Snowy Winter Outpost, Adept & Expert (Patreon)

Welcome back Adepts/Experts! This week's alternate map is a snowier, bluer, and more claustrophobic version of the Winter Outpost, and of course I included versions of this one with the campfires lit. It just seems a shame to make a winter map without a bunch of snow, but I don't think I want the main version of the map to be so busy with added effects. I like to think of this version as the core Winter Outpost though as it's what I had in mind when I sketched it out, so you lucky folks get the 'real' version! Neat.

1. The idea for this one is simple- a little wintery outpost/camp with simple fortifications and a tactically sound location. With the river cutting off the approach to the walls and the mountainside behind the camp, I'd say this is a pretty damn safe place to shack up. 

The outpost itself however was somewhat tricky to design. Honestly, I wasn't too sure what exactly an outpost is and what makes it different than a camp. After some research I came to the conclusion that an outpost can be many things, so I decided not to sweat it. Essentially, my idea of an outpost is a somewhat built-up camp, not necessarily associated with a military, but in a forward location somewhere in the wilds. They're the stables from Breath of the Wild more or less- a safe place to make camp, perhaps in the company of other travelers looking for safety from a storm.

2. It was tempting to take the tents from one of my older maps, but I've changed my line quality a little too much for me to be comfortable with that. Tents are so easy and quick to draw, but you have to love the thrill of not having to draw something again. I did take the wagons/barrels/crates from last week's Mining Caves map and the bushes from Riverside Ruins, so at least I got some satisfaction there ;)

Snow, as it turns out, is still tricky for me to draw- I really want to add detail to that cold white stuff but it just doesn't need it. Less is more, just get the idea of texture across, blablabla. It doesn't take as long as grass but at least I know where I stand with grass. 

3. Ok, so I went a different direction with the coloring this time. I went much, much more subdued with the palette, using almost an entirely new set of colors, though they're all spin-offs of those used in Winter Ruins (my only other winter map). I'm not sure how I feel about these colors yet, I tend to lean towards more vibrant and brighter palettes, but at least it feels appropriate for this map to be a little more gray. I'll do some soul-searching and come back to this.