How to draw trees?
Added 2020-08-11 10:51:16 +0000 UTCAs anticipated in the last map (The two Fords), I'm interested in knowing your opinion on what should be the best style for drawing a wooded area.
- Style 1 is more common, it makes the map more beautiful and realistic but, it can be difficult to manage encounters, having to guess where the tree trunk is.
- Style 2 brings the view under the canopy of trees, making it easy to understand what is at ground level. But this style is less beautiful and only the shadow of the leaves makes us understand what is on it.
- Style 3 is a mixed version, the trees are drawn in classic mode but the view of the trunk and where it is located is added. It's more practical than style 1, but it loses its aesthetics
I put these three options, if there are others I ask you to indicate them in the comments.
ps: this survey will go public in 10 days, so I can evaluate if the opinion will change between patrons and non-patrons
Comments
I would offer a map with an additional layer but just make a "shadow" layer for the branches and canopy. We can still see the ground but a tree-hugging elf might be able to spot a branch they can hide on. The canopy of leaves could be 25% shadow overlay and the branches like 10% drker....enough to differentiate but barely. This way we get the ground but can see additional layers which may inspire some Tarzan swin ing through the trees. :)
Robert Kemp
2020-08-31 02:13:30 +0000 UTCMethod 2 is vastly superior for me! I use these types of maps for D&D with Fantasy Grounds. This method shows myself, and my players, exactly how wide the trunks are. I love that you’ve included the canopy shadows too. The shadows are great for those hiding from airborne encounters. It’s utility is perfect. If I was running a purely airborne game I’d prefer method 1 or 3. 90% of the time the players are on the ground though.
Blackheart
2020-08-21 12:48:02 +0000 UTCWow, we could be twins if it weren't for you being much more artistic LOL. Do you game with your own maps? That would be quite cool... And if so, how would you recommend GM's best utilize digital battlemaps? With covid, we use more roll 20 so that's straight forward.. but roll20 just isnt as fun as face ti face. So over here in Germany Covid is quite under control, and we have been meeting again for TT-RPG. I print the maps when i can on my company's plotter, but they frown on that a bit... Have tried all sorts of solutions including ipads (way too small!) and living room big screen TV's, but it all kind of sucks. I'd use your lovely maps more if we had a solution that wasn't mega expensive or complicated...
Trimtab
2020-08-17 13:47:31 +0000 UTCI'm 46 yo and I've been D&D GM for about 30 years! :D
Tehox
2020-08-17 09:08:47 +0000 UTCMixed is definitely the best, it gives the sense of the sense of an aerial view whilst also letting the players use the battle-map without visual obstructions
David Ford
2020-08-15 15:24:28 +0000 UTCJust curious, do you ever GM? :-) All the GM's i know value flexibility, and we all come from hand drawn blank Battlemaps with window cleaner and paper towels. It is really okay to let the players do some of the mental imagining to flesh out the world in their minds. But your maps are a nice way to enhance things, though I still scribble on them to indicate what is going on. I don't expect you to know i need tons of huge spider webs because our heroes are nearing a nasty encounter, i mark those with my trust wet erase pens. Now if only i could find a way around printing out the maps... Not keen on buying an expensive big screen TV and trying to build it into my dinner table... :-/
Trimtab
2020-08-14 13:56:05 +0000 UTC:-) Yes the mixed one is very nice... I like the little light shading indicating tree trunks. Still looks pretty but has a bit more info in case the GM needs it.
Trimtab
2020-08-14 13:46:33 +0000 UTCFirst of all, thank you for your comments. I admit that the results emerging from the survey amazed me: many people consider the mixed style to be the most useful; while there is very little interest in the view from under the trees. So I think that in the future I will always release the "from above" and "mixed" versions, so the DM can choose the most suitable one.
Tehox
2020-08-14 08:23:09 +0000 UTCTo keep characters steered a bit, I am guilty of now or then just saying "The underbrush is extremely thick. Unless you start cutting it or take some action to clear it (which may attract attention), you cannot find a casual way through for anyone but very small animals. What do you want to do?". Or i say "There is no underbrush, you just see leaf litter and small shrubs and weeds off into the distance between the tree trunks." If your map allows both options, I'm onboard. :-)
Trimtab
2020-08-14 08:00:19 +0000 UTCA very light / faint shape could indicate ground level obstacles like tree trunks if obscured by the canopy. But agree that it should kind of look like a high flying birds eye view. For narrative purposes i usually just decide as a GM if the woods or jungle are possible to freely move through or not, so the version that looks like all the trees were strip logged by robots would just remove flexibility. And if players are in the trees when ranged attacks start flying, I just inform them how much cover can be had using the trees based on age of the trees and size of the characters. We dont deal with individual tree trunks, as it would be pedantic. You are a huge brick character, you get almost no cover. The little Hobbit gets full cover. So far better IMHO if the trees and bushes are a bit vague and amorphous so that this flexibility exists when the story unfolds.
Trimtab
2020-08-14 07:54:44 +0000 UTCI think you are right, I drew this map intentionally with little different trees, but your comment confirms that it is probably not the best choice. Thank you for the feedback
Tehox
2020-08-12 07:26:33 +0000 UTCCan I say that the trees in Two Fords seemed a bit too uniform? Other maps haven't had the same issue, but the near-constant radius and spacing of the trees felt more artificial.
Scott Barrie
2020-08-11 18:52:36 +0000 UTCI say trees from above is fine unless the breed and size of the trees varies. All the same tree doesn’t cause confusion of where the trunk is for me.
Chandelin
2020-08-11 17:35:45 +0000 UTC
