Un-named world WIP

[Kaidonni]

New member, first time posting here. Only found out about this site a few days ago, and have found it really useful. Browsing through the forums, found some excellent links to resources, and learnt about map projections. Now, I don't really have all that much to show, but I thought I'd start a WIP thread anyway; it'd serve well for posterity's sake, since I'll be able to see the progress of my work over time.

I started this map yesterday by all accounts, since that's when I found one of the shapes in there that I like. I drew it as three individual shapes, but removed the 'borders' because it gives me a better feel for the shape and size of the supercontinent. I've finally got shapes I actually like! I noticed it might be because the overall shapes on an equirectangular projection taper, which for me adds a nice aesthetic. I haven't got a name for the world yet, although I do have inhabitants already lined up to populate it.

Lots of work ahead. For one, I want a continent to the south of this supercontinent, but I am not sure whether it should be in the process of moving away or colliding. It's a good job I found out about G.Projector so soon, I was working with a mercator projection at first. It also made me realise that things get closer to one another towards the poles, and aren't just squished.

[Greason Wolfe]

It may not be much to show, but it is something to show, and it looks like you're off to a fairly good start. WIP threads are your friend, WIP threads are your friend . . .

Overall, I like the shape as it appears on the globe. Would be interesting to see what it looks like in other projections.

Oh, and a bit of REP for throwing up a map in your first post.

GW

[Kaidonni]

I've now entered the phase where, since I love the initial shape of the current landmass, nothing else suffices. Been trying to figure out a continent for the southern hemisphere, and wondering if it's a north-east to south-west super continent spanning the northern and southern hemispheres, with two other plates colliding from the east and west.

[jbgibson]

Those are indeed some promising shapes. What era are these people waiting for a home? I could see that temperate/ subtropical convergence of isthmuses and inlets as a rich ground for commerce, conflict, migration, and (based on your thoughts about this being a supercontinent actively agglomerating and/or splitting) geological interest. The major bays of differing amount of protectedness gives reason for different groups to develop differing sailing methods, maybe close enough overland to have some interchange.

What are you thinking about overall climate -- major polar ice, scant ice caps, or none?

[Kaidonni]

Unfortunately, the forum reset resulted in my last post being deleted, plus someone else's post on the Climate Cookbook and creating fantasy races, links which came in very handy (so my thanks for those).

I've come up with some plate tectonics along with the supercontinent shape. Still a lot of work to do since this is all technically a first pass, and I've even altered the western part of the supercontinent. I suspect it needs some more altering since I want it to look more like a divergent boundary.

[Schyzm]

This is a neat idea so far - the kind of thing I want to do when I'm coming up with full worlds.

I have some suggestions to make your long-term work a bit easier here:

You've definitely got the plate impact setup going on here, but you've also got a subduction zone right between two continents that haven't collided yet - which means we're looking at a very one-sided equation when it comes to the mountain ranges and volcanoes that will be forming along that line. You might consider taking a 3rd color and indicating where continental crust ends and oceanic crust begins, as well as marking which plate is subsiding, as well as which plate is floating. This can also be done symbolically - as in this map.

The other thing that gives me pause is you seem to have a major inland sea on the larger continent, in an area which (presumably) is being pushed up by the tectonic impact of the smaller continent. Why is that inland sea there? was there rifting activity in that area in some former epoch that failed to split the continent? (see the Rio Grande rift, or the current state of the east African rift valley for ideas). In any case, the super-continent you have up top there would need something going on on a tectonic level to make that large of a depression happen in what is presumably a continental crust area.

[Kaidonni]

I'm still alive, but sadly have little interest in using Photoshop for cartography. Suffered major issues with the computer, especially when using Photoshop (full reinstall *touch wood*, but the problems ruined using Photoshop altogether - I just can't put in all that effort for it to keep going to waste, as even five minutes can be a lot of progress on a continent, even a coastline!). I'm contemplating using my sketch pencils to draw the maps now, a 4B seems just right (otherwise it is far too fine a line). I'll need to use Photoshop to get it on the computer, but I think my work should move away from the digital side of things. I also won't be using G.Projector since I reinstalled Maya, I can apply my maps to a sphere there (and animate its orbit around a star, which I plan to do at a later time).

[jbgibson]

Sorry about the data (and momentum) loss - really irritating when the tools get in the way instead of enabling!

Definitely keep at it with paper and pencil if that suits your mood - think of all those people (creatures? Entities? Societies?) waiting on a home.