Eriiond: The Age of Legends

[arsheesh]

Well, after almost a week of business I was finally able to get back to this map and put the finishing touches on it (the WIP can be found here). This is a world map of Eriond, which is the basis of a homebrew campaign setting that I've been working on for several years (a link to the world setting info is given in my sig). This is also a sort of reworking and expanding of the first map that I ever made here at the Guild.

The map was made using GIMP and Wilbur, with a little Inkscape thrown in for the text work. I created the outline and height map in GIMP, generated the rivers and terrain in Wilbur, and then added the bum map, gradient map and border work in GIMP. I've long since lost track of how many hours I've poured into this, and to be honest, I'm still not satisfied with the final product. For one thing I'm not sure how I feel about the way the smaller country labels turned out. I was going for subtlety: I wanted them to blend into the landscape. Who knows, at some point in the future I may fiddle with it some more, but for now I've got so much else going on right now that I think I'm calling this done. As an aside, I had to reduce the size of the uploaded map, but you can download a full resolution copy at my deviant art account.

I've also included a map showing the global rotation of the planet below. Finally, thanks to everyone (especially Ascension and Diamond) for providing helpful tips and suggestions on how to improve the map.

Eriond Orbal View WIP.jpg

Cheers,
-Arsheesh

[bartmoss]

Nice work - have some rep :-)

[Hugo Solis]

Looking real nice. I specially like the big inner sea of the left continent.

[Valtharius]

Absolutely stunning! Love the mountains and the deep blues. Your naming convention is spot on. Love the style!

~Val

[Steel General]

Wonderfully done arsheesh!

[laevex_esre]

This looks fantastic! I love the style. Very striking and the rivers look absolutely brilliant. The deep gorges are awesome. Repped

[Eilathen]

Very nice! My only critic - you botched the title of the thread

Have some rep. .

[arsheesh]

Very nice! My only critic - you botched the title of the thread .

Ha, do ya know I didn't even notice that!

Thank you all for the feedback, and for the rep of course. I think I spent more hours on this piece then any other to date.

Cheers,
-Arsheesh

[Soixante]

Beautiful map, as are the rest of the maps of your world. One thing though, for me the sea labels are a little too subtle. So subtle as to make me really strain my eyes and lean in close to read them. Could just be my monitor, who knows.

Oh and, geographically, is there any particular reason why the deserts of your world are mostly situated close to the equator (unlike on earth, where they're around 30 degrees latitude north and south)? Not that it needs to mirror earth's climate or anything.

[arsheesh]

Beautiful map, as are the rest of the maps of your world. One thing though, for me the sea labels are a little too subtle. So subtle as to make me really strain my eyes and lean in close to read them. Could just be my monitor, who knows.

Oh and, geographically, is there any particular reason why the deserts of your world are mostly situated close to the equator (unlike on earth, where they're around 30 degrees latitude north and south)? Not that it needs to mirror earth's climate or anything.

Thanks. I went back and forth on the labels. On the one hand, I wanted them to be legible (obviously), but on the other, I was really trying to let the terrain on the map stand out, and I didn't wan the labels to be too prominent. But perhaps you are right, the compromise I reached might need a bit of reworking. Thanks for your input.

As to the deserts, I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I wasn't aware of that fact. The climate and topography of Eriond is supposed to be similar to that of Earth, so this was an oversight on my part. Glad to know it though, this may be something I will have to go back and correct later on.

Cheers,
-Arsheesh