North America

[spoiler=North America Map][img]http://oi63.tinypic.com/xmr321.jpg[/img][/spoiler] [spoiler=with colour circles - adjacent numbers][img]http://oi64.tinypic.com/16090tj.jpg[/img][/spoiler] North America [i]Developed in the [url=https://dominating12.com/forums/3/map-creation/1803/map-dabble/post/41354#post-41354]Map Dabble[/url] thread[/i] Dimensions 1024 x 1024 Size: Large Regions: 14 Territories: 64 Recommended Players: 5-8

The map generally looks good. I don't think the mountains you chose are enhancing the map, in fact I feel they are hindering. I wasn't intending taking time out for the Mountain Kits, but because I finished Stage 1 of World Double last night and passed it to Bishop for review, I have a little time to give to mountains. I have made you a new type of mountain that will be in keeping with what you chose for your map. The new concept I used here is, I made the mountains in 3D artistic style, then erased all the mid tones, leaving a shadow and a highlight, which allows the background to be the mountain's fill colour. They are of course blended to transparent to blend them to your map. If you choose to use these, they are all on a transparent PNG so just marquee each one and copy and paste them as individual layers over the main land map, then resize and arrange them to give a perspective, erase any overlaps where a part of the layer image would be behind another, but shows through, until they look like a mountain range. I think you've already done it, but ensure that there are no Border or Divider Lines under where the mountains sit, because they not only look wrong, but are completely unnecessary, because the mountains are impassable and form their own Divider / Separator. I have placed a Demo here as well to show you how the background colour shows through to fill the mountains. I hope this helps. [img]http://www.the-inkstore.co.uk/map_resources/Tutorials/Mountains/no-mid-tones.png[/img] [img]http://www.the-inkstore.co.uk/map_resources/Tutorials/Mountains/no-mid-tones-demo.jpg[/img]

Nice mountain graphics aeron. .I also think mountains should extend North between BC & Alberta an between koyukuk an BC.. Just to look geographical correct..it could have a opening (mountain pass) or solid to create a division.

woah cool.

I forgot to say... to be able to use a Transparent PNG, you have to save it from above first, then open it in your Graphics Package, otherwise it will appear with a Black Background. You[b] can't[/b] just copy and paste it.

He will notice, trust me :D

Perhaps, but I like to help and save time if I can.

[spoiler=Mountain Edit][img]http://oi67.tinypic.com/qqu8hh.jpg[/img][/spoiler] Well this was a fun edit. added other ranges I could find lol

I like the way you artistically reduced the opacity in the North, allowing the frost effect to come through, plus it says intuitively, "I am not an impassable, I am eye candy" There are a couple of anomalies. The big mountain in Idaho, is a little overbearing and looks out of place, perhaps reduce that mountain by 10 - 20% [spoiler=2 other anomalies][img]http://www.the-inkstore.co.uk/map_resources/NA-edit1.jpg[/img] You will need to swap the mountain layer order at the lower circle, I think you'll see why. The upper one needs the shadow cutting off from where it crosses the highlight of the foreground mountain. [img]http://www.the-inkstore.co.uk/map_resources/NA-edit2.jpg[/img] There's a gap in the texture / land where the territory divider was, this bleeds through the mountain's transparency. The top arrow also shows a mountain that has been erased at the base, which got rid of the blend and makes it look like a cut-out, as well as there being the same issue with the removed divider showing through.[/spoiler] I assume you have trimmed the shadow blend on the mountains in California to allow for the circle? If so, I would leave the blends on there. If the circle is adjusted just a little it exposes a false look, plus when a circle is over detail it still looks fine. Tip* If you want to reduce the opacity of parts of a mountain image, it's fine, it simply gives the effect of mist, but it has to be done in a gradient so that it slowly disappears to nothing. If the erasing is sharp, it ruins the effect. I zoom in and use a really light Eraser setting (10%) working it so that the outer parts get more erasing. I know how difficult mountains are... there are so many layers and it's difficult to keep track of them all, but you need to keep them as separate layers (in a group) even after the map is finished, otherwise edits are really difficult. If you want to flatten / merge the mountains to one layer, ensure you keep the 6 mountain PNG as a separate layer / file, so that you can at least remake them the same if something goes wrong. When I was learning Photoshop the best lessons were my mistakes, such as not backing up layers and files.

[spoiler=Mountain edit][img]http://oi67.tinypic.com/o6chfo.jpg[/img][/spoiler] I didn't have structure as I tackled it, but I get ya now lol. Learn everything from lots of mistakes. Thank for tips. Mountain kit is cool.

That looks really good Hood.

Part of me hopes we're not going to see the same mountains everywhere. But I gotta admit, they are really good!

Now that is a really nice looking map Hoodlum.. My only critique would be..the mountains in Quebec are to the south east of where you have them...no biggy :) ..really crisp lookin Hood,awesome workmanship.

@Matty, I understand your concern. I must point out that these mountains were only made specifically for this map using a technique never used at D12 for me, as described in [url=https://dominating12.com/index.php/forums/3/map-creation/2601/north-america/post/41361#post-41361]Post #2[/url]. When the mountain Kits are made they will have a tremendous amount of variation in styles.

Mountains look very good. Only complain is four mountains that bug me, which are the northernmost two in the California-Nevada border, and the two that go much more left than the rest in the BC-Idaho Rockies. They are the same, and it looks like that. This doesn't apply to the rest of the mountains, they look very neat and clean. And not using a 3rd colour is something that I appreciate.