My First (sort-of) Map

[Saladin]

1st map.png

Hey Guys, it's me Saladin! I'm still alive BTW.

I know it isn't that good at all, but there were a lot of issues going on last month and I was doing my best, there were some features of Gimp I didn't have that would've improved upon the map itself should I have had them. Anyway, I can accept that it is not my best, but what do you guys think honestly of the map I am sharing? More specifically, what needs to be improved, I guess.

Yes, in a way, it is still a work in progress and I still have a long way to go before it's even considered complete, but I am getting the hang of it, I think. Okay bye.

[Ilanthar]

I think that right now, it misses a proper coastline with some details to make your lands "pop" more. Either a black/dark stroke around the lands, coastal waves/rings, some inland coastal effect or a combination of those would be good.

[Saladin]

Wow thank you Ilanthar, for the constructive criticism. Like I said, this map is not exactly good, but I guess you could say it is sort of my first official map and I don't know yet what to categorize it as, but as far as I know, it probably would be more of a regional map. As to what story it points to or anything like where it's from or whatever... Sadly, none of that is there in the map. Tell me, how would I add a coastline, as well as some mountains, coastal waves or rings?

By the way, this was done in gimp.

[ChickPea]

Hi Saladin, I think you'd help yourself in the long run by working through a few tutorials before you work on your own map. They'll teach you how to create things like realistic coastlines and coastal rings etc. Gidde's 'Hand-Drawn Mapping (for the Artistically Challenged)' and Ascension's Atlas Style Tutorial are two very popular tutorials and they'll work with Gimp. Once you learn a few techniques, you can apply these to your own map. There's more info in this Quick Start thread, or you can download tutorials in PDF format in this thread.

PS if you want your thread moved to Regional Maps, just let us know.

[Chris Lewis]

How did you attach your map? I am trying to do the same thing but do not see a button to do so. Thank you for your help.

[Saladin]

How did you attach your map? I am trying to do the same thing but do not see a button to do so. Thank you for your help.

There's an "insert image" button here, I think, where when you post, it asks you if you want to post the image from the designated url or from the hard drive of your computer. Now, if you made your own map and it's most likely on the hard drive, click "from Computer" and I think it should work.

** Or **

Go to the "manage attachments" tab in the advanced reply section and from there, you'll have to figure it out, because I don't go through that too much. That process is probably different, but relatively the same.

[ChickPea]

How did you attach your map? I am trying to do the same thing but do not see a button to do so. Thank you for your help.

Hi Chris, the best way to put images in your comments is to use the Attachments feature, rather than the Insert Image button on the toolbar.

Underneath the comment box is a button that says 'Go Advanced'. Click on that, and on the next screen that loads, scroll down a bit to the button that says 'Manage Attachments'. That'll open a pop-up window, and you can upload a file from there. Click 'Insert Inline' & 'Done' to put it into your post. Once you've done it once or twice it's very straight-forward. If you're not sure about anything, just ask.