Karu -- The Austere Land

[Peter Toth]

Hello Guild,

I'm looking for some criticism for this piece, which is a DEM-less atlas style map using my experimental terrain algorithm. It was cooked up on Photoshop and Wilbur.

I don't know if I'm going to develop it further, considering that my maps aren't that popular to begin with; however, this map represents my diehard devotion to mastering the art of fantasy cartography.

Anyways, I won't bore you with any more unnecessary details.

I hope you're all well and safe.

Peter

Karu.png

[Skalimoi]

I've been following your threads for quite some time and your improvement is very noticeable. I have no doubt that you're in the path to be a great cartographer, or I would say you're already one.

As for criticism, one common thing I see in all your maps (even though it's being fixed by your improvement) is the "fractalness" of your terrain. When you generate perlin noise on Wilbur and you erode it, for example, the terrain left up seems fractured or noisy, with no clear direction. To prevent this, I would simplify the terrain; clip unnecessary or overcomplicated features, and give a more clear direction to the mountain ranges. They "spread out" too much, at least for my taste. It's a very good piece nevertheless!

Would you mind explaining your process a little bit? I'm interested.