Case Study #11 - Making Mazes with Shadows

If you are interested in maze design you have come to the right place. I have a series of case studies where I take mazes and try to improve them. Today I want to focus on a specific aspect that I think is rare for maze makers to use but seems to really improve how a maze looks, Shadows.

This topic has been seen in previous case studies (#1,#8,#9,#10) because once I started using shadows in my mazes, I found it hard to not use them because I think they make mazes look so much more realistic. In fact, when I look at mazes from a few years ago, I want to improve most of them. That is the advantage of being a digital maze artist - I can be like George Lucas with Star Wars and just keep tweaking things I don’t like from the past.


Why Shadows Make Mazes Better

I will be showing 2 options for a variety of my favorite mazes, one without shadows and one with shadows. In every case the shadows make the illustration/maze more interesting, typically by giving it more perceived depth on the page. I have set-up the galleries to transition between the 2 options for easy comparison !

Maze #1 - Museo Soumaya Maze

For this example I had to create a new version previously unseen, in color, but no shadows. The shadows give the building more shape !

Maze #2 - Heydar Aliyev Center
With such an interesting shape, this is much better with shadows !

Maze #3 - Templo de Sangre de Cristo Maze
Not as drastic a change as the mazes above, but still an improvement, especially in the nooks of the church.

Maze #4 - Lotus Temple Maze
I thought this wonderful building would make a nice maze, but when I finished it it seemed a bit bland. The shadows really help the petals of the building stand out and also show the doorway overhangs better.