North East Durthaen (version II)

[Vapour]

Hi folks. This is a massively updated map from one I did many years ago. The names of sites are now based on an imagined history of the locations, so they've got some meaning behind them - which I've found has led to more believable sounding place-names.

This is a link to a Gazetteer of the placenames used in this map: Gazetteer of Placenames
The Gazetteer includes the etymology of the names as well as a little history and information for a few of the places. This is a living document that will grow over time.

I've done a lot of work making it more aesthetically pleasing by adjusting layer colours and tones, changing fonts, adding better map graphics and generally just fiddling about with it a lot. So here's the finished product:

NE Durthaen II.jpg

The creation process went something like this:
1) Digital elevation model in ArcGIS
2) Flood the bejeezes out of the land until the coast line looked good and nice lakes were made
3) Create giant TIF image and import into Photoshop
4) Use pencil and paintbrush tools in Photoshop to create basic line-work
5) Draw mountains, hills, forests and villages on paper and scan into Photoshop
6) Start filling in the details and add colour
7) Add names
Borders, scale bar and other map paraphernalia

For those who are interested, this is a list of words and their meanings that make up the place-names on the map. They are from 3 made up languages that are spoken in the world:
https://www.cartographersguild.com/a...hmentid=135107

Hope you enjoy perusing it.
Comments welcome.

[Turambar]

Really nice map! Just out of curiosity were you using a real world DEM or did you create your own?

[Vapour]

Really nice map! Just out of curiosity were you using a real world DEM or did you create your own?

Real world DEM which I flipped and inverted then flood filled. You might recognise a butchered Cape Cod.

[Turambar]

Real world DEM which I flipped and inverted then flood filled. You might recognise a butchered Cape Cod.

Nice. I did not recognize it

[Vapour]

Hi folks.

I've now added a link to a Gazetteer of the placenames used in this map: Gazetteer of Placenames
The Gazetteer includes the etymology of the names as well as a little history and information for a few of the places. This is a living document that will grow over time.