First map ever made

[TheBeginningEnd]

This is the first map ive ever done. Id love feedback and tips on how to get better. Trying to make a city map but am awful at art.

[Obbehobbe]

Hi there and welcome to the forum!

I think you need to spend more time on a map. Have patience and make every little detail as good as you can. Take the settlement "Nightwood" as an example. The walls that surrounds the houses are very sketchy, and I am sure if you spend some more time on it, you could make those walls with straight lines. When you got the lines down, then try things like shadows and highlights. But i'd say - spend more time and effort on it. There are really no shortcuts. The great maps you see here have taken a LOT of time to create.

[ChickPea]

Welcome to the Guild, TBE.

I don't think you're awful at art. You just need a little more practice, as Obbehobbe says above. You've got the makings of some decent mountains there, and I personally think those are one of the hardest things. A little fine-tuning will help tremendously with your city icons, which really aren't half bad!

Much of art is down to personal taste, so you can take or leave these suggestions...

I would tone down the background texture somewhat. It's a little dominant at the moment. Why not try a parchment texture for background, instead of the bumpy one you have at the moment? Mouse has some nice ones, though a google search will turn up a gazillion more. Something else to aim for is more of a consistency with your linework. You have thick lines for your mountain ridges, along your coastlines, and around the edges of your forests. Then you have very faint lines on the mountains and for your city icons. I think it would look so much better if you tried to make those thin lines just a bit thicker. They don't hold their own against the other elements right now.

Something else to practice is shading. Your forests will look so much better with a mix of light and dark greens. I'm not sure what software you're using, but try using a grungy brush to add some darker and lighter splotches to see how it looks. You want to break up those solid blocks of colour. Try the same with some blue tones on your sea area. Think about introducing some dark and light highlights on your mountains too. I like Max's basic tutorial on how to do this (that whole thread has tons of good advice).

You've got the makings of a decent map, but you just need some refinements. You're welcome to start a new thread in the Regional WIP area if you want to work on it some more, and get some help as you go along.

Finally, have you considered working through a few tutorials, just to get some basic skills under your belt. This comment is a good starting point.

[static]

If this is truly your first attempt at mapping, then you are really off to a good start. To get Cartographer good, you need to pay heed to these others, but first and foremost, accept that you have basic talent.
I have perused many "first attempts" and this one is no slouch comparatively. Keep on going, your doing fine.

[TheBeginningEnd]

If anyone wants to follow my updates ive posted this thread to the WIP forum as well as my first updated version of it. Thanks for all the advice!