JanBoruta's Map and Icon Workshop

[Irkalla]

Also, I can critique a few more of your icons. I tend to follow basic rules of vexillology and heraldry when I make my icons, and this gives me a bone to pick with your Akkadian icon.

A charge should NEVER be presented from a composite point of view. Either face on, chest on, or something. But never from a composite perspective.

Also, here, have this PSD. You can see I have like 2 or 3 icons going on at the same time.

Also, here is my formula for an icon. You should originally place your logo so that it's properly centered in your icon, and that it touches the outside ring without intruding too much into its area. The logo should then be scaled to 80%. For alpha icons, it should start out filling the entire area, and then scaled to roughly 70%. It's worth noting that alpha icons will be off center. It's advisable not to correct for this, as the icons already present in the game suffer from this as well. Especially obvious with radially symmetric logos.

 

[janboruta]

Utterly fantastic!

I feel I'm getting better at making maps (which also lets me go back and update my old ones) but I'm still nowhere near your level. I'm quite proud of how the Almohad map is shaping up, though. You also make fantastic icons. I can do the civ icons relatively well but seem to have no ability with unit/building/leader buttons no matter how many times I try.

You are learning surprisingly fast how to make the maps (Kievan Rus was very good, but the map for Garamantes was just great!). And all the unit, leader and building icons are hand-drawn, usually painted over a composition of reference pictures. It's particularly helpful when choosing poses for characters.

P.S. I might borrow your Israel at some point in the future

There was a mod adding Israel, but it seems a bit abandoned. You can still fill the vacuum then

Also, I can critique a few more of your icons. I tend to follow basic rules of vexillology and heraldry when I make my icons, and this gives me a bone to pick with your Akkadian icon.

This is because I tried to emulate the icon that was present in Akkadian mod. It was just an upgraded copy - all my other icons follow the rule you mentioned And thank you for the file and the formula! I'll certainly train on it and make icons of obscure countries just for fun.

 

[Irkalla]

There was a mod adding Israel, but it seems a bit abandoned. [Tomatekh] can still fill the vacuum then

The gauntlet has been thrown the gently caress down.

Also, what I did to make the sheen over the icon, I take and make a circular selection, then offset it to the left, and make a gradient from white to zero transparency.

 

[ArnoldI]

Tomatekh, I'm really happy to see this map, Janboruta has amazing works, and this fits perfectly the mod.

The cities' names just need to be changed, but everything except to this is perfect.

 

[Tomatekh]

You are learning surprisingly fast how to make the maps (Kievan Rus was very good, but the map for Garamantes was just great!). And all the unit, leader and building icons are hand-drawn, usually painted over a composition of reference pictures. It's particularly helpful when choosing poses for characters.

There was a mod adding Israel, but it seems a bit abandoned. You can still fill the vacuum then

Thanks, I am always glad to hear your feedback on my progress.

Actually, I was just looking at my Garamantes map to try and update it a bit. I really like that map as well, but I still feel the style I made it in doesn't completely mesh with the rest of the maps; I highlighted the other major political powers, it's kind of a bright map, and the map still seems a bit empty. I'm going to try and dirty it up a bit and change the paper texture. Maybe find an image to overlay on the water.

Yeah, I figured all your icons were hand-drawn. I've been trying to do the same but not exactly my area of expertise. I actually made all the icons for the Garmantes mod myself, editing images in Gimp. I think they look good, but only in the smaller resolutions. The method I worked out leaves them too blurry in the 256 and 128 size.

 

[Tomatekh]

There was a mod adding Israel, but it seems a bit abandoned. You can still fill the vacuum then

The gauntlet has been thrown the gently caress down.

There are two Israel mods actually. Both are very good, just not exactly what I would do with the civ. I know isnorden has also been wanting a more finished version of Israel as well. I actually like seeing multiple authors release the same civ, though. The abilities are usually very different, and it's nice to see different takes on the same civ.

I usually edit most civ mods I download to better fit with my own mods, anyway. I'll probably use a bunch of your maps in my own personal versions that I don't really intend to release publicly (maybe someday down the line I'll include them in a big mega-mod with the original author's permission).

 

[Barathor]

And all the unit, leader and building icons are hand-drawn, usually painted over a composition of reference pictures. It's particularly helpful when choosing poses for characters.

