I've started to post my 'stripped down' versions of the FR Maps, because I think they could be of some aid to the 4e DMs out there.
I'm still upset about my recent banning, but I know D&D players should be sticking together through these unsure times...
Damn... I'm starting to sound like a presidential candidate.
Anyhow, until I'm in the mood to work on 4e again (if ever), I will be releasing these over the next two weeks so everyone at least has something to work with.
I've spent the last two years building up an impressive array of tools like terrain sets, custom brushes and vector graphics, and just a VERY steady hand.
And yes, its all done in Photoshop, and in many places (like mountains) I am forced to 'correct' the background one pixel at a time.
Its a labor of love.
Two things - I start out with the official 3e map, which I thought was the best fantasy RPG map I've ever seen. Almost everything I do in Faerûn proper is just a modified version of that. Outside of Faerûn is mostly me, but I do a lot of pasting from the official one (especially mountains, which are tedious as hell to do freehand).
Secondly, I've been asked MANY times for copies of all my tools, terrains, and brushes...
Don't.
I take custom requests (as long as they are not like "do a whole planet for me"), and I try to provide everything a DM would need to run a good game, but everything I've created tool-wise is mine, and it took me a long time to do, and I feel like I'm just providing 'shortcuts' for people who want the "easy way out".
Take it from me - the tools are only half of it - you need to devlop both a steady hand and a good eye to get them looking halfway decent, and you're not going to be able to do that by 'jumping right in'. It was fiddling with PS and building all those tools that gave me the skills to use them. Its akin to me handing you all the parts for a car and then asking you to build me a Ferrarri.
If you're serious about Fantasy Map-Making, I learned a LOT from this guy at Zombie Nirvana - its the best basic how-to for cartography using PS I've seen. You should start there, and then build your own set of tools - everybody does things a little differently, and PS gives you dozens of options to accomplish the same things, so its best if you develop a way of working that suits your style (not mine).
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
Take it from me - the tools are only half of it - you need to devlop both a steady hand and a good eye to get them looking halfway decent, and you're not going to be able to do that by 'jumping right in'. It was fiddling with PS and building all those tools that gave me the skills to use them. Its akin to me handing you all the parts for a car and then asking you to build me a Ferrarri.
Yeah, but there are skilled mechanics who can build that Ferrari for you even if they didn't build the parts themselves... they just buy their tools and learn to use them properly.
Some people are like a slinky... not good for much, but when you push them down the stairs, it makes you smile.
This is such a great idea and as ever MarkusTay's maps are amazing.
Can we (I) get one for Waterdeep and environs please? PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZE?
I'm not saying I wouldn't love to see MarkusTay give us a map of Waterdeep, but there's one already out there in PDF format... I believe it's available on this site, but I don't have the link. Wooly? Sage? Anyone? Hang on a sec... I'll check after I post.
Edit: I can't find that map on this site now, but if you were looking for a map of the Sword Coast North, rather than Waterdeep the city, there are a couple of them out there. Of course, I'd be willing to hold out for one from MarkusTay too... and he should have that area reasonably well detailed for us already, given its location.
Playing in the Realms since the Old Grey Box (1987)... and *still* having fun with material published before 2008, despite the NDA'd lore.
If it's comparable in power with non-magical abilities, it's not magic.
I'm not saying I wouldn't love to see MarkusTay give us a map of Waterdeep, but there's one already out there in PDF format... I believe it's available on this site, but I don't have the link. Wooly? Sage? Anyone? Hang on a sec... I'll check after I post.
Edit: I can't find that map on this site now, but if you were looking for a map of the Sword Coast North, rather than Waterdeep the city, there are a couple of them out there. Of course, I'd be willing to hold out for one from MarkusTay too... and he should have that area reasonably well detailed for us already, given its location.
Sorry, I should have been more specific.
I meant an unlabelled map of the environs around the city of Waterdeep, not the city itself, including the Sword mountains, the High Road, the Long Road, Ardeep Forest, the Mere of Dead Men - all that kind of stuff.
If you're serious about Fantasy Map-Making, I learned a LOT from this guy at Zombie Nirvana - its the best basic how-to for cartography using PS I've seen. You should start there, and then build your own set of tools - everybody does things a little differently, and PS gives you dozens of options to accomplish the same things, so its best if you develop a way of working that suits your style (not mine).
Thank you very much for that link Mark, that is something that I've wondered (I had wondered about your mountain lines, and I see how that works now). Wow, just wow. I'd really like to learn to do that (My work's usually done in Fireworks or Gimp, so it's a little... weaker).
