My first map of the Andornan kingdom

[Deadshade]

I have been drawing maps by hand but since I discovered this great forum, I started to be interested by software drawn maps.
This last month and some I have been mostly Learning and testing a dozen of different software.
Even if I am by far master of none, it was time to create something.

So here is a map of the Andornan kingdom whose sketch I have drawn by hand some times ago.
It is regional scale, the distance from the east to west edge is broadly 1000 km. It is situated around 50° latitude South.
The Andornan kingdom has been born on the shores of a huge sweet water lake by the merger of smaller groups of fishermen and sailors.
It prospered because the Lady's Lake as they call it is a unique source of glittering black pearls on the world.
The glttering black pearls not only decorate the most expensive royal attributes all over the world but, if combined according to a receipt jealously guarded by the Andornans, it allows to access glittering magics.
Glittering magics or glamour opens the way to know and influence deepest desires of every man and woman for a short time.

There are legends connecting The Lady and the black pearls but I dare not speak more ...

Andornfinal.jpg

[Chick]

This is very nice for a first software map. May I suggest that you make more tonal difference between the land and sea. Either darken the sea or lighten the land (I would suggest the latter, I like your sea), just to make the boundary more distinct.

[Deadshade]

This is very nice for a first software map. May I suggest that you make more tonal difference between the land and sea. Either darken the sea or lighten the land (I would suggest the latter, I like your sea), just to make the boundary more distinct.

The region has lighter textures on northern shore. I can't well make it lighter in the South because it is boreal forest and this biome is rather dark.

[Chick]

Well, it was just my first impression, nothing too serious. Can the water be the lighter color and land the darker?

[Deadshade]

Well, it was just my first impression, nothing too serious. Can the water be the lighter color and land the darker?

Yes, the continental shelf is relatively light.
I should have done it a bit lighter but when I did the attempt, I got a much too big contrast between deep ocean and continental shelf. So that in turn would have forced me to make the rest of the ocean lighter too and then the colors would no more be realistic enough for my taste.
So I kept it like that even if I agree, the continental shelf is a bit too "electric blue"

Finding good ocean colors is really difficult especially with millions of possible combinations. I always go towards rather dark because that's how the Earth looks.

[Cirias]

Hey, what software are you using for this?

[Deadshade]

This was basically Wilbur and Fractal Terrains with a bit of GIMP detail editing.