Hello all.

[RandomBassoonist]

I'm Tazz, my username is RandomBassoonist (you knew that). The reason for this is I play Bassoon, and do lots of other things, and as you may have guessed, mapping is among those things. I was hooked into mapping after the first time I saw a map in the front of a book and have been attempting to get better at drawing maps and writing stories ever since (mostly the maps bit.). I am only really any good at coastlines as I spend most of my time sketching out archipelagos and things like that, then ruin it with my attempts at adding details.

[xpian]

Don't say, "ruin it with my attempts at adding details." Instead, think of it as trying out different ways of adding details, and then discarding the ways that don't work.

Honestly, speaking for myself, I have to "try out" different ways of depicting things on EVERY map I make. Even the one that just won last month's challenge. I draw something (like trees, or fences, or windows--jeez, the windows...), look at it, realize it doesn't seem quite right to me, and then retrace my steps. I erase and draw again. Sometimes a third time. Sometimes I look around at the work of other illustrators to see how they solved the same problem. Finally, I'm able to produce something that looks "good enough" to stand on its own so that I can move on to some other aspect of the map.

Those are the skills you need to develop: the ability to try something, erase, and try again. The willingness to look around and try to figure out how others have done it before. And most crucially of all, the ability to walk away from one part of your drawing, feeling satisfied that it's as good as you can make it (right now, with your current skill set) so that you don't get bogged down and exhaust yourself on details that don't matter. So that you can move on to other parts of your drawing and finish them up. Yes, finish. Finishing the project, even if it's not perfect, is essential for growth. You learn more about your process every time you have to push yourself to complete a piece.

Working digitally can help with the erasing, of course. I work mostly in ProCreate, which gives me layers, undo's, blending modes, etc.