Greetings Guild members!

[Secretarus]

I'm a college kid, wannabe fantasy writer, and I guess I'm one of your latest applicants!

I've been drawing coastlines, mountains, and maps into the margins of my notebooks since middle school. It's my go-to doodle, and over the years the hobby's evolved as I've imagined more elaborate worlds and put them more properly to paper. Anyway, a couple months ago, I met a new friend that noticed some of my sketches in class. He happened to be a DM, and asked if I could help him craft a map for a campaign he was cooking up. Now, this was the first time I'd ever actually done this kinda thing for somebody, but he gave me the details, I did what I've been doing for years, and he said that I might actually have a shot making these for some money. It's been a bit of a rabbit hole from there. I only just started getting into D&D (only got one session under my belt so far) and started researching more into the art that professionals are able to bring to life. It's a little intimidating, but really fun.

Now, I know I'm not at the level to start a real commission project, not yet anyway. But that's why I'm here. This seems like a spectacular community, and y'all have some stellar maps. I want to learn what I can, hone my skills, and hopefully add whatever good I can here while I'm at it.

This is actually the first forum I've ever registered for, so hopefully I learn how to navigate this place well enough, eventually. If you see me stumbling around in the wrong sub-forum, rest assured I have no idea what I'm doing.

Now, the email said this was just for introductions, so should I pop in a first map of mine here, or is there a different place for that?

Thanks!
~Secretarus

[KMAlexander]

Welcome, Secretarus! And good luck with your map-making.

You could put your map here, but I'd recommend putting your map in one of the Mapmaking Discussion & Philosophy (WIP/Critique) subforums based on what it is, Region/World, Town/City, Building/Structure, etc.

[ChickPea]

Hi, and welcome to the Guild!

For posting maps, there are a couple of main areas. If the map's completely finished, post it to (the surprisingly named!) Finished Maps folder. If it's still a work-in-progress, we've got a few different areas depending on the type of map. See them here.

The single best way to practice and learn is to join in on one of our challenges. We've got two types of challenge, the 'regular' challenge which runs from the beginning till the end of the month (more or less), and the Lite Challenge which starts and finishes mid-month. Check out the regular challenge here, and the Lite Challenge here. They're great for learning and improving your skills, and also just for getting to know people. Everyone's super friendly and supportive, and I'd highly recommend giving one a bash.

If you need help finding your way around, just holler. I'll look forward to seeing some of your work.

[Secretarus]

Thanks for the warm welcome ChickPea and KMAlexander. I'll check out the sub-forums y'all recommended, and I'll def be jumping on the next regular challenge!