Regional Map for a Fantasy Setting [Dirge]

[Arnakalar]

Hello hello,

I'm working on a new map and I would love some feedback! Attached is the current pencil sketch with a quick paper background added. I wanted to try out a slightly more illustrative style, with the individual trees and buildings, tiny illustrations for the towns, etc. That said, I'm not sure how well it works - I worry that the map is pretty busy, that the density of and weight of the linework varies a lot (might be improved in the inking), and this makes it a bit of a mess, etc.

I'd love to get your opinions on anything at all, and thanks so much for taking a look!

(Scale is about 350x500 miles)

Dirge_Pencil_Parch.jpg

[mikmcmik]

I really like it - it's pretty, has a good shape and looks packed with interesting things...i can see why you might worry about it being too busy, but I don't think it's a bad thing on a regional map to have lots of features.

It's really good. I'd agree the lines do fade in and out a bit which can be a little confusing, but if you're adding colour that wouldn't be a problem. The only other thing that seems a little off is the bottom right corner - in a map that's bustling with terrain it seems very empty (I wasn't sure if it was going to be a desert).

I'd love to see how the finished product works out.

[Arnakalar]

Update!

- Inked! Overall I'm very happy with the effect - I think the map looks much more balanced, and the features pop much more with the ink down. I'm not 100% happy with the actual inking job done. The line weights could use more variation, and in particular the 'icons' for the settlements by in large turned into a mess - they're just too small (I wonder if I should have just used actual icons for this scale of map).

- New landmass. I was tickled by the small island off the coast of mainland in the original drawing, and ended up deciding I wanted to larger and more prominent. Thus I created the extra landmass to the west, and a new and larger set of islands.

- Switched out the background layer for a cleaner paper texture, and added a super quick border.

Work left to do:

- Currently working on labels & text, once inkscape starts cooperating. The border needs to be cleaned up, as well.

- The whole southern edge of the map is still basically empty. I need to figure out what I want to do with the map edge and then develop that.

- Redraw and ink the compass rose.

- Finalize and redraw the water effect - I've left the broken waves in pencil for now, which is actually an effect I like, but I think it needs work nonetheless.

- Color? My current plan is to not color it, but I'm tempted to draw to hand-draw in highlights/shading. I'd like to keep the overall map tone, but I may want to edge the greens in green, for example.

As always thanks for taking a look, and any feedback is appreciated!

I really like it - it's pretty, has a good shape and looks packed with interesting things...i can see why you might worry about it being too busy, but I don't think it's a bad thing on a regional map to have lots of features.

It's really good. I'd agree the lines do fade in and out a bit which can be a little confusing, but if you're adding colour that wouldn't be a problem. The only other thing that seems a little off is the bottom right corner - in a map that's bustling with terrain it seems very empty (I wasn't sure if it was going to be a desert).

I'd love to see how the finished product works out.

Belatedly, thank you so much for the view and praise! I'm glad you like the level of business/etc. You are totally right about the bottom right - it is/was both incomplete and desert-like. In the new version, I've added a little bit of terrain markings for texture, but honestly I'm not sure of the best way to illustrate "Wasteland". It's hard to represent broken terrain and stunted trees when the individual illustrative elements are 1/4" high.

Dirge_Ink_1.jpg