First Try

[Deo]

Hi there,this is my first post and attempt to make a map. I'd like some critique on it,and if you've got any tips on improving,especially about detailing the land and water, I would very much like to hear them.

Raganhar.png

This map was made using GIMP.

[tilt]

Hi Deo and congrats on your first map, its a great start ... for critique I have a few points. First of your rivers. Rivers go from high to low (typically from mountains to oceans - or a lake), they come together but they don't part. They always take the easiest route. So you have a few rivers that needs to change a little ... I would think a few labels and civilizations (ie cities, villages etc) would be nice unless its empty of that. A border around the whole thing is a nice finish and I'd perhaps add a little texture/nuance to the water as well. But as mentioned, great work on your first map

[Sprutnums]

Hi Deo and congrats on your first map, its a great start ... for critique I have a few points. First of your rivers. Rivers go from high to low (typically from mountains to oceans - or a lake), they come together but they don't part. They always take the easiest route. So you have a few rivers that needs to change a little ... I would think a few labels and civilizations (ie cities, villages etc) would be nice unless its empty of that. A border around the whole thing is a nice finish and I'd perhaps add a little texture/nuance to the water as well. But as mentioned, great work on your first map

"how to support a newcomer"

[Falconius]

It's pretty good for a first go. As tilt pointed out, you have some strange rivers going on. If you think of rivers like a tree the trunk would be where all the water gathers and forms the mouth of the river and the branches are all tributaries that feed the river.
River tree example.png

Water is difficult. But it helps if there is a line around the land, and when making that line people often put effect like waves or multiple fading lines or whatever to indicate the transition from land to water. My most successful water I've managed was to hand paint he depths in in different shades (lighter blue for shallow water deep blue for deep water).

[jbgibson]

I like it. <what they said about rivers> but another improvement you could try with water has to do with color. If you like the deep blue for ocean that’s a stylistic choice & if you like it go for it :-). But when any expanse of color is saturated it’s kind of like using all caps in online text - it’s sort of ‘yelling’ visually. Assuming the nicely rendered island is the focus, and the ocean is just the setting for the jewel, you could avoid the water being overpowering by dropping the saturation on the color. Still could be dark if you like. That’s kind of true for land colors too, but your green isn’t as boldly pure as the blue. You could experiment with dropping its saturation a little, but it is decent like it is.

Did you draw the various elements? They’re nicely done. I see what looks like a couple of places you duplicated a clump of mountains and then edited away those that didn’t fit the way you wanted the range to curve - that’s good. It’s way easier to edit already drawn bits than do do it all from scratch!

That little peninsula that points straight north makes the eye wonder if it’s a thing sticking straight up from the land - if it was curved or angled a bit off north-equals-vertical that illusion wouldn’t be fooling the viewer. Same with the little NE island. Oblique elements look great, but the eye starts to expect everything to be foreshortened.

A scale and a border would be informative and would make it look more polished as well.

The bit of texture you have going on the land does a good job of conveying minor roughness without having to draw in hills, bumps, ridges.

I think it’s a great first effort - I hereby award a smidgen of reputation as thanks for being willing to start right off with a substantive contribution. Oh, and welcome to the Guild - Map Funly and Learn Bigly ! :-)

[Deo]

Thanks for the advice guys! I'll keep them in mind when I redo the map. Also,glad to be here.