First map - critique much appreciated

[Oliver Perry]

Hi fellow cartographiles,

I've added the current version of my first map. It's of the part of my world that's known at the time I'm writing about. It is not strictly speaking complete, as some rivers are missing, and there are other elements that I might increase the number of, but it is as critiquable as the finished product would be.

Cartographers' Guild Map.jpg

A few specific questions:
- I've added images (from Sketchup) for two of the cities near the bottom. Does it work/could it work?
- The labelling: I've mixed up English and the language of the peoples of this world (everything named as I refer to it in the book), and have used different colours for the letters of the greater regions (white & brown). Is that acceptable?
- I have an issue with the compass rose. The way of describing directions is different in my world is different for historical and orbital reasons. Given this projection, there is an equivalent to north/south, but west/east is 'replaced' by DrAgn/DArgn, which indicate away from and towards the Stubborn Rock, respectively. Any ideas as to how to show this, or is it better to just add a rose?

The style of the map is taken with enormous gratitude from Tear'shttp://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=8086. As I've understood it that is considered acceptable.

[Diamond]

Nice map!

1. I like the idea of the little sketchup icons - that's a good idea. I think they'd work fine, assuming you provide a key so folks know what the different ones mean.
2. I would Hazard a guess that it's acceptable, but again, might be a good idea to include what stuff means in a key.
3. Why not create a compass rose where the arms don't cross at right angles? That way you can still show north and south, but the *west and *east are oriented correctly.

Have some rep for jumping in with a cool map!

[jbgibson]

Nice map, and dittokudos for jumping right in with substantive content!

Maybe for DrAgn/DArgn you could use rhumb lines centered on the rock? One of the few useful characteristics of a Mercator projection is that rhumb lines stay straight. Or if the bearings of DrAgn/DArgn matter on a compass, assuming you have a useful magnetic north, maybe you could scatter little declination angle symbols all over. That would be particularly useful if you have a magnetic north noticeably different from true north.

[jbgibson]

Before you do any more rivers, take a look at the thread on Getting Your Rivers In The Right Place, stickied near the top in the Tutorials forum. One thing you seem to be doing that water does not do, is flow from coast to coast - if I'm reading the map right.

[Chick]

Hi Oliver, congratulations on a nice first map post! Have some rep.

The issue of rivers has already been mentioned, and it's an important one. A couple other things you might consider ... Your coastlines are fair, but the square isles look too much like legend and not enough like part of the map itself. The big semicircle in the center top is much too smooth, you might want to break it up with little inlets or bays.

The problem with your city drawings is that the map is very bird's eye view, and the cities are isometric (viewed at an angle), which gives them a sense of skew.

As for labeling, labels on a map are intended to be read by someone. If that someone who will use the map is within your story, and the map plays a plot role, then it makes sense for the labels to be in the native language and your plot will give the reader whatever information is needed. Think the runes on Bilbo's map of the Lonely Mountain.

If the someone who will use the map is the reader of your story, then the labels make more sense in English (the language of the user). Names are names and be anything, but locations such as "Unending Mountains" might as well be in English. By the way, if your "Flowering Planes" is meant to convey a large expanse of grassland, the word is "Plains".

Overall, a nice start! I'll look forward to seeing where you take this.

[Oliver Perry]

Thank you all so much!

Diamond:
I'll definitely add a key, (and I think my old geography teacher would be disappointed I forgot it in the first place.)

JBGibson:
Your ideas on the compass really got the creative juices flowing, and at the moment mine looks like this:
compass rose.jpg
The brown arrows point to/away from the Stubborn Rock
I'm not sure yet whether I can get it to look good and in line with the style of the map. Time will tell.
To a large extent I am aware of how rivers flow, and I would not have them flowing from coast to coast. I do see where it looks like I have, so I'll adjust the relevant paths & elevations.
That was a problem I really wouldn't have recognized myself, so thank you again.

Chick:
I'm going to look at the rivers and coastlines.
I'll take new screenshots of my sketchup cities with birdseye perspective and see whether that improves things. I certainly get your point, but don't know how interesting the top view will be.
Given what you say about labelling, it would seem time to extend my language, which is fair enough.

The next version will be a while

[jbgibson]

Thanks, Arsheesh, and those who have enjoyed my take on wind & currents & such. Now I feel driven to flesh it out - it's felt incomplete after the spate of great detailed climate-worldbuilding that's gone on in the last year.