Working on my next map - Kingdom of Gibeon

[landorl]

If you're creating this in GIMP or Photoshop, it would be easy to just keep Elyon hidden by "blocking out" that fog on a new top layer; that way you'd know what's in there but no one else would. Just an idea--or maybe that's what you planned all along?

That was what I am planning. I am just not sure how to do it artistically. I think what I might do is to find a cloudlike pattern, and then color in everything beyond the coastline using a new top layer.

I will also be doing a map for Elyon itself, but the people of Gibeon are not aware of what is there.

[landorl]

I can easily do a tutorial for this. I have created a template in Photoshop which makes it pretty easy (though still time consuming!) I have created several different layers and then set the colors and effects that I use within that layer. That way all of the maps that I do like this will end up looking the same, so if I want, I can later stitch them together for one massive map.

As I start to work on the next map, I will do a tutorial for it, and post it here.

[Eilathen]

That way all of the maps that I do like this will end up looking the same, so if I want, I can later stitch them together for one massive map.

That would be awesome. I'd really like to see the resulting map.

As I start to work on the next map, I will do a tutorial for it, and post it here.

Great! Thanks in advance, landorl.

[landorl]

This one is nearly complete. I made a cloud-like fog over the realm of Elyon to reflect the unknown nature of that land. I am pretty well satisfied with the way it came out. I will do a little more tinkering with the map, adding some more locations, but this is pretty much it.

[pyrandon]

Looks great! Great work there.

[RobA]

Looking nice!

(I'm hoping for that tutorial, too!)

-Rob A>

[Robbie]

This style is growing on me more and more...great work! I like the organic feel of it

[The Cartographist]

landorl - I commented on your map of Braegor earlier.

The thing that strikes me the most, which you commented on, is that the style is identical across your maps. It will be great when you complete the entire collection and can stitch them all together.

Couple of additional thoughts:
1. Your legend lists large cities as those with over 5000 inhabitants. Was this arbitrary or was the number based on something? I ask only from the perspective that there were (a few) ancient cities that had far in excess of 5000 inhabitants. Might you choose a larger denomination or are you implicitly stating that while larger than 5000, their populations aren't so much larger as to warrant a different symbol?
2. As a Navigator is the U.S. Navy and a submarine navigator at that, I love when fantasy map makers shade the ocean to ever deeper shades of blue. But I am often disappointed in that it seems that no thought is put into it, ie. most maps have a uniform thickness of each color. Assuming that deeper colors indicate deeper water, no ocean bottom in the world slopes down uniformly as most maps indicate. I'm not critiquing your map (because I think that it's beautiful), but I have to ask whether your ocean shading is meant to imply depth or was it done for decoration only?

[landorl]

To answer your questions...

1. In my world, there are several cities which far exceeds 5,000. In this kingdom, the city of Echelon is one of the largest in the world with a population of over 50,000, and there are a couple of other cities with populations in the range of just under 20,000. However, this kingdom is also one of the most densely populated, and most of my kingdoms will only have one or two "mega" cities with populations in the range of 10-20,000. So, I made the cut at 5,000 to show more of the larger cities. I am considering going back in after I get some of the others done and adding another symbol for cities with populations greater than 20,000.

2. I definitely will have to go back in later on and redo my sea depths. I do want to give a sense of the depth of the seas, but right now it is just random drawing, for artistic more than realistic depths. When I do this, I will just do three basic level. I will do what I consider to be coastal waters, and probably say that it is depths of under 100 feet. The next level will be medium depths, with the depth being under 500 feet. The dark color will be anything greater than that. I may end up changing to 50 and 200 feet.

[The Cartographist]

Thanks for the answers.
I think that 100, 500, and deeper are the way to go.