Ethka World Map

[McKenney]

This is my first post on this forum, so hello everybody!

I have a world that sorely needed an overhaul, so I've decided I'm going to do it right this time by slowly working on the ol' top-down process. The planet is approximately the same size as Earth with an axial tilt of ~22 degrees. Plate tectonics and landmasses are very loosely based projections of our Earth in the late Carboniferous era. Most of my work with the tectonics involved drawing and redrawing plates with sharpie on dead light bulbs.

For the projection here, I've used a style of mountains somewhere between satellite-style and the 1600-1800's hachure-style. I am eager to hear your impressions of it. I've used Inkscape and The GIMP to create the map. The other two images are how the features would really look on a sphere--achieved by creating an overlay for Google Earth with a .kml file. (Featuring one of my favorite fonts--Morpheus)

I hope to place rivers next and then to determine the different climate and vegetation zones. Any speculation, suggestions, comments or questions are very welcome.

Cheers!

[Daelin]

Looking good so far. I dig the "scientific" approach. I'd like to see it without the square grid, though, it obstructs the map a bit.

[121]

I like it. I wonder what the final product will be.

[altasilvapuer]

Wow, it looks great, so far! I can't wait to see more. Have any WIP shots of the tectonics and such, by chance? I love looking at others' processes for these things.

-asp

[su_liam]

Nice. Waiting for more.

[McKenney]

Thank you 121 and su_liam!

Looking good so far. I dig the "scientific" approach. I'd like to see it without the square grid, though, it obstructs the map a bit.

Wow, it looks great, so far! I can't wait to see more. Have any WIP shots of the tectonics and such, by chance? I love looking at others' processes for these things.

Thanks! Maybe I can kill two birds with one stone here. Here's a touched up version of the tectonics for the planet with no grid. I gave most of the plates some torque, but I only noted it in the extreme cases. I took a look at your world--I see we have a shared interest in thorough process!

worldmap-tectonics.png

[Davros01]

Looks good so far. welcome to the forum. one of the best out there. one where ppl are actually interested in helping each other out.

[su_liam]

BTW, love to see another Oregon guy here.

[McKenney]

Alright. Here's my first (here--third try total) pair of maps of wind patterns. I've had a map of ocean currents for a while, but those are more useful for determining trade routes than climate. From my observations, the ITCZ seems to vary widely when crossing over land--leaving the equator by as much as 35 degrees by way of Africa, Arabia and the Himalayas in the northern summer. The phenomenon of seasonal change from low to high pressure zones seems to be a recipe for deserts and has something to do with expansive high-altitude ground--or vice versa.

Does this look plausible? Are there major issues in the wind patterns?

[McKenney]

Took a bit, but I've mapped out the climate for the world--mostly by cross-referencing my continental wind patterns with Earth's wind patterns and looking at the corresponding ecoregion. National Geographic just about saved my life there; it's a fantastic resource.

There are a lot of different ways to represent climate, and I've chosen this one--more green means more plant cover. Yellow is grassland/savanna. White is either desert or ice cap. What do you guys think about it? Does it work?