Avendellir - World Map

[Larion]

Regular Version: Avendellir World Map smaller.jpg
Grid Version: Avendellir World Map grid smaller.jpg

I posted this on Reddit first, but decided to dig up my old Cartographers Guild account to post here as well. It has been a hot minute since I've posted here.

So, about the map. I decided to go and touch up an old DnD world map I'd made for a homebrew campaign back in 2018. I felt that I had learned quite in a bit in the past 3 years, and I wanted to apply what I'd learned to this map, which has always been a favorite of mine. For reference, here is the older 2018 map. Quite a drastic change when you see them side by side.

Avendellir was created entirely in Photoshop from scratch, with something like 540+ layers or so. I'm more than happy to answer any questions you may have regarding it's creation process, or about the world and it's geography or cultures. I have a 38 page Google doc with lots of notes about the cultures, religions, politics, history, and since this is DnD, about 50+ questlines.

And because I had to upload it as a .jpg rather than my preferred format of .png, here's a link to it where there's less compression if you are interested.

And lastly, if you have any constructive criticisms or advice, I'd love to hear it. It helps me become better at making maps

[Darkvioletcheese]

This is a wonderful map! I wanted to ask you about the looks of the map. I love this style of maps where it looks much like a satellite photo, as if the map was actually a photo taken from space. How do you do it? Any tutorials you can point me towards? And As a new dm that google docs file interested me very. Mind sharing the file? maybe snippits?
I especially love the similar but also different feels of the forests in Czexala.
Great job. I am going to use this map for inspiration definitely

[Arimel]

I could have sworn I had already commented on this. In any case, I really like the colors you have used. They work really well together!

[Larion]

This is a wonderful map! I wanted to ask you about the looks of the map. I love this style of maps where it looks much like a satellite photo, as if the map was actually a photo taken from space. How do you do it? Any tutorials you can point me towards? And As a new dm that google docs file interested me very. Mind sharing the file? maybe snippits?
I especially love the similar but also different feels of the forests in Czexala.
Great job. I am going to use this map for inspiration definitely

Thank you! As for style of the map, I haven't really got a good answer for you. Short answer is that it's a lot of layers, and each layer is using a distinct layer style to help it mesh well with the others. An ocean layer, followed up by ocean depth and ocean randomization. Then a land layer, followed up by grass color, mountains, rivers, and then another color layer on top of it all. Each layer might have Outer Glow tweaked in a certain way to make it look more like a river, or more like a coastline for the Land layer. Hopefully this is all helpful and doesn't come across as strange ramblings from me, haha.

As for the google doc with the world details, it is very much a work in progress haha. It is also chock FULL of straight up plagiarisms from my favorite books, games, movies and TV series that I know my players aren't familiar with haha. So, at this point I don't think it's in a share-able state, sadly.

I could have sworn I had already commented on this. In any case, I really like the colors you have used. They work really well together!

Thanks! Getting the colors right in each layer and in each region was a constantly shifting problem, haha. But it was fun

[Kellerica]

That's a really sweet map. I love this kind of style, and you pulled it off well. Lovely texturing!

[Larion]

That's a really sweet map. I love this kind of style, and you pulled it off well. Lovely texturing!

Thank you, it is unsurprisingly my favorite style as well

[Wired]

Very nice, I like this a lot!

[Larion]

Very nice, I like this a lot!

Thanks! I'm glad you like it