Realistic (Rand McNally roadmap style) map of my fantasy nation.

[Nonpareil1710]

NewBrusslandSketch.png
I am a novice to this site so your patience with me will be appreciated, please do ask any questions on specifics you have for me. I will be happy to pay 200 dollars for this map via paypal. The map attached is to get a sense of my nation's shape and geography it is not the style I would like it to be in.
Subject
Attached above is a very rough sketch of my nation's geographical outline. I would my nation's shape to be drawn closely to that shape but does not have to be exact. What I do need on the map are the cities and towns already on the map as they are located. This map will be a large road map as you would see on Rand McNally road map atlases, I would like the map as realistic as possible. I would like interstates, highways, and principal roads cross-crossing and looping the total extent of the island nation. The nation is about 1500 miles across and 1300 miles in length. I am thinking that one inch on my map will equal 25 miles. I have a very extensive town list for my nation ( 8, 211 cities and towns). In addition, I would like this map to be very detailed with the names of lakes counties, mountain ranges, state parks/ beaches on it as well. We can coordinate on the specifics.
Style
Road atlas
Quality and Size
professional, for web most likely but if I can get print as well that will be appreciated.
Very large, really no specifics required as long as it can fit all my towns in them. Whatever works the best for the mapmaker.
Time Constraints
No time constraints
Copyright
I will be using this map for personal home use solely, will not be published or posted anywhere unless the mapmaker wishes to have it posted somewhere.

[Lukc]

Ok, just some observations: first, a nice map request.

However, I have to point out that this a HUGE job. Really, really big. This basically screams "vector map" to me. Placing around 10,000 labels on a map takes an immense, utterly immense amount of time if you want them placed well, readable, and so forth. At your scale this is about 60"x50" just for the base map. Which basically means: vectors.

Combining this with a road map style terrain map is pretty hard, because it also involves depicting the terrain - if you want to make the terrain depiction a bit more old-fashioned, that would save whoever you commission a lot of hard work and still give you a decent looking map.

Personally, I would be hard pressed to take on such a large project for 200 dollars - the time/money equation just doesn't hold up for me. A single professionally placed label easily takes me 1 minute or more to get "just right" (which means easily 8000 minutes for 8000 labels, which is roughly 120 hours of work, which is basically 3 work weeks. Just for labels). If someone takes this commission, and they know how to label automatically - I wan't to hear about it and learn how!

[Riggamorphus]

This is a Huge job no doubt as Lukc has said with just the labels. So if I may add some suggestions to help you out.

-Do the map in 2 parts. Geography and then the labels. You could do the labels yourself. I am sure once you do the first few hundred you'll get the hang of it, novice or not. You can have the cartographer do the major labels (the curved ones etc.)

Let me know how your (re)quest goes!

Rigg

[Lukc]

That's a very good suggestion Riggamorphus. Basically learning how to use Inkscape* and labelling should take you at most a day - after that you'll get hundreds of hours to learn how to do labels - including straight, curved, spaced, variously kerned and so forth. Ravells has a very good tutorial on labelling.

*Inkscape is a free but very powerful vector editing program.

[Nonpareil1710]

Thank you all for your replies, mind you I have limited knowledge about the whole mapping process. I do agree though that I can do the labeling process myself, I think it would make it easier for whoever I commission and myself. Thus I will adjust my requests and request that whoever would like to do this map only has to draw the shape and geographical features of the map. In addition perhaps the main interstate highways drawn on it as I have drawn on my rough sketch. This will still be paid and a unlimited time frame. I still would appreciate a RandMcNally road atlas style map though, realistic as possible.

[octopod]

Well, here's a vector graphics version -- I just directly converted the file you put up. (I tweaked the coastline to add some features, but I can un-tweak it if you like)

newbrussland.svg

[Nonpareil1710]

I like this version especially the interstate routes but I am looking for something a lot more detailed and realistic in terms of terrain (color coded as in the greenfish map relief program). I do love the shape of the coastline though. This is nice vector map though, thank you.

[octopod]

Haha, this wasn't anything even resembling final. It was just a vectorized version for anyone who wants to work on this but doesn't happen to have a tool to convert it.

[Nonpareil1710]

Alright, haha. noted.

[Nathan]

I'm quite interested.
It would be a good chalenge for me and I really do apreciate this kind of mapmaking which is required. I'm not the medieval/sci-fi kind of cartographer and I enjoy making realistic maps.
But even tough I'm not american (I'm french) and not used to read Rand McNally maps everyday. It would be fine.
I honnestly must agree with Lukc, labels will take a long long long time but I'l give a try anyway.

It's up to you Nonpareil1970.
I Must confess what made me want to take that challenge is the name of your capital city as I live in ... Burgundy, France.