Looks pretty good so far.
Did you consider Inkscape? - it's the open-source, free near-equivalent of Illustrator.
This is a WIP map of a fictional country of mine that's been floating around the Internet.
The map is made entirely in Photoshop. I would have dearly loved to have been able to do it in Illustrator, as an atlas-style map is harder to make using raster graphics, but I don't own Illustrator. So here I am trying to get a good map done by sheer force of will. I was really inspired by a2area's map of Torentine, and I hope my map turns out as good as that one.
I'm currently working away at this when I get a chance, so I'll be sure to post the finished product ASAP, and please tell me how it looks so far, especially the text. Text is hard to get just right on a map like this.
Last edited by Flawedspirit; 08-01-2010 at 09:31 PM. Reason: WIP map updated!
Looks pretty good so far.
Did you consider Inkscape? - it's the open-source, free near-equivalent of Illustrator.
My Finished Maps | My Challenge Maps | Still poking around occasionally...
Unless otherwise stated by me in the post, all work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.
I have tried Inkscape, but for some reason or another, I didn't really like it. The interface was real confusing in my opinion. I'll look it up again and see if I can learn how to use it, but I probably won't bother for this map, as it's already far enough along in its development that I have no desire to convert it to vector or start over.
I use both vector and raster, and honestly in every program version vector (Illustrator, Inkscape, CorelDraw, Xara) is far easier to use than photoshop of GIMP. But they're completely different animals, and you have to put the raster mind-set away when you start with a vector app. Once you 'get it' you'll understand.
GP
Gamer Printshop Publishing, Starfinder RPG modules and supplements, Map Products, Map Symbol Sets and Map Making Tutorial Guide
DrivethruRPG store
Artstation Gallery - Maps and 3D illustrations