Mushroom Forest, Adept & Expert (Patreon)

Hi Adepts/Experts!  This week you're getting two alternate versions- a subdued color palette and all versions with foggy/spore-filled effects. I've started to consider the subdued color palette a stock inclusion, so maybe you can expect to see that for nearly every map from now on, I think it's a nice option to have if you're looking for a less cheerful vibe for your encounter. 

Also, if you didn't see the main post for this map I collaborated with James of James' RPG Art, who made an immersive animated digital painting of this map! It's definitely worth checking out, he's an excellent artist and a cool person in general.

1. So, I wanted to get a couple terrains in this one, while also implying a body of water. I think the contrast between the mushrooms and the water would make for a very vibrant and interesting map visually, while also giving lots of options for the fight to evolve/move to a cliffside or underwater battle. Additionally I liked the idea that this odd mushroom forest is located on a small and distant island, which I think the inclusion of water helps imply if you're into that (otherwise it could just be the shore of a river or lake). 

The mushrooms I decided to place in such a way that many of different sizes were grouped together rather than spread out. I thought this would make for more interesting cover and also give players the opportunity to climb a stair of mushroom caps and gain a height advantage. Gotta  be careful though, I doubt mushrooms make for very stable footing!

2. I've gotta say, I'm sick of drawing mushrooms. I knew going into it that I was going to have to draw ~30 medium sized mushrooms, but I didn't realize how slow that would be, especially since I started playing Teamfight Tactics this week and I had no desire to draw mushrooms 12-30. I think I'll tuck away the mushroom environment for a rainy day, far far in the future. 

The rock walls are all fresh assets though, though I can't say I made them for this map ;) There's another collaboration coming in the near future with a very talented mapmaker, so you can look forward to that!

3. All these new mushroom colors really tripped me up, I felt like I was going a little crazy since my typical palette just wasn't working for me this time. I tweaked a lot, adjusted some very reliable effects I've used for many months, but I decided to lean very slightly into the excessive vibrancy of a mushroom forest. I think if I had an extra week to tweak this one I'd end up with lighting I'd be somewhat more satisfied with, though no map gets two weeks of love and care. 

Right now I feel I would lessen the vignette (the darkening around the edge of the image) by about 15%, and make the outlines slightly less bold- I typically place a layer on top of all the effects with all the outlines grouped together so as to let them cut through the effects, glare, and shadows, though I think they're cutting through a little too much, just 5-15% less would do I think.