All in all, I understand a bit more of how things work, and I'm glad you posted that. I'll still stand in awe of your work, but I'm happy to say that I might be attempting something sooner or later
/d
"These people are my family, not just friends, and if you want to get to them you gotta go through ME."
OT: Jakk, your sigs are making it very difficult for me to read these pages quietly. Perhaps it is time to ask Ed about the great comics of Toril (in the real Realms, that is).
I have a mouth, but I am in a library and must not scream.
I meant an unlabelled map of the environs around the city of Waterdeep, not the city itself, including the Sword mountains, the High Road, the Long Road, Ardeep Forest, the Mere of Dead Men - all that kind of stuff.
There is one in the City of Splendors FORGOTTEN REALMS® Web Enhancement: Environs of Waterdeep. It is free for download from WotC.
I meant an unlabelled map of the environs around the city of Waterdeep, not the city itself, including the Sword mountains, the High Road, the Long Road, Ardeep Forest, the Mere of Dead Men - all that kind of stuff.
There is one in the City of Splendors FORGOTTEN REALMS® Web Enhancement: Environs of Waterdeep. It is free for download from WotC.
I meant an unlabelled map of the environs around the city of Waterdeep, not the city itself, including the Sword mountains, the High Road, the Long Road, Ardeep Forest, the Mere of Dead Men - all that kind of stuff.
There is one in the City of Splendors FORGOTTEN REALMS® Web Enhancement: Environs of Waterdeep. It is free for download from WotC.
Thanks. I knew about that one and really, really don't like it. It's all squishy and the dimensions seem wrong and I'm sure things aren't labeled quite right, and I KNOW that Mr MarkusTay Esq. would do a much better job of it, plus it would be completely free of labels which is what I'm after.
Sorry I haven't posted anything new - I've had a REALLY BAD toothache for the past week, and it's giving me a migraine, and making it impossible for me to concentrate.
Its gone now, so I'll be banging some more stuff out shortly.
A text-free map of the north, you say? Hmmmmm....
quote:Originally posted by Jamallo Kreen
Markustay, would you please post a "universal" symbol key for your maps? F'rinstance, what do the dashed lines mean, the poxy green areas, etc.?
Sorry... I had one up, but then I too it down when I took down everything Else.
Mind you - In Faerûn, "Main Road" simply means a VERY well known and widely used trail, with towns and Inns along the route, but it is almost NEVER paved and rarely patroled in most places.
In Kara-Tur, ALL Main Roads ARE paved, and patrolled regularly by the Empire (except down in T'u Lung, where the patrols are anything but raegular, and usually corrupt).
Minor roads are just that, and never paved (except, perhaps where they pass through towns), and trails usually only extend through mountains (though not always), and are sometimes arduous to travel, especially during the Winter Months.
I've also changed the 'bear paw' symbol from meaning 'Menhir/Druid Circle' to just Holy Site (because that makes more sense in the east, where it will indicate a Hermitage, Shrine, or Pilgrimage site). It is still more of a 'natural' holy place, rather then man-made (although one or two small structures may be present).
Hope that Helps --- Mark
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
No-one complained - it was in protest to my unfair banning (because I dared to use the word 'errata').
However, I realized that that was probably what they wanted (for me to just "go away"), and it only hurts the fan community, so I will be slowly replacing them all with newer versions. The only thing I refuse to do at this point is release any 4e versions, and I had a very nice one of Returned Abeir almost complete. I refuse to help them develop their new product line because of the banning.
In the meantime, all of the complete maps are available here in the CK maproom - the ones at DeviantART were mostly just WIPs anyway, and Alaundo is gracious enough to host the finished ones here.
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
No-one complained - it was in protest to my unfair banning (because I dared to use the word 'errata').
However, I realized that that was probably what they wanted (for me to just "go away"), and it only hurts the fan community, so I will be slowly replacing them all with newer versions. The only thing I refuse to do at this point is release any 4e versions, and I had a very nice one of Returned Abeir almost complete. I refuse to help them develop their new product line because of the banning.
In the meantime, all of the complete maps are available here in the CK maproom - the ones at DeviantART were mostly just WIPs anyway, and Alaundo is gracious enough to host the finished ones here.
Well met
Always a pleasure, Markystay, always a pleasure.
Candlekeep will always be a home to thy wonderous work for as long as ye wish.
Markustay, could you publish your maps in PDF format with different text and graphics layers. These maps would be easier to print (more scalable), easy to translate the place names to the other languages, or exchange some place names by word puzzles for the players.
Markustay, you can simply install a PDF printer (Bullzip PDF Printer, PrimoPDF, Adobe PDF Printer, Nitro PDF...), and thanks to it directly "print" your Photoshop works to PDF files.
New Map Series from me
Posted - 10 Oct 2008 : 04:16:33
