I just finished skimming this thread Charerg and must say that I am thoroughly impressed with the work you've done on this project. I've wanted to do a world-building project such as this for some time, but have always been a bit intimidated by all that such a project entails. As time allows I'll be coming back to this thread, as well as browsing the resources you've linked to. Thanks a bunch for the inspiration.
Cheers,
-Arsheesh
Thanks for posting some insight on you’re process for doing the elevation this is really useful I think I’ll give that a try. I think this project is just amazing I can only dream of ever creating something like this.
Charerg, first of all let me say that you are seriously an inspiration. You and Pixie's maps are exactly the kind of thing I want to create for my world. However, like I've seen you mention a bit, I too have a terrible case of perfectionism, I need detail and accuracy. Could I ask how you initially got the shape for your map, and where you got all your information on plate tectonics? I've been searching but most of what I've found has been relatively simple, beginner stuff.
For example in one of your most recent updates you had a map of fold belts and small rifts and all sorts of that kind of stuff. Do you have any good recommendations for someone wanting to learn that level of complexity and detail?
Well, the initial map (the one on page 1) was essentially simply drawn painstakingly (with a mouse, no less) over the course of several weeks and several revisions. Although since then the coastlines have changed quite a few times (and will change again in the future). I don't know if there are too many shortcuts when it comes to drawing the coastlines (aside from generating random clouds, I guess). If you're using PhotoShop, you could try the techniques in this tutorial. I suppose the main advice is to first draw the general shapes roughly and only work out the detailed coastlines later on.Originally Posted by shadixdarkkon
A good starting point is always drawing things out on paper. Of course, the more you plan ahead while sketching your world, the more satisfied you're likely to be with the final result. So try to put some thought into climate and tectonics even when sketching the initial landscape (though I realise this advice can be quite hard to follow unless you're already well versed with those subjects), particularly if you have some pre-conceived ideas of how you want the climate and/or terrain to turn out in some specific regions.
You could also try sketching things out with GPlates in 3D. It's pretty slow since you have to draw everything point-by-point but it can still be potentially useful, especially for the polar areas.
Here are a few examples from an unfinished test project I did recently to try this out (it's basically a world initially sketched on paper and then in GPlates):
Equirectangular:
Equirectangular.png
Polar view:
Polar.png
As for the tectonics and geology, there are several resources. Wikipedia covers a lot of topics (and often has links to academic papers). There's also academia.edu, where you can sign up with a google account and search for academic papers. Christopher Scotese's Atlas of Plate Tectonic Reconstructions is very useful and contains the "12 rules of plate tectonics". I'd also recommend checking Scotese's youtube channel, as well as EarthByte, those have a lot of plate tectonic reconstructions.
It's also a good idea to just create something and post it here for feedback, if only to get some practice. Ultimately creating even semi-accurate tectonics for a fictional world is not an easy task and it does take some practice. If you check out my initial tectonics maps in the opening pages of this thread, you'll note that my initial maps weren't very good.
My problem (admittedly more mental than anything else) is that I can't even get good starting shapes that I feel good about to start refining. I feel like everything I try to draw feels wrong. I'm not sure how to even get something to start with.
Just draw out a continent or two on paper and once you're happy, translate them into a digital format, adjusting as necessary. It's probably helpful to narrow down the task at hand: concentrate on one continent at a time, and don't try to get overly detailed to begin with, that really isn't necessary for a first sketch. You're probably overly exaggerating that some shape "feels wrong" if that's how you feel, or maybe you didn't sketch things enough on paper beforehand to have a clear vision about how you want the shape to turn out. Things rarely work out for me either if I just sit down to "draw something" before first creating a paper draft about what the shape/layout should look like.
Basically, I think you need to be more patient with yourself and get rid of the perception that anything you draw is "automatically wrong", and probably draw a lot more quick sketches before settling on the final shape. Remember that your first creations don't have to look perfect: drawing maps is something that you get gradually better at and develop an "eye for shapes", but you need to keep doing it in order to develop those skills.
Btw, if you haven't done so yet, I'd recommend checking out Tiluchi's Pangarap (and his earlier Ayesha): that should give some ideas about how to get started with a project like this.
Edit:
As a bit of a motivating picture/extremely minor update here's the rather ugly "current state" of my Central Eocidar elevation map: as you can see it doesn't look very good yet (since I've been too lazy to sink a lot of hours into the map so far). Just as a reminder that these things start from humble beginnings: every map looks ugly to begin with.
700px Sample.png
Last edited by Charerg; 03-08-2018 at 06:20 AM.
As Pixie remarked, the "true nature" of tectonic processes remains somewhat elusive, there are many questions yet to be answered. However, if a plate is under slab pull, it's basically guaranteed to be dragged into a subduction zone. And that mechanism definitely did play a big role in the formation of Pangaea (and Eurasia). Even in the breakup phase, several movements can be explained through slab pull (Africa [more recent movements], Arabia, India and Australia). But you're correct that it doesn't explain everything.
Like Pixie said, you can make some breakups semi-arbitrary, without any slab pull in play (like the opening of the Atlantic), just keep in mind that if a plate does get subjected to slab pull, that's going to have a major effect on the movement (both direction and speed). I don't know if you've checked my GPlates tut, but I did a semi-accurate table there averaging plate velocities for the past 50 million years, that probably gives a better idea of the relative speeds than just looking at the velocities of present day plates.
Big thanks for sharing with us your wilbur process CharergI personaly haven't had time yet to try it out but I am sure that many people will find it usefull. Oh and I saw that you're working on Central Eocidar now - I can't wait for results
One question though: how are you going to handle distortion on a globl map? Are you going to erode high latitude areas in polar projection and then try to connect everything somehow (what I can imagine beeing a tricky task) or you are just not using wilbur for global map?
I'm basically just creating the height maps for each region separately and then I'm going to blend them all together into the global map. So no, I don't plan to use wilbur for the world map, I'll make the height maps for each area separately, roughly dividing large continents like Eocidar based on the drainage basins.Big thanks for sharing with us your wilbur process Charerg
For example, the map of Akanrias was actually in Equirectangular Oblique projection (just as polar and even mid-latitude areas will be). Whereas the map of C. Eocidar I'm working on (though only sporadically right now) is in standard Equirectangular (and you can see part of Akanrias there, now reprojected back into Equirectangular).
I have been toying with the idea of using Wilbur to expand the resolution of my heightmap one it's finished. But it seems to me that it would be better to use equal area projections, particularly in higher latitudes.. I haven't yet come to a conclusion about this, specially since it's pretty far away down the line. Thoughts?
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