Ooh, do you use a tablet? If so, what kind? I’ve wanted to get a nice-sized Wacom tablet so I’m able to actually draw/paint on the PC instead of just manipulating images with filters/effects and doing only minor amounts of brush work. I don’t have the patience with a mouse!

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Also, I have only one small thing to critique in an otherwise amazing collection of artwork. The starbursts behind the objects in your portraits are a bit flat looking (straight lines drawn with the brush) and perhaps a bit too blurry at times.

I think they can really enhance the overall images even more if painted more like the game’s default art, with rays that expand from the center point and have more dramatic lighting/shading. The 3D effect of the starburst also conveys more movement and/or makes the portrait more dramatic and explosive.

Overall, the locations of the starburst center points and direction are very nice. My favorite is the Teutonic Knight! Not only does it look awesome, but I really like where you’ve chosen to center the starburst. It makes it feel like there’s a lot of power behind his arm as he’s pulling back to swing the sword.

Also, perhaps you’ve chosen to blur the rays that much so that your main subject contrasts it more and is focused upon more. I think if you’ve changed the backgrounds to a starburst and applied a subtle outer glow to the main subject, you’ll still maintain a nice focus on them and separate them more from the busier background.

Though, I also really love that bit of background glow that you apply to the subject. It really has a nice effect. The Wehrmacht Infantry is a great example of that with the orange light applied to it. Perhaps, that alone could take the place of the outer glow – especially in darker backgrounds.

Anyway, that’s all. I hope you don’t mind a little constructive criticism – I just want these beautiful icons (or future ones) to be perfect because they’re very near to it!

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And, Irkalla, thank you very much for sharing your logo template and explaining it! Those logos look really sharp.

 

[cool3a2]

Nice work here! I'm currently working on a Hungary mod for civ5. I'm basically done, just need to translate some texts to english and design the trait that I'll use (red gold). I already have some artwork done and reusing stuff from a previous mod by Kabcsi. Yet I'm not fully satisfied, for example my icon do not blend over to the ring well. Well, they are fair enough for temporary use. Still, would you recreate them for me? What I would need is the following:
- icon for the civ (I have something special in mind already, I could provide you my artwork to start from or to get the idea at least)
- icon for the leader
- DOM picture (maybe a composition of the parliament, the leader and paprika)
- maybe a map picture (I found the map of Austria kind of politically incorrect, so I'd like some map that does not show simply Greater Hungary, but is more focused on the ethnic map - which would still be larger than the modern day borders)
- icons for huszár uu (will request a colour change of the unit elsewhere) and végvár ub

As I also prepare an Austria bugfix that replaces the hussar with kuk infantry (at least I'm currently planning to use the infantry instead and again, I'll request the unit itself elsewhere), I would also like to have an icon for that uu.

 

[Alexastor]

This is jaw-dropping.

I stopped CiV modding because I'm a perfectionist, and I couldn't make perfect icons, which saddened me. And your icons are perfect. I'm really considering coming back

 

[janboruta]

I'll probably use a bunch of your maps in my own personal versions that I don't really intend to release publicly (maybe someday down the line I'll include them in a big mega-mod with the original author's permission).

That would be completely awesome.

Ooh, do you use a tablet? If so, what kind? I’ve wanted to get a nice-sized Wacom tablet so I’m able to actually draw/paint on the PC instead of just manipulating images with filters/effects and doing only minor amounts of brush work.

I have a Wacom Intuos 4S (A6 size, but it's sufficient for me so far). It's a reliable weapon with a good price/quality ratio. Intuos 5 is said to be of lesser quality than 4.

Also about the light rays in my icons - I've decided they are dramatic enough for me and I have no intention of making them more contrasting. Also, they are blurred so they don't take the attention away from the building/unit/leader. I think you're right that those rays need a bit more depth and I will try to improve this area. But I dislike the sharp rays and will keep mine blurred.

