to improve with this with the Riven map (and I'm sure I'll re-visit those Myst maps to do the same there).

These are two images from two Riven islands; Temple Island and Jungle Island. If you've played the game, I'm sure you'll recognize them. They're made in Photoshop and I use a Wacom Cintiq to hand-draw pretty much all content.

The island outline is drawn on a layer and has the brownish color as an overlay. The shading, lighting and paths are clipping layers for that layer and both are set to blend with "overlay", so the colors blend in a more natural way.

I'd like some comments on the ridges and the shading and lighting of the mountain/hills. The Temple island (the one with the huge yellow dome) is a bit too noisy, and I realize this, I will probably redo the entire smaller island when I get the chance. It's so very time consuming this process.  :Smile: 

These are obviously in progress, and if you like I could post new progress images until they are done, if there is any interest. This is for my sake, however, since progress usually is swifter when there is some form of interest in said progress  :Smile:  Anyway, thanks in advance!  :Smile:

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## jtougas

Not stupid theres a LOT of stuff on these forums but there is WIP forums for each type of map  :Smile:  as I said earlier these are awesome!!  :Smile:

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## SandmanNet

Just a quick update. Temple island is a bit more complete now. Still a lot to do, but the stoney parts are soon done. Phew.  :Smile:

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## SandmanNet

I'll post this to a new thread as well, but I'll add it to this "in progress" thread first. This is the finished Temple Island map. Hope you think it's ok  :Smile: 

Is there any admin that could move this thread to Forum -> Mapmaking Discussion & Philosophy (WIP/Critique) -> Regional/World Mapping ??

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## SandmanNet

Ok, it wasn't quite done. It never is, is it?  :Smile: 

This is the final version (?)  :Smile:

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## Jaxilon

Awesome man, that looks so good. I like the changes you made. 

You know they say that a work of art is never finished until you take it away from the artist.  :Smile:   I have to force myself to stop a lot of the time and just walk away, hehe.

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## FeralBuddy

> Awesome man, that looks so good. I like the changes you made. 
> 
> You know they say that a work of art is never finished until you take it away from the artist.   I have to force myself to stop a lot of the time and just walk away, hehe.


So true!

Looks beautiful! How big does each square represent?

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## SandmanNet

> So true!
> 
> Looks beautiful! How big does each square represent?


I'd say about five meters (16' I suppose?)

The squares are actually integral to the game, where the location of the rotating dome (the small one in the upper part on an island of its own) is in one specific square of each map that relates to a puzzle you need to solve later in the game. The dome is large enough to fit one man inside of it, so I guess it's at least 3-4 meters in diameter, and the square is slightly larger, so...

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## SandmanNet

So I've been working some more on the Jungle island map, and the shading is a slooow process... I think I'm almost half-way done. Tell me what you think.

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## ravells

I love it. I had a go at trying to do your shading process and failed miserably....much more practice required!

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## SandmanNet

> I love it. I had a go at trying to do your shading process and failed miserably....much more practice required!


Why? it's not really hard, it's just slow. What went wrong?

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## ravells

It just looked awful....couldn't get my brain around light direction I think....I'll try again this weekend and post up my horrid work so you can tell me where I'm going wrong!

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## SandmanNet

> It just looked awful....couldn't get my brain around light direction I think....I'll try again this weekend and post up my horrid work so you can tell me where I'm going wrong!


Sure, that would be great. I'd love to help if I can!  :Smile:

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## SandmanNet

It may seem like nothing changes in between these progress shots, but there are several hours of work between each  :Smile:

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## del337er

So far this is looking incredible. The details of the rocks are topnotch, I can't wait to see how you do the forest!

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## SandmanNet

> So far this is looking incredible. The details of the rocks are topnotch, I can't wait to see how you do the forest!


I'm very weak with tress, I'm going to have come up with a technique I feel comfortable with. See the really lousy tress on this map (I have to redo these):



Basically, I want them to look hand-drawn and not too realistic, but I have no reference really. A forest is probably easier, but these are so up-close so you have to make out every separate tree. I'll keep you posted  :Smile:

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## Jaxilon

You might want to check out something like this.

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## SandmanNet

> You might want to check out something like this.


