Autumn Forest Outcrop, Adept & Expert (Patreon)

Howdy, Adepts/Experts! Your alt map this week is another Autumnal version, hot off the heels of Riverside Ruins (my first autumnal alt map I actually liked). The two should lead into one another perfectly well for a series of fall-themed encounters on the road, though admittedly these would probably do slightly better as somewhat spooky Halloween-y maps.

1. As always with my forest road maps, I try my very best not to make each one too similar but since they're all made by the same artist they tend to look pretty reminiscent of each other. I think after this I'll stray away from these as my fallback 'between polls' maps, though that isn't to say I won't just cut the roads and make them entirely forested. In fact, I will be doing another map of my choice next week so maybe I'll see about making something a little different- a desert or winter map perhaps.

2. I know I'm starting to sound like a broken record but I truly am happy with the way I've been drawing rock walls, especially the ones that trail off. Out of everything I draw for my maps, they're both my least favorite to draw (due to how long it takes) and one of the best parts of my finished maps. I think I should probably take that as a hint that my grass/trees need some workshopping to get up to par, rather than sitting back and congratulating myself on how cool the rock walls look. 

3. I've been finding my coloring and shading to be a little grating recently, the end result not being as satisfying to look at as it used to be. The maps I always return to as examples are Pagan Altar and Forest Clearing, two maps with simple and satisfying lighting that I struggle to replicate. I suspect this is because I've begun using higher contrast in my maps, with a wider range of brightness between the center and edges of my maps. I do think that my newer maps look more balanced, but I still enjoy the look of my older maps.