Avani - by Wag

[ravells]

Map (Click to enlarge)




Created in: Photoshop

Review

If elements of the style of this map looks a little familiar, it is because Wag was inspired by one of the previous Cartographers' Choice maps, Ystraad by Bohunk, to create this one.

Wag says:

The map itself could not have been made without the tutorials and other shining examples that are on this site, particularly “Ystraad” by Bohunk which is the map directly responsible for this one.

My map was done exclusively in photoshop using nothing by a mouse and keyboard. Many of the "hand drawn" brushes were simply created using a very high Pixel per Inch and then drawn with the mouse. Shrinking them then covered up any mistakes and aided in the "hand drawn" look you see with many of the brushes and textures. Construction of this map went thru several phases. Firstly was the creation of the landmass itself and establishing the overall style. Then with different colors the areas for forests, mountains, deserts, and plains were established. Then populating those areas accordingly. Next the map went thru determining practical placements for rivers and major cities, and finally naming the lands and places and adding gridlines, borders, and other style additions.

Along the way I compiled a library of custom brushes and textures that will aid in future mapmaking projects. I hope to compile these into a pack I can release on this site sometime in the future.

A huge thanks to the community and to the admins of this site for providing a place for this creativity to occur. It’s great to have a place where the people are helpful and supportive and always excited about new people and new projects.

And this is exactly what the Cartographers' Guild is all about. Creating beautiful maps and passing on the knowledge of how to do so to others so they can create beautiful maps too. The Guild is very proud of the fact that its members freely share their techniques so others can learn, adapt, combine and improve on the techniques they have been shown.

Wag's map is an excellent example of this process in action with stunning results.

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