Fantasy Continent: Amanium

[TombRaiderJake]

Well, I was highly unsatisfied with my first attempt at a continent called Amanium, so I decided to start anew but keeping the same name. I really like this map so far and would like to see it completed.
Here's what I have so far:
World v0_5.png

Useful information:
--I am using GIMP
--I imagine this being fairly large with the land mass either about the size of the US or between Canada and Antarctica (either 6,309,690 sq km or 10,716,438 sq km)
--I used this tutorial: Random Fantasy Map Tutorial, GIMP 2.8
--Planet is a sphere
--Planet is likely going to be larger than Earth

Things I would like to know:
--How to add in borders for provinces
--How to add in symbols and names for major locations
--How to add in important land features like:
----Rivers, lakes, etc
----Mountains
----Forests, Jungles
----Swamps, deserts, plains, etc*
*These are not necessary, as i think the map may look crowded with too much info on it.

Thank you for your help!

[Chashio]

What are your goals for it?

[TombRaiderJake]

Well, I have 2 main goals:
-To use this as a base for more detailed maps(country or province maps) while still being aesthetically pleasing
-To learn how to use GIMP and other necessary software

[Chashio]

And another question... What do you find aesthetically pleasing? What style(s) do you have in mind?

[TombRaiderJake]

Hmm... I like the style I'm going with, but I'm pretty flexible. I 'm also a fan the map of Skyrim's style (this one: http://images.uesp.net/e/ef/SR-map-Skyrim.jpg)
These ones on the front page also caught my eye:
http://www.cartographersguild.com/co...eshk.jpg.html?
http://www.cartographersguild.com/co...mall.jpg.html?
What do I find aesthetically pleasing? Mainly maps that are not crowded with their labels and easy to read (example, no black text on a dark green background)

[Naima]

Nice, if you want to give a more plausible feel about tectonics as ell so place right mountain ranges and shape better the coastline history then you might want to take a look at several threads aroundhere too ... it seems a new fashion was launched lately ^^ ...

[TombRaiderJake]

Today I worked on an elevation map to help figure out where rivers and lakes should go. I've only gotten the main continent done:
WorldElevation.png
To me, it doesn't look... natural. Could someone point me towards a good guide on figuring out elevations? I'm still lost in all the information this site has to offer

[Chashio]

Elevations, as I think you're thinking, are often called height maps. I can't think of any particular one that might help you, but there have been a number of tutorials created on that subject.

[TombRaiderJake]

Yes, I do mean height maps. I've been looking and what I've found are tutorials on how to make height maps, not where to put mountains in a fantasy map. I'm going to look around a little longer and if I can't find anything, I'll make a post on the 'How do I' forum.

[Chashio]

Oh. I gotcha. Well then, this might be what you want: http://www.cartographersguild.com/re...e-mapping.html