Hey there...and my first map!

[ajrittler]

Greetings all! Been lurking a bit...some great stuff! Have been reading some tutorials and have taken my first stab at a map! A work in progress...can't say I'm overly happy with it but...

This is something I'll continue to make revisions on just to learn! Thanks again for the tutorials and thanks for looking!

[ChickPea]

Hi, welcome to the Guild and thanks for sharing your map. Which tutorial did you follow to create the map, or is it a combination of techniques?

I think there are a few things you could improve. At first glance, the thing that jumps out at me is the flat sea colour compared to your very textured land masses. Is that something you're still working on? I have to admit I'm not a fan of the drop shadow on the labels, though this is more of a personal taste thing. Have you considered an outer glow instead of the drop shadow? (Of course, if you like the drop shadow, then ignore my ramblings!) Some of the label positions aren't ideal. River of the Damned particularly feels dissociated from its target. I'd make the river labels smaller so that they fit better, and try bending them a little to somewhat follow the course of the water. And speaking of rivers, I think some of them could benefit from a little work. Sawtooth River seems to have something blurring it slightly as it moves inland. You could also try erasing the black lines on the rivers. They're good around the coasts and lakes but I'm not sure they're necessary in a narrow river. They add clutter and obscure the blue of the water. Just something to think about.

You're off to a nice start, and you might consider posting your next update in the Regional/World mapping work-in-progress folder, as more people will see it there. I also have to say that I love some of your place names. Bog Beast Swamp and Long Nose Point are fantastic, evocative names!

Looking forward to seeing your next update.

[ajrittler]

Thanks for the reply and feedback!

I'm not sure I like the textured terrain at all...something just doesn't look "right" to me. which, is one reason I haven't touched the water yet.

Now that I look at the drop shadow in the text I see what you mean. It's too busy and seems to get lost.

Yeah, the label positioning isn't something I've been too picky on - yet. some are way off

Ugh, the rivers - yeah. If you look closely you might notice some look "better" than others. they were done in different "passes". They'll all get re-drawn. The blurring in Sawtooth is killing me...just lazy.

I have mostly been using the two following tutorials:
Making Maps with Photoshop by Jezelf
Creating Mountains and Other Terrains in Photoshop v1.5 tutorial by Pasis

I have created a new thread in the Regional/World Mapping section. Please feel free to take a look and give more feedback!

https://www.cartographersguild.com/s...460#post307460