Hmmm, no not really. It looks too sketchy and I dislike copy and paste  :Smile:  Plus, these are conifer trees (in myst, not on jungle island). Hmmm

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## del337er

> Hmmm, no not really. It looks too sketchy and I dislike copy and paste  Plus, these are conifer trees (in myst, not on jungle island). Hmmm


Hmm, I do like the style of those trees though, having a perfect top view, so you only see a shaded circle/tree shape. Then you could have clusters of smaller and bigger trees to make it more realistic. No worries man, you got this!

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## Jaxilon

I'm not sure what you mean by copy/paste as I was figuring you would draw each one. The point is if you take a look around at some of the Architectural drawings that show trees you might be able to do something like them with your own twist. That's just the first one I found on the net. You could also go to google earth and zoom in somewhere that has a tree and just draw that. Just some ideas that might get you going in a direction you like. Based on the rest of your work I am sure you will conquer this however you do it.

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## SandmanNet

> I'm not sure what you mean by copy/paste as I was figuring you would draw each one. The point is if you take a look around at some of the Architectural drawings that show trees you might be able to do something like them with your own twist. That's just the first one I found on the net. You could also go to google earth and zoom in somewhere that has a tree and just draw that. Just some ideas that might get you going in a direction you like. Based on the rest of your work I am sure you will conquer this however you do it.


Yeah, I didn't mean to sound unappreciative  :Smile: 

Yeah, using GE is a good idea!

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## Jaxilon

No worries man, I look forward to seeing what you come up with for them.

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## SandmanNet

So, I went back to Myst island and tried to make the tress look a bit more like I would like to have them. This is the result. I am attaching both the first and the new version of the Island (the first is the one without the paper background).

I would very much like to have some comments on the trees now. I think they look ok, maybe a bit too realistic. They are made by hand though and by using scattering on a PS brush but each tree is drawn independently.  :Smile: 

The idea is that if I find a method or look that I like I will also use it on the Jungle island map that I am working on. I think these are a bit too green for that map, but then again, maybe not. I'll probably add a more brownish tone to them regardless.

So, let me know what you think!

(One a sidenote, I'm having severe problems adding attachements to my posts...)

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## Ascension

The only thing I can say is about color.  You might want to use something a little more yellowish.  Say like you're looking at the color slider on the square RGB picker (black at the bottom, white in top left, color in top right), take it down a little more towards yellow and then maybe darker and grayer as well.  It's purely subjective and maybe you like them more vivid than I do so it's up to you, really.

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## moutarde

Well, I notice that most of the objects (buildings, boats, roads, etc) have dark outlines on them, while your trees are looking more realistic (looks like a very faint outer glow, or maybe just a soft brush?).  You might just need to draw an outline for the trees, and use your scatter brush to fill them and use the outlines as a mask.

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## SandmanNet

> Well, I notice that most of the objects (buildings, boats, roads, etc) have dark outlines on them, while your trees are looking more realistic (looks like a very faint outer glow, or maybe just a soft brush?).  You might just need to draw an outline for the trees, and use your scatter brush to fill them and use the outlines as a mask.


Good point! Thanks!

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## SandmanNet

> The only thing I can say is about color.  You might want to use something a little more yellowish.  Say like you're looking at the color slider on the square RGB picker (black at the bottom, white in top left, color in top right), take it down a little more towards yellow and then maybe darker and grayer as well.  It's purely subjective and maybe you like them more vivid than I do so it's up to you, really.


Yeah, the colors can always be tweaked. Myst island is a bit more green and lush than you'd normally expect. Here's a overview render from the original game: http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/0...rden_super.jpg

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## SandmanNet

Here's an update to the Myst Island map where I've outlined the trees slightly.

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## moutarde

Oh yeah, those trees look much nicer now  :Smile:

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## Jaxilon

There you have it....your own style of architectural type trees. I like em  :Smile:

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## SandmanNet

> There you have it....your own style of architectural type trees. I like em


Yeah, maybe I was influenced? I don't know  :Smile:  I think I like them also  :Smile:

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## SandmanNet

> Oh yeah, those trees look much nicer now


Thanks for the suggestion!  :Smile:

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## del337er

Wow I missed the update on this one, but the final product is truly incredible. I hope one day I can draw that good.

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## SandmanNet

> Wow I missed the update on this one, but the final product is truly incredible. I hope one day I can draw that good.


