Egos - Shagri-la

[aquarits]

This is other simple map of Egos, located in the extreme east of the world.
i liked the toold that i used in this map, wut keep opening my eyes for the sources of PS. Ised a lots of "erase" here, not using blur or smudge. slow i am learning a lots of it
Problem with the descrition of this place, is coz i have a lots of facts inside, probly i need other map, during the War of the 13 lords to make it more visible, i am thinking about that :8

"The kingdom of thirteen" as Shangri-la is known. 13 lords battled for centuries in The Lands of the East. In the west, the families with blood of Sang's family, migrating to the central part, which we know as "Blateau Imperial". To the east the Xinte's blood was defending the domains at margins of Izumo. In the midst of these conflicts, Shenda, the family elder among all 13 lords.Dispute between the varied field of mines and Sakuradites and old possessions, mixing greed, money and power in a land of endless battles for nothing. This change came in 150 bb, when the "Wild North" (tribalist people living in the forests between Shangri-la and Hassun) organized to expand what would be the beginning of new empire. At this time, the 13 lords fighting each other and faced a new enemy, who took advantage of the low structure, to take cities, one by one. Mei Shenda invades the battlefields from the central area with a sole purpose, ending the war between the 13 lords and defended from the Wilds. It was not a simple mission, however summed up in two great battles, "Flowers Sang Yang" (162 bb) and the "Battle of Liang Pei" (165 bb). Hazard in these two battles, the savages had already dominated the lands of Laur, to the town of Lee where five lords died in this period and Mei Shenda united the nation in eight new fronts. An agreement with Hassun was remarkably important, while the defenses Mei Shenda advancing in the resumption of their lands, Haome Sarah pressed the savages from the desert of north. The battles ended in 150 bb with fortification "West Gate" and the declaration of the Emperor by Shenda Family and with the construction of the imperial city of Shangri-la that six years later would name the nation

[- Max -]

I like the simple and B&W overall feel with the red stamps but mountains and rivers really need more work.

[Sapiento]

I agree with Max. Overall good composition; a light shadow for the mountains and outline for the rivers would give it an extra kick.

[Eilathen]

I like it!

And i think the simple style has its own charm. It looks like those ancient japanese maps made with a brush. It transports the feeling well, i guess. In short: not sure if it needs more finesse with the rivers and mountains.

[Freodin]

Rivers, mountains - all the linework - could be improved in several ways... but I don't think it is really necessary. The simple black (grey?) and white map and the red stamp icons make it a great map full of character.

No, the thing that bugs me a little is the composition. You could move the key and the Shangri-La sigil upwards about three "squares", and get rid of the lower quarter of the map. There is just nothing of interest there.

Speaking of the "quarters": what do the numbers on the border scales signify? It is not distance; they do not fit with the scale in the key. If it is some kind of longitude / latitude system, it is not a "real world" one. And lastly: whatever it is meant to show - shouldn't there be something significant in the center? The capital, a major star-gazing observatory, a central temple?

[aquarits]

I like it!

And i think the simple style has its own charm. It looks like those ancient japanese maps made with a brush. It transports the feeling well, i guess. In short: not sure if it needs more finesse with the rivers and mountains.

I understood about the rivers, i see some bugs like how they finish in the borders. The rest i guess is following a simple style like this:
http://library.nao.ac.jp/kichou/arch...2776/00001.jpg

Tnx for the comments!

No, the thing that bugs me a little is the composition. You could move the key and the Shangri-La sigil upwards about three "squares", and get rid of the lower quarter of the map. There is just nothing of interest there.

I tried made the map a bit compact, but when i set the information boxes near to the land it got a but confused, maybe i just think wrong in get more area to not mess the land with the information boxes.
I appreciate the observation and is annotated in my book for the next compositions.

Speaking of the "quarters": what do the numbers on the border scales signify? It is not distance; they do not fit with the scale in the key.

They are distance. In the scale i used small measures for 15 km and a double for 30 km that fits exactly with the dimensions in the squares

And lastly: whatever it is meant to show - shouldn't there be something significant in the center? The capital, a major star-gazing observatory, a central temple?

Err, sorry not got your point. But guess i dont have great icons this time, the only big city is the Imperial capital near the west coast. Well, for my history it shows enough the lands of the 8 lords in the 6 districts.
Like i said before, maybe i need other map showing the war time, wut maybe can be more interesting.

Thanks for all comments

[rdanhenry]

It is possible to have an aesthetic that favors some empty space. It is also possible that the map would be proportioned according to some cultural requirement or standard parchment size. Perhaps the map-maker simply wanted to leave a place to make notes. So the layout doesn't bother me.

The grid, as noted, is weird. It isn't a projection of lat-long., the zeroes don't appear to reference anything, and the numbered edge appears to have no purpose other than to provide a border (which probably isn't needed). The simple grid lines through the whole map would make sense as a guide for the cartographer in his work, but the border detracts from plausibility.

I also wonder why the "Frontier District" is near "The Old Waters" and the "Old River". The water names suggest this was early settled land and would have been the first place to be non-frontier. It isn't by any means an impossible conjunction of names, of course, but it is curious.

[aquarits]

The borders are getting a lots of discussion lol. Fact that i used to help the distance measure in the lands (not in the sea) was just to focus that this map is not giving much importance to the gratitudes. They fight in the land, military ships arent the good point of this nation. Well, the reason for the squares was to learn some, guess i can call "week lines". The lines got more intensity in the land, not losing the way that how i made it. Probly not a good idea use it but teaches me how do it

Like i said in the beggin rdanhenry, probly i need other map focusing more in the war era. A fast explanation about the Old area. East from the realm we have other nation, Izumo, that owed the area. when Shangri-la took over the area, they just knew the as old place. The rivers and the Sea had a name, in other language that they cant pronounce. The District got a name, the towns got new names but they never changed the how they called the river, sea and the area in Volcano Valley. Is like Chineses getting a Japanese area and saying "how the fark they called this river, oh, never mind, lets call Old like we always called"

Btw, thx for the comments, i always waiting for critiques to improve my maps

[Netavio]

How can there be a north town yet not a south town D: