Towers - Tiny Maps

I started drawing a few towers this week. They came out pretty well.

The first is a 35 foot tall tower, meant to be placed on exterior wall. The exterior is on the left and the interior of the walls is to the right. The first floor has no windows, just a door. The door opens inward while a pair of barred doors open outward. 

I haven't filled in the walls because I don't know what pattern I want to use. The walls are tapered from bottom to top so this is not a good design against siege engines. The bottom might hold, but the top could be collapsed by catapults. 

I drew no interior designs, not even stairs, so I can adapt them for different purposes. 

The next tower is 55 feet tall. Again the walls are tapered. This design is basically the same as the tower above, except the barred doors open inwards.

I like the details on the doorway at ground level, except I made a mistake. The scale in the profile view is one square equals 10 feet, while the side view is one square equals 5. The door is a massive 10 feet wide. As you can see from the tiny doodle on the upper right, I tried to fix that by making the door multifunction with two sally doors.

Additionally, I didn't like the way the windows looked. I changed styles and neither one looks very good. Plus, with the tower being so tall, there has to be a way to reach the walls. 

That won't do, so I decided to redraw it.  

In my third iteration, I came up with some ideas I liked such as the door leading to the top of the walls on the 4th level. I forgot to fix the door on the first level. Actually, this is the point where I realized the door was so big. I added some arrow loops next to the ground floor door. 

I think that I can fix the door digitally, but maybe I'll just redraw that level or the whole tower tonight. 

I really like this design and I'll use it to work up some designs in both Inkscape and Worldographer. 

Map Doodles

I'm troubleshooting Worldographer tonight. It works on one system but not another. Annoying, because I know it's my machine. 

Anyway, here is a quick map I used for testing. 

As a map, it's pretty plain. I like it as artwork better. 

New Markers, New Drawings - Uncle Sean's Cabin

This is a tiny cabin based on many of the cabins at Schoellkopf Scout Reserve.  SSR is a wonder campsite located in Wyoming County, NY.

I have been there several dozen times over the years and it is full of fond memories. On my most recent two trips, we spent time sprucing up the cabins and campsites. I often paint during the day and sketch at night.

This cabin is a cross between Phillips Cabin and Schoellkopf Cabin pictured below. It could probably be used for a hunting lodge in a D&D setting. In my campaign, it's a structure due east of the city of Nace.

While it looks tiny, 25 by 25 feet square in the wilderness is quite spacious and homey.

New Markers, New Drawings - The Stargazer's Tower

This whimsical tower was the home of an astronomer and astrologer. The man retired many years ago, after serving in the war against the elves. Although it doesn't look like it, the telescope can be replaced with something ol' Harvey called a "Cannon" or perhaps, "Canon". No one is sure. Whatever it was, it helped the magician stop the elves from entering the valleys his tower looks down upon.

In recent years, the tower has been inhabited by 12 students of the stars. They don't seem to be much good as magic users, but the men and women who live here are pretty special when it comes to observing the stars and laying horoscopes.

One of them is even familiar with the foreign principles of card reading, while another has invented a game where the players pretend to be tradesmen in the distant future, trading in luxuries on a "stock exchange" and "social medias". Whatever those are...

New Markers, New Drawings - The House

I was trying to draw a Roman villa and it came out more like a Frank Llyod Wright. Buffalo is loaded with Frank Llyod Wright homes. They are beautiful and I drive past many every day. 

New Markers, New Drawings - Long Barn

My friend Sarah got me some new pens and I have been trying them out. They work great. The text on the side was quickly scratched out as the ideas came. The text of this post is somewhat better.

The Long Barn is a storage barn for fodder. Its low to the ground and only has one level.

The long low barn is used for storage of hay and feed.

In spring, it is often used for weddings. The bride's guests sit on benches or bales of hay and alfalfa. The new husband and his groomsmen eat outside. The south end of the barn has doors which open for dancing in the yard.

In this way, the newly joined families get to know one another.

#Inktober2019 Update - Tiny maps

I'm still working on Inktober projects. I have started doing tiny maps. Sometimes, when you are working on a large product, taking a break and doing something against the grain is helpful or at least destressing.

This is a motte and bailey castle layout, as yet uninked.

It's a copy of one of my dad's castles, a type of shell keep. While it won't end up in one of my D&D campaigns, the finished item could be good for yours. I'll scan it when I'm done.

Enjoy. 

Update:

5 Minute Map - Southern Temple

This is a rough map of a temple dedicated to a creature of the deep. 

5 Minute Maps - Keep of Glass

This is a quick, 5 minute map of a strange series of buildings collectively known as The Keep of Glass. The buildings are made of white marble and glass. The interiors are completely bare. Bring an artifact known as the Black Arrow, allows the characters to teleport without error to a distant location.

The Heart of the City, A Hearth

The heart of any city is the first home, a place around the hearth. I wish I could call this idea a five minute map, but it took me far longer.

This is a neolithic like structure. Starting in the approximate center is the hearth, edged by two ironwood tripods for cooking and swinging spit. Just to the north is the ladder that provides access and egress for smoke from the hearth. Unshown is the roof, which is a flat square platform mounted on 4 posts. From the crossbeams out, the roof is tilted down to provide a channel for the smoke and heat. Sometimes a woven reed curtain is hung from the ceiling to direct the path of smoke.

On the southern and eastern walls are two large tunnels in which the inhabitants use bone tools to mine flint, very much like the builders of Stonehenge. The Pueblo homes that this structure is also based on had special vents to allow the fire to allow air in. In this case, the tunnels are connected to other natural spaces to provide draw for the fire. In front of each tunnel is a low wing wall, colored with black, indigo and red patterns typical to this tribe.

Along the western wall is a large deck for sleeping. It is about 12 inches from the floor and is sloped into the center of the room like the beds at Fort Niagara. This allows people awoken by threats to stand up quickly without the effects of syncope. Although four bedrolls are shown, perhaps as many as a 8-10 people could sleep comfortably, family style.

On the north wall is a nook for cooking supplies and the niche doubles as an altar for the tribe's parton gods and goddesses. Due to the nature of the structure, all valuables in the niche are in plain sight.

The walls are coated in a concoction of chalk and mud to make a brighter living space.

Scale: One Square equals 2.5 feet. The total structure is 40 feet across and 60 feet below ground.