Finished World Map - Heartkeeper Trilogy

[nrsearcy]

Hello folks. This is my first post (and my first map), so don't be too hard on me. I'm sure I made some rookie mistakes, but all in all, I'm really quite proud of this map. I started this map with the intention of using it as a working reference as I wrote the sequel to my first novel, but I guess I sort of caught the bug, and wanted to make something pretty (rather than merely serviceable).

It took me somewhere between 12-16 hours (from sketch to completion), but I'd say at least half of that was trying to figure out what style I wanted to use. I actually had the mountain ranges completely finished in a vastly different style (using icons) before I decided to scrap it and start over. So my next map will probably be completed a lot more quickly.

I didn't really dress it up or anything. I chose to use a fairly simple compass, and I didn't put a border on it (mostly because I don't think it needed it, but partly because I don't know if I could create one that did it justice). I didn't put names to landmarks, seas, forests, etc. because, with this sort of map, it would clutter it, and take away from the overall effect. Instead, I chose to only label the cities, which suits my purpose perfectly.

I used Photoshop CS5 (and my trusty tablet) after sketching on paper. Anyway, I think it's decent for being my first map (though I'm far from being a Photoshop novice). However, I'm always open to suggestions that may make my future maps better. I still plan on doing a political map, a few regional maps, and a couple of city maps for this world, so you'll probably be seeing more of my work in the near future.

map 7.jpg

As an aside, if anyone's interested in more about the world, visit my blog at http://nrsearcy.blogspot.com/ .

[aquarits]

Nice rivers

[Bogie]

Great first map. Will hit you with some rep for that.

[Black_Rose]

Nice map! I like the colours and the rivers Only thing is I'm not too much of a fan of the drop shadow on the text. Maybe just a black stroke would have been better. But pretty overall!

[arsheesh]

First off, welcome to the Guild nrsearcy! OK here's my critique of your map: the color palette is nice, and as aquartis has mentioned, so are the rivers. The overall picture is blurry though, this is something you are going to want to work on in future maps. Also in some places the coastline looks too smooth. Otherwise, not a bad first map!

Cheers,
-Arsheesh

[nrsearcy]

Thanks for the criticism, guys. The lack of clarity was probably an ill-advised style choice. I think the problem is that I approached it from a purely artistic standpoint when I should have taken practicality more into account. What good is a map, pretty though it may be, if you can't tell what's what? At the very least, I should have had a better plan for how to present the city names (I still like the font, but the harshness of it seems out of place on such a soft-textured map). So, in the next map, I'll definitely take all of your suggestions to heart, and hopefully, my work will reflect that extra effort. Thanks again for your help!

[- Max -]

I concur what was previsoulsy said : too blurry, coastlines would have need more work to make them less smooth but a pretty nice colours palette.