Midsummer Archipelago

[Funso]

I am a mapping newbie, I am afraid, so this is bound to be lacking in so many ways.

I am wondering if this is not an archigelago at all. Aren't they strings of islands
rather than bunched up islands in a sea? Anyway, i like the word, so I am using it for now.

I am trying to recreate the look S. John Ross uses as closely as possible with this map. I tried ZombieNirvana's water lines technique, and messed around with it a bit, and think it looks ok. I also think the paper looks more like a rough wall than paper, but the paper took so long to make that I eventually stopped trying to make it prettier. I'd love to get that pebbled look that some paper textures have, but couldn't capture it as I wanted.

I'm really struggling making a border for this. Ross's look very authentic, and would love to come up with something as great. Are there any tutorials around that cover that sort of thing? I've not found anything yet.

[Naeddyr]

I really like it, the water effect is nice.

Yeah, the texture looks like a chalk wall coloured with a slight red tinge. It's neat.

[NeonKnight]

Well, let's see what Wikipedia has to say on the matter:

Types of archipelagos

Archipelagos are usually found in the open sea; less commonly, a large land mass may neighbour them, an example being Scotland which has more than 700 islands surrounding the mainland. Archipelagoes are often volcanic, forming along mid-ocean ridges or hotspots, but there are many other processes involved in their construction, including erosion, deposition, and land elevation.

The four largest modern states that are mainly archipelagos are Japan, the Philippines, the United Kingdom and Indonesia (the world's largest archipelagic state according to the CIA World Factbook).

The largest archipelago in the world by size is the Canadian Arctic Archipelago of Northern Canada. It is situated in the Arctic Ocean.

SO, there you have it, Archipelago's are just clusters of Islands really.

As to your map, without a Scale, it is hard to truly define the islands.

[jfrazierjr]

Very nice. Here's some rep.

Joe

[RobA]

Nice map Funso, thanks for sharing.

You might want to consider using the same fonts in the title blocks as on the main map, though. Four different fonts it geting a bit IMOO.

-Rob A>

[Ascension]

I like it, clean and concise. I think it looks like a brand new tattoo, all red and sore, neat idea.

[Sigurd]

Its very pretty and has a nice anachronistic feel to it.

I find it hard to make the islands feel random or natural. Usually I try and make sure they're sort of in line, like the top of an aquatic ridge. There's no wrong way of course. I think your map might gain drama if the islands weren't so regularly placed.

The Zombie tutorials are a great place to start for a number of mapping styles!


sigurd

[Ghalev]

Ross's look very authentic [...]

Oh my My main goal is a kind of fusion combining (A) overt fantasy vibe (B) echoes of at least 500 years of varied/unrelated/contradictory carto styles and (C) ... and I'm dead serious about this ... 1980s RPG graphic production techniques (virtually all of my fantasy maps include deliberate nods of some kind to the way RPG graphics were produced in the wax-and-razorblades/acetates era, which I find just breathtakingly romantic, as sad as that sounds).

But, sincerely, thanks for the kind words; I'm glad my maps amuse, and I sure love makin' 'em (and yours looks plenty nice to me).

[Redrobes]

Looks like a great map - consistent in its overall style. I reckon that you have thoroughly achieved your aim. A candidate for a featured map I think.