You're too kind. But thanks! I'll be working to consolidate the "styles" of all maps, so that rock shading and trees look uniform on them all.

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## Gidde

This is looking really great. Is that your handwriting or a font?

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## SandmanNet

> This is looking really great. Is that your handwriting or a font?


That's my handwriting. I'm using a font in the books obviously, but in the maps, it's my handwriting.

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## SandmanNet

Just wanted to share the latest update. Put in several hours and the rock shading is pretty much all done now. I've done the water and the forest as well.

Let me know what you think!  :Smile:

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## Gidde

That rock style is just stunning. I really like the color palette too  :Smile:

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## SandmanNet

> That rock style is just stunning. I really like the color palette too


Thanks man  :Smile:

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## del337er

Woww, that is completely incredible :O

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## SandmanNet

> Woww, that is completely incredible :O


Wow, thanks  :Smile:

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## SandmanNet

I'll add the finished Jungle Island Map to this thread as well, so it's easy to see the progress.  :Smile:  I posted a new thread about it here

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## SandmanNet

Haha, well here is a progress image of Boiler Island! This is just the very first sketch, the outline is done and I've sketched some of the basic features and started slightly on the rock shading. I did a video recording of the first steps and I thought I'd stitch together a video of the entire progress of the map when it's done, recording small snippets with comments along the way, anyone of guys interested in something like that?

Anyway, this island is formed from a meteor strike (or at least, it looks like it was) and has a very blue lake in the middle. It's the island with the fewest items on it, and most of it is inaccessible in the game. It plays a crucial role however. The basics of the island is that the chopped up trees from Jungle Island are transported here and used in a boiler (hence the nickname of the island) that makes paper mass which is turned into special books in the lab. The basics of these are sketched in, but will obviously look better in the finished product  :Smile: 

Anyway, too much talk here!

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## del337er

So far is looks great! I can't wait to see more.

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## Gidde

> I did a video recording of the first steps and I thought I'd stitch together a video of the entire progress of the map when it's done, recording small snippets with comments along the way, anyone of guys interested in something like that?


Yes.  :Smile:  Ugh, too short to post. Yes, *please*.  :Smile:

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## SandmanNet

Nothing fancy has happened. I've worked on the rock shading some more. This island is going to be a BITCH when it comes to rock shading. Sigh  :Smile: 

Laid out the paths and access ways to and off the island. Will be adding structures as well. As I mentioned earlier, there isn't much on this island to begin with.

Anyway, here it is.

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## WestWind

Wow, very cool maps from a game (and series) I absolutely adore. Not that you have to take this suggestion, but if you could somehow integrate D'ni numbers into the maps (maybe as notations, etc.), that would really add some lore and even more authenticity.

Beautiful work  :Smile:

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## Terminator X

Very nice....makes me want to play Myst now!

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## SandmanNet

> Wow, very cool maps from a game (and series) I absolutely adore. Not that you have to take this suggestion, but if you could somehow integrate D'ni numbers into the maps (maybe as notations, etc.), that would really add some lore and even more authenticity.
> 
> Beautiful work


Well, if you read the books ( http://sandman.net/myst ), specifically the Riven book, you will see some D'ni numbers there. Basically, the D'ni number system has just been discovered by the Stranger in my journals, so he isn't very proficient with it, yet.  :Smile:

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## SandmanNet

So, progress is SLOW. Partly because it's all rock shading now and that is booooring, but also because my inspiration about the Myst Book has its ups and down and currently it is not so high. But I took the time to continue with the Boiler Island map today and here is how it looks now. Not much have happened, but still  :Smile: 

I can also plug the fact that I've created a site for the Myst Books now. Instead of having them on my homepage. Gave me the chance to give it another design. You can find it at http://myst.sandman.net  :Smile:

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## SandmanNet

Yeah, rock shading this island is a bitch, and I'm doing it bit by bit nowand then, which is why it's coming along so slowly. Also, as I said, inspiration has gone down the drain for the last year or so. THe canvas is 5000x5000 pixels, so that's another reason for why it takes so long. 

Either way, here is some more progress on the Boiler Island.

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## Lukc

I feel your pain ... but keep at it and you shall prevail.  :Smile:

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## bartmoss

Fwiw: It does look awesome.

