Dungeons in Photoshop

We'll start by talking about the layout of you dungeon, and my process of creating that layout in Photoshop. Use the shape tool to get the layout in place as well as decide where doors and stairs will be.

Tip: This is the first stage and there's still room to make changes at this point. Don't hold back and throw in anything you think would look nice. Chances are that it will.

In this lesson we're going to explore three different styles of drawing the most important part of your dungeon: the walls! 

Now that we've discussed how to draw your walls we'll get back to the map and start inking over the layout that we just did. At this point we'll start drawing more details. This is also a good point to make any final changes to the layout of you dungeon.

Tip: At this stage, try to avoid patterns, both in the walls and on the floor. Keep everything as irregular as you can. If you need to, zoom out and look for any patterns you might have drawn.

In this lesson we'll start drawing the interior of your dungeon. This helps to show what rooms are used for, and add some life to you dungeon in general. 

Tip: Use the grid to make sure everything is drawn at the right size. A 6' wide chair in from of a 3' wide door might look odd to some...

With the inking done and furniture in place it time to add colour to the dungeon. We'll go over the process of laying out the flat colours, shading and lighting the map, and well as some effects.

Tip: Try to make clear for yourself what sort of colour scheme you want for this map? Is it a muddy dungeon? Go for browns and blacks. is it hidden away in a jungle? Use yellows and greens!

Now that everything is done it's time to add a title and labels to your dungeon. This makes it a lot easier to keep track of where everything is!

Please share your project with me and others, I'd love to see what you'll come up with!