Thendis

[Dallimar]

I'm currently working on a small section of a larger world map that will eventually become the world of Thendis. Working with some tutorials since this is the first time that I've ever made a map in Photoshop, but enjoying the way it's coming along so far. At the same time that I am working on the world map I have been writing some back story for the world and it's people that I'll post in blurbs with the map that introduces them, because I figure "what the heck. Why not?"

So let's get started. Here is how this are progressing so far.

Thendis-Map-001.jpg

[Dallimar]

Wasn't able to work on this yesterday, but here is what I've been able to get worked so far. The mountains were a custom brush that I am now going over and adjusting manually. Slow going so far, but I like where its headed.

Thenids-Map-002.jpg

[Dallimar]

I've done a little map work, trying to continue cleaning up the mountains and adding a forest. Not sure how I like the forest, and any input on how it can be improved would be great. Also, here is a short bit of lore I'm working to expand:

According to the elves Thindes was nothing more than a barren rock, lifeless and lightless, before the elves of the gods turned their eyes to it. Shelastra first found the world and, smiling upon it, she lit the sky. Next came Lianrion the Sculptor, who shaped the land. Then came Breshandria who cried for joy at the beauty that was forming, and her tears became the oceans and rivers. Finally came the greatest of them all, Ferandral the Lifegiver, in whose footsteps sprang the trees and flowers, and with whose breath were born the first elves.

Thenids-Map-003.jpg

[Klaus van der Kroft]

Welcome to the Guild, Dallimar!

You have a good start to work with, and I'm sure this will turn out pretty nice.

Some things I noticed, though:

Rivers: There are some problematic rivers that connect two or more times to the coastline:

-The big central one ends on both sides of the ocean (unless the upper body of water is a big lake, in which case I stand corrected), and is also connected to a river that jumps three times towards the coast on the northern end.
-On the south-western corner of the map there is a tiny river that runs very close and paralel to the coast across a small peninsula, which should probably either end sooner or be more perpendicular (unless there is a very narrow strip of highland/sediment causing it to avoid spilling into the sea).
-To the west of that one there is a similar case, with the river skipping a very close water inlet and jumping to the next one (again, there could be unusual geological formations there causing this).
-There is a short river ending on both sides of a tiny peninsula on the north-western corner of the map.
-Finally, the main river on the large island to the south-east of the continent seems to start far too close to the coast; perhaps you could shorten it a bit or bend it to the east, so there is more room for a watershed to cause the flow to go north.

Mountains: The mountains on the south-western side of the map look a bit disparraged and the same brush seems to repeat too often. Perhaps you could mix them up a bit? If the idea is to have a large hill-ridden region, a good option would be to spread them out a bit and use a rounder/flatter brush.

Other than that, I think you have a very good start on your hands. I particularly like the cliffs on the north-eastern side of the map!