I'm almost certainly being over ambitious here, especially since the main purpose of my interest in cartography is just so I can have an idea of where things are in my story, but hey, go big or go home...

I am looking to build a series of maps for my fantasy setting. If hell ever freezes over and I get my fantasy story published (and if that happens I do recommend everyone make their peace with whatever deity they hold sacred because doomsday will indeed be upon us) I'd like to include a few of them in the final version of the book as I always loved seeing maps in a fantasy book when I was a child. The maps I want to make are:

A world political map:
I want to make a map showing the major vassals of each of the two empires and the other independent states, their major capitals and fortresses.

A world physical map: I'd like to be able to show the major rivers, land forms, deserts, forests etc. of my world.

A few provincial maps: I want to be able to make a more detailed map of one or two of my major locations showing things like local landmarks and towns and the route my characters take in the books.

I have tried a few rough drafts, ok a lot of rough drafts, and they always seem to have a problem that I can't seem to fix due to the nature of the software I use. I will attach the two major rough drafts I've made to give you a basic idea of my skill level and hopefully someone will be able to offer me feedback and guidance on making the best maps I can.

Thank you in advance for your help.semtarmountclimate.pngsemtarmount.png2nd draft full mapwith lake states.png