Reply With QuoteNow I've got some basic colors laid down in PS.
Map-002-small-color.jpg
First Map WIP
Here is my first map ever! I've been an artist for 10 years. Now I'm getting into writing fantasy, and that includes maps. I've been watching this forum for years and have a growing fascination with cartography.
After I drew this, I inked it, scanned it and converted it to .svg.
Map-002-small.jpg
Now I've got some basic colors laid down in PS.
Map-002-small-color.jpg
That's amazing for a first map. I need to learn a lot about coloring maps, but I'm new as well.
~Ardias Avenaerus, High King of Thocaea
It kind of looks like the right edge of the map is bordering up against the ocean, and i cannot tell if it is intentional or not. if intentional, the same coast effects that cover the rest of the coastline should be applied to it; if not, it is a very small area and if nothing else can be easily cropped.
This cavern is below all, and is the foe of all. It is hatred, without exception. This cavern knows no philosophers; its dagger has never cut a pen. Its blackness has no connection with the sublime blackness of the inkstand. Never have the fingers of night which contract beneath this stifling ceiling, turned the leaves of a book nor unfolded a newspaper.
This is a real nice looking map
There is one thing that for sure says "First Map" and that is your river system. As long as gravity and physics are at least generally working the same way in that world as they do in ours there are some basic rules that apply to rivers and lakes...
Water flows down until there is no way out, at that point it will form a lake.
Eventually all water and therefore all rivers will end up in the ocean (except in some very arid area where all the water evaporates)
Water flows together, smaller rivers join, large rivers rarely split (except around smaller islands or in river deltas and that are, in geological terms, pretty unstable situations)
I agree, the map looks great, but the rivers are magickal (i.e. they can't do that in real life).
The wierd ways of the rivers have already been mentioned... don't worry about that, it is a common mistake and one that can be easily remediated.
As for the rest of the map... indeed, you are an artist!
Thanks for all the great criticism and compliments! I will fix the rivers soon. As for the comment about the ocean to the right of the map, that will eventually be edited out.
This map will help me write my story. I've noticed so many bad maps in the front of great books and I hope to avoid that with my own.
Last edited by dangerdog15; 01-06-2012 at 05:40 PM.
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