What I would need is the following:
- icon for the civ (I have something special in mind already, I could provide you my artwork to start from or to get the idea at least)
- icon for the leader
- DOM picture (maybe a composition of the parliament, the leader and paprika)
- maybe a map picture (I found the map of Austria kind of politically incorrect, so I'd like some map that does not show simply Greater Hungary, but is more focused on the ethnic map - which would still be larger than the modern day borders)
- icons for huszár uu (will request a colour change of the unit elsewhere) and végvár ub

Hello! I would be happy to work on Hungary for you, but please be patient and wait until Christmas. I'm not taking any more Civ commissions until then, due to many school assignments and paid illustrations. I will add Hungary for you to my list of things to do, and when I'm ready I will send you a pm to ask about details of art to do.

This is jaw-dropping.

I stopped CiV modding because I'm a perfectionist, and I couldn't make perfect icons, which saddened me. And your icons are perfect. I'm really considering coming back

Thank you! I don't think my icons are perfect, but if you like them, then I'm happy. If you wanted something to draw for you, remember that I'm more than busy until Christmas/New Year.

 

[cool3a2]

Sure, I can wait! Thanks for taking the request! Good to see that there are still Poles around helping Hungary

 

[Alexastor]

Thank you! I don't think my icons are perfect, but if you like them, then I'm happy. If you wanted something to draw for you, remember that I'm more than busy until Christmas/New Year.

I don't even know whether I have the time and I work pretty slowly, and I'd wait months to get an icon from you

 

[Irkalla]

Negotiate Peace.

We still have business to settle.

 

[trystero49]

Wow, these are fantastic.

 

[mrc2022]

Excellent work

 

[janboruta]

A new post! WOW!

Sorry everyone for lack of updates. I've been working a little bit on all the Civ 5 art requested in 2012, but I have nothing finalised yet. This is due to excessive amount of school work I am dealing with until next weekend and especially until February 1st, when I have my final exam of this semester. As I have a lot of creative work at school to do (Design studies), I have little left for Civ work. I plan on catching up with all the icons and maps requested between February 1st and 14th, or in February in general. I pray for forgiveness and patience, but all art will be finished and you can be all 100% sure about that.

Art I will deal with first is:
-Hungary by cool3a2

-Norway by trystero49

-update of icons for JFD, Tomatekh, Pouakai

-Nri Kingdom icons for Moriboe

-Third Reich special buildings for the mod by Philipp Bouhler's team

Stay tuned! The art will start flowing in within two weeks from now

 

[Irkalla]

A new post! WOW!

Sorry everyone for lack of updates. I've been working a little bit on all the Civ 5 art requested in 2012, but I have nothing finalised yet. This is due to excessive amount of school work I am dealing with until next weekend and especially until February 1st, when I have my final exam of this semester. As I have a lot of creative work at school to do (Design studies), I have little left for Civ work. I plan on catching up with all the icons and maps requested between February 1st and 14th, or in February in general. I pray for forgiveness and patience, but all art will be finished and you can be all 100% sure about that.

Art I will deal with first is:
-Hungary by cool3a2

-Norway by trystero49

-update of icons for JFD, Tomatekh, Pouakai

-Nri Kingdom icons for Moriboe

-Third Reich special buildings for the mod by Philipp Bouhler's team

Stay tuned! The art will start flowing in within two weeks from now

Priorities man. Get your schooling done, then maybe think about us.

 

[janboruta]

Yeah, that's clear to me. I just wanted to leave a sign that I'm alive and concerned about things I've promised to do

 

[cool3a2]

Good news! I can hardly await that you finish the art for my mods (Hungary and Austria), yet I can also only encourage you to focus on your exams. I know how hard this is as I was in the same situation when I studied and worked on my Civ4 mod.

 

[trystero49]

A new post! WOW!

Sorry everyone for lack of updates. I've been working a little bit on all the Civ 5 art requested in 2012, but I have nothing finalised yet. This is due to excessive amount of school work I am dealing with until next weekend and especially until February 1st, when I have my final exam of this semester. As I have a lot of creative work at school to do (Design studies), I have little left for Civ work. I plan on catching up with all the icons and maps requested between February 1st and 14th, or in February in general. I pray for forgiveness and patience, but all art will be finished and you can be all 100% sure about that.

Art I will deal with first is:
-Hungary by cool3a2

-Norway by trystero49

-update of icons for JFD, Tomatekh, Pouakai

-Nri Kingdom icons for Moriboe

-Third Reich special buildings for the mod by Philipp Bouhler's team

Stay tuned! The art will start flowing in within two weeks from now

Cool! Good luck with your schoolwork!