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## DevinNight

Love looking at your work. I went down and dug out my Myst games, but haven't had a chance to see if they will run on my WIN7 machine. I'll consider installing a virtual WINXP drive to play these when my girls are just a bit older. I'd love it if they re-released the entire set to run on MAC/Windows. Heck making them run on a Tablet would be even cooler.

Anyway, your map work is great.

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## SandmanNet

Phew! At last! The basic shading of the island is now done. I will make a pass with highlights and then begin with the island details. This has taken more than a year! Not actual time, but it's been a bitch!  :Smile:  Hope you at least like it  :Smile:

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## Freodin

You are absolutely and undeniably crazy!  :Wink: 

But who says crazy people cannot create great works of art? Looks quite good as yet... waiting to see how you will go on. Hopefully this won't take another year.

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## Schwarzkreuz

your shading style is amazing. I havent tried this perspective, and well it realy looks like a lot of work.

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## arsheesh

Oh my my, now this is just lovely!  I can see how it would have taken you some time.  Keep at it though, I want to see more!

Cheers,
-Arsheesh

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## SandmanNet

> You are absolutely and undeniably crazy! 
> 
> But who says crazy people cannot create great works of art? Looks quite good as yet... waiting to see how you will go on. Hopefully this won't take another year.


Crazy? For handshading this island? Well, I'm inclined to agree, but hey, it has to be done!  :Smile:

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## SandmanNet

> your shading style is amazing. I havent tried this perspective, and well it realy looks like a lot of work.


Wow, thanks for the kind words!

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## SandmanNet

> Oh my my, now this is just lovely!  I can see how it would have taken you some time.  Keep at it though, I want to see more!


Thank you! Yes, now that the base shading is finally done, I can start adding details to the island, so progress should be speedier now  :Smile:

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## SandmanNet

A base pass of highlighting done. NOW I can start adding details  :Smile:  I'll send along a 100% shot of the map to show you how rough it is in full zoom  :Smile:

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## vorropohaiah

Those rocks are gorgeous! Great stuff. And 100% done by hand?

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## Lukc

It looks very good and detailed - authentic and, as others have said, well-shaded. However, hand shading is quite the labour of love, no? I've always found it almost ... devotional ... in the patience and zen-like flow state it requires.

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## SandmanNet

> Those rocks are gorgeous! Great stuff. And 100% done by hand?


Well, they are done with a Wacom Cintiq in Photoshop, but not computer generated no.  :Smile:

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## SandmanNet

> It looks very good and detailed - authentic and, as others have said, well-shaded. However, hand shading is quite the labour of love, no? I've always found it almost ... devotional ... in the patience and zen-like flow state it requires.


Well, this particular map, has been a literal bitch to shade... It's just so damn much, and so long slopes that makes it just tedious. BUt when I'm not exhausted by it, it definately is something meditative over it. Listening to music and shading away. The best part is working in 100% and now and then zoom out and see the complete island and seeing that it's actually looks like an island  :Smile:

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## SandmanNet

A bit of an update here. I'd say this map is about 80% done  :Smile:

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## SandmanNet

Yes, I think this is done now! What do you guys think?

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## ravells

Good to see you back, Sandman!

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## SandmanNet

> Good to see you back, Sandman!


Thanks!  :Smile:

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## Schwarzkreuz

Wonderfull rendering, but the grid is anoying, and so rough aboth your initial map.

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## SandmanNet

> Wonderfull rendering, but the grid is anoying, and so rough aboth your initial map.


Yes, I agree. The grid is important, it's an integral part of a puzzle in the game, but it was a bit too rough and large. I have nice made it with thinner lines. Thanks for the suggestion!

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## SandmanNet

Basic shading is done for Survey Island for my Riven maps series. Now, the details...

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## Sharpes

Love the shading and the background image SandmanNet.  :Smile:

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## Nathan

Nice one Sandman. The details are pretty good !

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## SandmanNet

> Love the shading and the background image SandmanNet.


Thank you!

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## SandmanNet

> Nice one Sandman. The details are pretty good !


Thank you! But I haven't really started with the details yet. Only shading of the rock surfaces is done for now. I'll post when it comes a long a bit further  :Smile:

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## SandmanNet

I had to remake the entire outline since I had it wrong, bleh

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