Excited, Intimidated, and All-Around Nervous

[Rawwkfingers]

I'm going to be completely upfront, I have zero experience in cartography, and I'm not entirely sure that it's for me. I know very little about it and have no artistic background, either pen/paper or using computer software, so I have a very steep learning curve ahead of me. The few "maps" I've made barely count as a child's scribbling.
But, I'm joining this group nonetheless. I've always been drawn to fantasy stories, and for as long as I can remember I've wanted to write them. As I've grown older, however, I find myself ruminating on the "big picture," creating 70+ page biographies on a country's history while developing almost no actual story.
And when I read a new fantasy story or play a new game, I'm drawn either to stories with an already deeply enriched world (A Song of Ice and Fire) or drawn to maps that allow me to create my own backstory (such as Pokemon maps, heavily based on real world geography but sparse enough for me to headcanon things like Pallet Town's importance as the only port town connecting the entirety of the west)
I love the history and backstory of fantasy worlds, and cartography is an extremely useful way to explore and enrich that. I'm not sure if I will be able to develop the skills I'd like, it'll be a long, long road until then, but I'm excited to learn nonetheless.
Any tips for a beginner would be greatly appreciated!

[Korash]

Hmmm...Tips you say?

The first that I can give you is to look through THIS forum. It is where we put most of our resources, be it tutorial, map objects or elements, a place to ask questions...stuff like that.

At the top of that list is our Tutorial section. Here you will find all sorts of guides to creating maps ...or anything else map related. I would suggest that you look through this forum and try a few. Don't be shy bout being new to this game because we have all been there...at the beginning. Some of us have moved further than others (don't go looking at me...) through following these tutorials and using our next favorite resource HERE.

The WIP threads (Work In Progress) are a great place to develop your talents, and trust me you DO have some...even if it is very well hidden. Once you start following a tut, post up a thread with where you are at and ask for critique and ask any questions you may have. We are a friendly bunch and are more than willing to help people make great maps. Don't be shy either because the critiques and comments you will get are for the most part either for encouragement or as guidance. If you doubt me on that look through some of the WIPS and you will see what I mean.

Oh yeah...and Welcome to The Guild, The Mappiest Place on the Web

[Straf]

I'm going to be completely upfront, I have zero experience in cartography, and I'm not entirely sure that it's for me. I know very little about it and have no artistic background, either pen/paper or using computer software, so I have a very steep learning curve ahead of me. The few "maps" I've made barely count as a child's scribbling.
But, I'm joining this group nonetheless. I've always been drawn to fantasy stories, and for as long as I can remember I've wanted to write them. As I've grown older, however, I find myself ruminating on the "big picture," creating 70+ page biographies on a country's history while developing almost no actual story.
And when I read a new fantasy story or play a new game, I'm drawn either to stories with an already deeply enriched world (A Song of Ice and Fire) or drawn to maps that allow me to create my own backstory (such as Pokemon maps, heavily based on real world geography but sparse enough for me to headcanon things like Pallet Town's importance as the only port town connecting the entirety of the west)
I love the history and backstory of fantasy worlds, and cartography is an extremely useful way to explore and enrich that. I'm not sure if I will be able to develop the skills I'd like, it'll be a long, long road until then, but I'm excited to learn nonetheless.
Any tips for a beginner would be greatly appreciated!

You've described me, and judging from when I first landed here and said similar, quite a few others here as well.

Get yourself some drawing software. I'd recommend GIMP because 1. it's free and 2. did I mention the cost? free. It's quite a powerful package and I had virtually no experience with it but there are tutorials around explaining how to do just about anything with it. I'll give you a few little starters though.

- Learn about layers and what they can do.
- CTRL-Z is your friend (undo) when you make mistakes.
- Save often. Version your saves so you can roll back if you FUBAR your work.
- Don't be scared to experiment.
- Post in WIP and ask for comments/critique. Someone will be along eventually with some excellent advice.
- Have fun with whatever you're doing. If you get frustrated or down about it, leave it alone and come back when you're ready. There's no race

and most importantly

- Do not, under any circumstances, eat yellow snow