The Continent of Nerra

[SereneParadox]

Hey guys! I'm looking for feedback and constructive criticism on my map!

I started off by following Tear's Saderan tutorial but then I went off on my own when he started asking me to paint things like rivers because I'm artistically completely devoid of talent and I tried for a few hours without success to paint anything. I pretty much entirely relied on cloud layers and the like to get a decent looking map.

world map.png

Anyway! Let me know what you think.

Oh, I also used Raven's Brushes so thanks for that!

[syris]

Looks pretty good to me, I like the northern part a bit more than the southern, mainly because the north looks like it has more topographical depth, whereas the south seems a bit flat. That being said, I think the overall shape of the land masses, water shading, and land coloration looks good.

[SereneParadox]

Thanks, Syris. The south is intentionally flat (this map is for an RPG and not just strictly meant to look aesthetically good) but I do agree that the north looks better.

[Stephen Koch]

My only comment would be to suggest that you darken the outlines on the labels just a tad. as they are now they are hard to read, and I had to squint to read several of them. Try playing around with them to increase contrast just slightly so they pop a little more and are more readable.

I would also suggest that you play around with adding in 1 or 2 large rivers.

[SereneParadox]

Thanks for all the advice, guys.

Syris, thanks for going through the trouble of adding rivers! I think those are a little dark, but I definitely see the potential.

[Stephen Koch]

My only comment would be to suggest that you darken the outlines on the labels just a tad. as they are now they are hard to read, and I had to squint to read several of them. Try playing around with them to increase contrast just slightly so they pop a little more and are more readable.

I would also suggest that you play around with adding in 1 or 2 large rivers.

[syris]

A quick river "what if" for your map...wasn't difficult, but also not claiming that it's good...or correctly done...or in any way what you're going for, but oh well. If it's a look you might want, it was just a brush with fade tapering...

[syris]

Not a problem...I just sorta grabbed a random shade of blue from your ocean and started drawing lines, shade matching be damned...

[SereneParadox]

I just literally have no idea how to draw anything, haha. The concept of drawing rivers is always good but I start doing it and it never looks right.

[Treijim]

Hey SereneParadox

What's this map for, exactly? I'm not sure how realistic you want this to be, but I see a few things I would fix. The first is that the rivers layer is above the labels. The second is the lake south of Qive with north-south rivers stemming from it. Which way does the water flow? Water flows downhill, so it doesn't make sense unless it's an extension on the sea, in which case it would probably get blocked and fill with sediment unless a really strong current from somewhere can keep it clear.

What's the scale of the map? Judging by the size of your mountains, I imagine it can't be that big. I see places where, depending on the scale, I thought ought to be very populated. Why isn't Corholm, for example, planted at the mouth of that big river just west of it? Rivers provide water, which in turn sustains life, so I see no reason why there can't be a city there. Amanax and Qive are in good positions. Svardeen looks very isolated. Is it in the middle of a dry grassland, away from water? That's how it looks. There are a couple big rivers near the south-east shore, where more cities could sprout, too. The river between Kaspar and God's Barracks seems to be taking a very convoluted route to the sea. Wouldn't the lowest path be to plunge down to the sea just south of the Barracks?

Again, depending on scale, places like Castle Corex seem oddly placed. It's rather lonely. Who sustains the castle? Or is it self-sustained? It looks very far from towns/cities/other people. Good luck!