After a 20 year break I decided to revisit the maps I started sketching out when I was 11 for a novel I will (hopefully) finish, this is a work in progress, I love Tear's version of the Seven Kingdoms (a song of fire and ice) and was an influenced in parts for this... Still a fair bit to do, with adding some forests and labelling the map but just though i'd throw it out there for a WIP critique
P.S. is there any way to actually change my user name without losing my uploads etc?
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I really like the shape of the land masses in your map. The color scheme and the ocean bumps are very nice as well. A couple of suggestions thought. First, the mountains seem a bit too smooth and bubbly. I'm a GIMP user and not all that familiar with PS, but perhaps if you added some noise (or whatever the PS equivalent of noise is) to the mt ranges before bump-mapping (lighting effects? Emboss?) then, this would give them a bit more of a rugged look. Second, the map title in the right-hand corner seems a bit small. Other than that, you're off to a wonderful start.
Cheers,
-Arsheesh
Hi arsheesh, thanks for the feedback, it's much appreciated i've got a masked layer with a rock texture that I'll be using to 'rockyfy' the mountains (I couldnt quite get it to look right), I've not put much thought into the typography yet but chances are that I'll create a panel for the title which I haven't really decided on, the name i originally had seemed a bit childish so this is a stopgap and will most likely change when I give it some thought.
Cheers.
You have a large flat area above the central gulf, what sort of environment does it have? With mountains to the East and West and no central river system I'd expect a desert but the coloration doesn't reflect that. There are some very arid grasslands out there (Patagonia immediately comes to mind), but with such an impressive basin I'd expect some river activity if it isn't a true sandy/rocky desert.
An interesting option if you want something dry but not entirely barren would be a seasonal rainy season (with seasonal rivers) similar to what we see in Australia and some parts of Africa.
I love the overall layout and I must admit I'm a sucker for sunken coastlines - the gap between your continent and the southern landmass is quite eyecatching.
Ah ha, you are correct, i was planning this area to be like the russian steppes but if there was going to be vast grassland then there would have to be some water, I may need to rethink this area
The Russian steppes have a ton of rivers actually, so you can still preserve your initial plans if you want, you just need to consider a river or two. If they are flowing north you may also want to consider a large frigid delta at the end - if you're looking for real world inspiration I'd suggest looking the Ob River, the Lena River, and the (Canadian) MacKenzie River.
An arctic and near-arctic delta also mean you can include pingos!
Hi, thanks I like the idea of pingos, never heard of them before, if I have some river systems flowing north then that would work as the land would be frozen all year round.
Your welcome, I'm glad I could help. Biomes are enjoyable things to play with.
It's a great start, looking forward to seeing where you take it.
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