The Lands of Danderval, First Draft

[The Dragon]

Hello Everyone!

First of all, apologizes for me being quiet on these forums, I hope you won't hold it against me

Anyway without further ado, here is my first map. I'm a relative newbie to all of this, so any criticism is welcome. The map itself is for a Pathfinder campaign. The country is an agricultural hub for the whole of the region populated by the rural Dander'vin, a short human-like race who excel at woodcraft. They also protect against the bandits of the Border Kingdoms with their great "Tilderns", a Vin word for Watch Tower or Fortress.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/7kafcquj87...te%20Draft.jpg

[Freodin]

Nice map. Good choice of colours, good layout, clear icons - the "dead /old / whatever trees" could use some work though.

One thing you should do though is to emphazise the coastline. The slight blue border is not very noticable (and it seems there is a part missing at the coast of Kessa), which makes it a little difficult to distinguish between land and sea.

And another thing I wondered about: if this area is "an agricultural hub"... shouldn't their be more settlements in the plains than in the forests?

[The Dragon]

Thanks for replying Freodin!

I take your point about the "dead" trees (they are meant to be oaks) I drew all the tree brushes myself and used them as a brush. I really wanted a live oak look but couldn't get one the way I liked it.

What can you suggest for the coastline? I was thinking about just colouring the whole of the ocean. I see the bit I missed, how embarrassing!

Aye the town placement does look a little strange. Currently the ones listed are the major settlements/settlements of note. I may move Bolden further up into the Golden Ocean.

[Freodin]

For the trees, I would think you should best keep it simple. Your icons are all very basic, so a deciduous tree should be as basic... a blob on a stick. That was a quick example the search engine gave me.

The coastline... the commonly used methods of displaying coastal waters are either horizontal (wavy or not) lines or parallels to the coast. But somehow I don't think they would fit your style here.

What I would try in your position: keep the slight blue coastline, give a just a little more saturation, make it a little broader with a fade into the sea. And another very simple thing to mark the sea as different from the land: give it a different typography. A different fort, or all caps.