WIP World Map

[Hawksguard]

Welcome!

Looks like you have a good start on what you want your world to be like.

Sounds like you are taking a scientific approach to world building, one that I myself have always strived toward. If you already have an idea of where your continents and islands are going to go, you may find some difficulty in resolving the underlying plate tectonics. So you might want to try some quick sketches of the plate boundaries first. There is nothing more frustrating than having a beautiful arrangement of land masses only to realize that geologically there is no way for them to exist (as far as we understand the science, anyway).

Also, I think in your "current numbers" you meant kilometers instead of miles? 10,219 km is roughly 1.6 times Earth's radius of 6,371 km. If you actually meant miles, with a radius of 10,219 miles that would make your planet have a surface area of roughly 1,310,000,000 km2, which is over 6 and half times that of Earth. That's a lot of A4 pages to hand-draw.

Good luck!

[Arimel]

Welcome!

Looks like you have a good start on what you want your world to be like.

Sounds like you are taking a scientific approach to world building, one that I myself have always strived toward. If you already have an idea of where your continents and islands are going to go, you may find some difficulty in resolving the underlying plate tectonics. So you might want to try some quick sketches of the plate boundaries first. There is nothing more frustrating than having a beautiful arrangement of land masses only to realize that geologically there is no way for them to exist (as far as we understand the science, anyway).

Also, I think in your "current numbers" you meant kilometers instead of miles? 10,219 km is roughly 1.6 times Earth's radius of 6,371 km. If you actually meant miles, with a radius of 10,219 miles that would make your planet have a surface area of roughly 1,310,000,000 km2, which is over 6 and half times that of Earth. That's a lot of A4 pages to hand-draw.

Good luck!

Halksguard,
As of yet I have not placed the continents, island groups, or anything. Those numbers are not set in stone but more just a quantity that I deem appropriate now. Part of the reason I even started a WIP thread instead of just beginning on my own was so that I could get feedback on whether or not the plate tectonics was done correctly before I got too far. Although I have been researching them I wouldnt call myself an expert by any stretch of the imagination.

Also, thanks for catching my error with the numbers. I did all of my calculations in km but wrote miles next to the final answer. I hope this wont be a theme in the mapping to follow!
Arimel

[Arimel]

Step 1: Creating the Terrain Tablet

I have now begun this process (actually I have been researching for a while but have now started drawing). I have decided that the terrains and icons that I would like to prepare for this projects are:

-A coast style that is easily adaptable to many situations (both small lakes & large oceans)
-An ocean texture for areas that are especially empty. I am not sure if I will draw something that will turn out nice in black and white so this one may be skipped later.
-Bluffs/cliffs both on coasts and on land.
-Gorges/canyons
-Fjords. I have very few ideas at the moment on how I could accomplish this one. I have a feeling I will be using google earth to scout the Norwegian fjords for a while.
-Reefs, both coral & other. For this one I might need a different texture for the different types. Again I am unsure so this one may be dropped
later.
-Deserts. While this includes the commonly seen sand deserts, I would also want to be able to depict a difference between sand, bedrock, pebble, and badlands deserts.
Forests: For this one I am being rather ambitious so this may also be difficult. I would like textures for jungles/rain forests, deciduous forests, taiga forests (coniferous), shrub lands/Mediterranean terrain, and finally, small copses of trees. As I said, a lot of types.
-Glaciers. I have never seen a map that was not in color that gave a really nice looking glacier so I am setting that challenge for myself. Also, I would like to be able to draw glacial cave entrances in glaciers. There are a few other glacier related land forms I would also like to include.
-Icebergs
-Grasslands: I would like to include slight differences for prairie, savannah, and steppe grasslands (though steppe & prairie are basically the same thing I think)
-Plateaus and Mesas
-Mountains, including a way to make a mountain pass more visible without necessarily needing to label it as a pass.
-Hills & domes. These will be tricky because I want to find a way to draw these under the textures of forests & grasslands. I am not sure if this will be possible but I will give it a shot.
-Archipelagos: Just finding a way to draw an appropriate amount of islands & working the coastal lines around them.
-Tundra: Again, I have not seen a really good depiction of this and would like to create a style that fits to me.
-River Delta
-A few various rock formations
-Swamps, marshes, bayous, & bogs: There are slight differences between these 4 that I would like to be apparent on the map
-Last of all, volcanic features, including geysers, volcanoes, & lava fields.
-Later I have plans for different types of structures but those can wait for now...

That is the list. It will take me a while to complete so I will post images of a few of the features as I finish them. Although I am probably overdoing my preparation in this it is a step that I would like to complete to feel more secure later.

Should anyone have any ideas of features I may have missed please let me know!