Hilltop Circle, Adept

I'm back again with this week's map, the Hilltop Circle (40x40), another map I had a hard time naming, probably because it's a fairly straightforward map along the same lines as many of my older maps- some interesting ruins to stumble across while out on a journey. Or, maybe this is where a journey culminates, hilltop ruins are perfect for grand rituals which, as we all know, are adventurers' favorite things to interrupt just as they're about to be completed.

Building on that point, your alternate version gains a swirly vortex in the center, probably due to one of those grand rituals I mentioned so I guess your party showed up a little late for this one. I'm guessing some little enemies will be popping out of there until your party nearly closes the portal, but just before they manage it a big baddie jumps out and starts throwing punches. Sounds like fun!

 1. So, obviously I had a change of heart about the ruins in the middle. Initially I was feeling like making some ruins reminiscent of those you'd find in Elden Ring, little chapels and courtyards, things like that. That's all well and good, except I didn't much feel like drawing in crumbling walls like I have dozens of times before. Instead I wanted to do something a little more unique, like a big and dramatic ritual circle for cultists to stomp around.

The layout around the ruins went through a few revisions as well before I settled on the final one above. Back when I was trying to make it feel like Elden Ring I was tempted to just place it on an open field or a rocky slope, but you know I'm a sucker for forest paths. The shoreline felt like a nice way to add more drama to the scene too and make the location feel important, but maybe that's in my head.

 2. Outlines! I simplified the rock walls a little here, removing the horizontal detail lines- just trying out new things, seeing how I feel about it. Many of my recent changes to my maps have been slight reductions in detail, like the ground and grass lines, so it's worth a try here as well I think. Not super sure about it, but I'll think about it for a bit.

The center ruins were fun to draw, though I usually shy away from drawing anything circular. I tried to be a little more carefree about it though and attempted to forgive little errors. I placed a few circle for guidelines and freehanded outlines around them so they wouldn't look too stiff. Again, I just wanted to knock this out quickly without aiming for perfection (they're ruins anyway, I would normally rough them up anyway after putting down the outlines so I don't know why I get so hung up on this sort of thing).

 3. Ok so, I like this palette but I think I'm starting to lose the plot here- I started making maps like this because I was trying to do autumnal maps but this doesn't feel autumnal to me anymore. If I keep making autumnal maps I'm going to have to take a serious look at the lighting here and try to correct course. I'm not so sure if I will keep this up though, it feels like time for me to move on to other things- I've gotten a few requests for tropical maps recently so maybe I'll do those for a bit? I know I mentioned making more urban maps a couple weeks ago, but I've been falling steadily behind schedule week after week and making city maps won't get me any closer to fixing the problem. Who can say, I'll have to do some soul searching later today while I sketch.