Atlas Style Mapping

[Malakor]

Yesterday after work, I got to thinking about how I might could do the Graelor map as an "atlas-style" map, so I started reading through some of the tutorials on the forum (mostly Ascension's Tutorial on making a continent in PS) and started piddling with a tests.

This map isn't actually a part of the Graelor Map, although I'm treating as if it were for purposes of this test, just to keep the focus I need.

Anywho. The first map is the unadorned/unlabeled 'finished' map that I came up with.

The second one is from the page I made in adobe illustrator this morning, where I labeled it and put in the fluff.

C&C welcome. . . I really want to know if I managed to accomplish what I'm looking for from other people's points of view, which is, this is supposed to look like a page from an atlas.

Thanks

[Steel General]

The illustrator version looks cool, the framing and everything works good together.

I think the strokes on the rivers are a bit 'stark' (not really the word I was looking for), any way to blend them in a little better or maybe just change the color from what looks like black to something the more closely matches the terrain around it? Just a thought...

Edit: Agree with Ascension about the coasts/rivers looking pixellated.

[Ascension]

I really like your colors, very painterly as well. I think the rivers and coasts are pixellated, like it was blown up in size, but otherwise it has a real nice look. Keep working this, you may have found something. And fear not, I'm nearly done with my atlas style tutorial

[joão paulo]

cool!

I like the lakes, but it is weird they all are connected to the sea.

[Malakor]

Thanks for the comments.

I did use an almost black for the coastal stroke, and I agree, it's a bit too dark, I'll prolly change that when I do my next map, and yeah, this was just a test size to see if it would work at all, so the resolution and size aren't the best, which accounts for the pixalation.