Fourth Age Experiment Map

[Wister]

Hello guild! While writing a story arc for a fantasy universe a few years ago I decided to draw a concept map for one of the worlds I wanted to create. This map was created very slowly over time and everything was drawn in GIMP before I had discovered any mapping tutorials or became enthralled with fantasy mapping. After discovering some free brush sets on deviant art that I could use to create various map details, I experimented with trying to create a map with more then just names in regions. Intimidated by the size of the experiment map I had created I decided to continue by detailing a single continent instead of the whole world. Unsatisfied with the fairly bland map I had created and although it was simply for personal use, I wanted to expand my knowledge of mapping and move onto creating more realistic fantasy maps. Searching for maps to study lead me to this website and the many tutorials and maps you all have created. I had become inspired to create my own unique maps with their own art styles using the many tutorials and mapping techniques presented here. Although I have learned much I have not reached the point where I am satisfied with sharing any of my current experiments, I feel like I need to learn more about creating proper climates and appropriate water ways. I hope to create something truly special before sharing it with you all but I've decided to show you what I had created before learning how to create a proper fantasy map. I intend to slowly expand this map in the same way I was before and mimic the art style I had used, which is why I am posting this as a WIP. With my new knowledge of mapping it seems almost bad but I enjoyed creating it and will spend some of my time on it. Please keep in mind some of the names I have used may be subject to change and this map was created when I knew nothing of proper mapping. I would appreciate criticism and any advice anyone can give me. (These represent the map/s current states. If anyone would like to see the progression of me making the map I can post those as well)

( This map represents this world in the fourth age of man, a period of time in my universe where the various species of man rule this world and have created vast kingdoms and empires spanning across the continents. )

[tilt]

hi and welcome ... you've done a pretty decent job with you maps so no need to be ashamed ... if there was one thing that stood out immediately to my eyes it was the color scheme - its seems very dominating, the oceans fighting with the landmasses for attention Another thing would be the labels - a good advice there is to find some "levels" so one size for continents, one for countries and so forth.. that way when you look at a territory you immediately knows its significance ... looking forward to seeing your new maps and remember we can only help you if you post a WIP while you work

[Wister]

Thanks for the advice tilt! The original idea for the map was to do some sort of elevation mapping and this is where I got to before stumbling onto tutorials to create proper maps. The second detailed map was an experiment for a different type of map that i just happened to put extra time into. The labels are placeholders so they can give me a better idea of what types of regions i would be writing about/mapping in the future, but your advice is great and ill keep that in mind. I am currently remaking the map using a few tutorials found here and I hope to share that soon.

[jbgibson]

Welcome, Wister! Nice start, even a nice end-state if it were all you wanted. Since you want more - more detail, plausibility, useability I presume? - here's a couple of thoughts. The detail of ocean depths isn't bad per se, but is it needed for the user of the map? Just who is that user - an in-character navigator, adventurer, geographer? Or a human gamer, writer, reader? Or is it more just for enjoyment, or as a pure reference work?

There's plenty of reasons that ocean depths could be highly significant... but not for most users. I find myself with Fractal Terrains-generated ocean shaded-relief.... that my medieval navigators would only have vague ideas of. My invented cartographer might only know deep vs. shallow, or stormy vs. calm. They wouldn't NEED to know if a spot on the surface had 1000 meters of depth or 5000 - they would care if an anchor would reach bottom, or if they would be likely to run aground, and that's it. If useful, the depth info is great. If not, unless you just like the look, it may distract from the on-shore info you care more about. Not that oceanic texture is to be avoided - plenty of the Guild's maps show a lot of it. What you seem to show though is actual features, not a generalized shading or artistic effect.

Your mountains are in chains, but without much of a system. They might look more plausible if they were clumped, and if they were placed with an eye toward what geologic processes made them. I won't speculate on what changes that would impose - - maybe your world does have superactive tectonics, and continent fragments are always splitting and running into one another. Just as a generality, fewer but thicker belts of mountains might look good, as well as a variety from Himalayas to Rockies to Appalachians to Ozarks (rugged/new to worn/old).

The look might be nicer if there weren't lines between colors mid-ocean. They DO help distinguish graduations in color, but they also give it I dunno, a coloring book/ stained-glass vibe? Do you have layers such that you can turn the lines off for a look-see?

As far as climate areas - look up threads on here centered on climates and circulation (air & sea), or look up a simple treatment of Hadley & Ferrell cells - the wikipedia article might be enough info. Those generalized generators of general wind directions cause drier and wetter latitudes. In general. :-) What you have doesn't strike me as wholly implausible.

What does look a bit askew is the proportions. It's hard to wrap a square map usefully onto a sphere - since it's twice as far around the equator as pole to pole, one expects something elongated. Most projections do just that - from the straightforward but gawky equirectangular view, which is a straight 1x2 height to width, to any number of others that have more accuracy or usefulness in one characteristic or another. Fact is, all the projections will show some kind of distortion, unless you are plotting on a spherical surface (or unless your world isn't spherical). Nothing wrong with the distortions, you just pick a projection that shows what you need to see - even to the point of using more than one projection for different parts of the world. What you could perfectly well be showing as-is, is half a view of a world the 'backside' of which is all water. We almost live on such a scenario :-). Or the back side is terra incognita left for another map. As is, you have a bit of the "fill up a square sheet of paper" thing going with arrangements of land and water. Leave out one entire continent from this set or juggle them so there's both more and less margin of ocean, and you gain subliminal plausibility.

You have a lot going right - don't take my suggestions as anything but constructive criticism, okay? And for that matter, I think it's reputation-worthy for you to have posted a map, any map, right in your second post. Keep working on more maps, and do some in public in works-in-progress threads, and folks will offer all manner of helpful suggestions - we're a pretty easy audience.