Underdark Waterfall, Adept (Patreon)

Hello Adepts! This week's map is the Underdark Waterfall (25x30), and your alternate  version is a funky green recoloring and relighting that I'm calling the Cavern Waterfall. I think this one has a sorta jungle-y feel to it, and perhaps also gives the impression that there might be openings in the ceiling of the cavern for sunlight to filter through. Either way, it's a nice multi-purpose map that should fill the gaps in many adventures!

1. Underground maps are tricky, waterfall maps are tricky, multi-level mountain maps are tricky, and this is all three. I suppose I did it to myself, but I didn't have any other ideas for how this one would play out. 

I guess the biggest issue was I decided that it would be important that the entire waterfall is visible. As someone who makes these maps for a living, I have a few opinions about them. One of which is that waterfalls rarely look like waterfalls when seen from above, so you have to kinda play around with perspective in order for them to feel right, and even so it still won't look quite right. I suppose this was my attempt at that issue, and I would rate myself a solid B, try harder next time. 

2. I wanted to reuse old rock walls so badly, but I couldn't find anything that fit this map's wacky perspective. Unfortunately, the perspective didn't get any less wacky as I kept drawing, and by the time I was finished with the rock walls it was already Thursday and I didn't have time to make the major adjustments that would make this feel less dizzying. This is why I say that caves and multi-level mountain maps are tricky, top-down perspective bounces off of them if you try to get too fancy. 

How would I fix it? I'd start over and forget that this is an underground map, imitating the design and lighting of the Winding Mountainside Trail. It's not a perfect map, but at least your eye doesn't get confused as you follow the walls. 

3. Underground lighting has always been a puzzle for me, but it's been easier since I've decided to make the water glow slightly for the Underground Lake map. Doing this provides a nice range of light and shadow, and it contrasts very nicely with the flat lit rock walls and ground. I do think I might have failed to imitate the style of the Underground Lake by adding a little too much glow and not enough contrast, but it's a solid impression that will set a good example for further explorations in this environment.