A starters world map

[Kronski]

The general feel of the thing is good - I think it would look better if the mountains were more gradual. Like, some smaller mountains around the big peaks, and some little hills around the smaller mountains.

Also, there's a little bit of a visible pattern in your forests - I think you're using the thing where you put down big blocks of trees, right? Unless I'm drastically wrong, there's also an individual tree icon - try using that to break up the repetition.

[Kelethril]

Thank you all for the feed back!It was much more than expected
I didnt see the options on the export window
Here is a better resolution hope it helps...
Also in this version i've put numbers on the geographical features...
Red for mountains,yellow for forests and black for rivers so i can help you tell me where the problems are

About the rivers some of you guys told me if you can plz explain a bit more on which river the problem exists and what is it...

The general feel of the thing is good - I think it would look better if the mountains were more gradual. Like, some smaller mountains around the big peaks, and some little hills around the smaller mountains.

Also, there's a little bit of a visible pattern in your forests - I think you're using the thing where you put down big blocks of trees, right? Unless I'm drastically wrong, there's also an individual tree icon - try using that to break up the repetition.

As for the features yes i dis use only the basic ones for now after i've settled on the places and the volumes of them i will place them more carefully and with other features around them...
But wouldnt be a bit too much if around every mountain chain smaller mountains exist and around the smaller mountains hills exist too?
Sounds like a bit too much...but i'm not sure...
I've got no idea of geographical matters like these...(what goes usually around a mountain,or how many rivers a mountain chain needs,what direction do they face,where do forests usually grow,where can desserts exist or swamps etc...)

Edit:Also i think i have a big problem with scaling...i mean look at the distance meter down-right of the map...this is a world map and i think i make some features too big for a world map etc...
Well now i'm thinking about it...i think i threw myself in at the deep end right from the start by wanting to create a whole world but this is what i want and need ...

[Ascension]

Rivers don't split as they go downstream...they join. They might go around a chunk of land and form an island but that means that it rejoins. That will also keep your rivers from going to two different seas. The analogy that I've always used is that of a tree. Put the branches up near the mountains, put the trunk on the plains and if you want a delta then put some tiny roots at the coast

[LonewandererD]

Good start, really like the volcanoes.

About scale, I'm not an expert but i'm tackiling the same problem right now, if the scale is in miles you might want to scale down the mountains which would also give you more space to work with if you want to add some more details.

-D-

[rdanhenry]

Okay, now I can see that your terrain icons are stepping all over each other and cutting each other off or overlapping in ways that don't make visual sense. I suspect that's a matter of practice and experience with the program. Since I don't have CC (which I had the money), I can't really help with that. If you can move individual symbols "up" and "down" in the layering, you can fix it. I hope one of the CC experts will give you some pointers.

As for scale, if those are miles and this is a world map, I would have to assume this is a flat world, so some of the guidelines for a globe would not apply. (Rivers should still flow downward, unless some specific magic would counter them, but climate zones caused by a spinning world with varied angles of ground to sunlight would not emerge.)

[Kelethril]

Okay, now I can see that your terrain icons are stepping all over each other and cutting each other off or overlapping in ways that don't make visual sense. I suspect that's a matter of practice and experience with the program. Since I don't have CC (which I had the money), I can't really help with that. If you can move individual symbols "up" and "down" in the layering, you can fix it. I hope one of the CC experts will give you some pointers.

As for scale, if those are miles and this is a world map, I would have to assume this is a flat world, so some of the guidelines for a globe would not apply. (Rivers should still flow downward, unless some specific magic would counter them, but climate zones caused by a spinning world with varied angles of ground to sunlight would not emerge.)

As for the icons don't mind them this is still in alpha state!No sheets or anything,i'm just testing the reality of this part of the world.
Its not the whole world,just a part of it...

As for the flat world i really got no idea,it would be better if i tried to make this a globe right?
Which are the differences?Enlighten me a bit in all this plz,thx

[Kelethril]

Here is a new continent i started...this time its the whole word...i'm kind of pleased more with the shape etc...
The glow effects also look nice i think (followed the tutorial for those)
Here comes my problem...i drew 2 ways to make the mountains that i kinda came up with...

I dont like very much the lower one with the mountains but i dont like much the upper one too even if it looks kinda better...
Its a world map so,big mountains one next to the other like my first map don't seem to do the job...

I think i would like more either the hand made style of mountains or the ones that look like my upper try but more 3d and stylish some of you guys create with photoshop or gimp...like the ones ascention created in his "1-day experiment" work.

So,any ideas on how to make better mountains?Any type of help would be appreciated thx.

Edit:Added another version with some other style mountains with some glow...I think i like them more...opinions?
Should i make the inner glow of the continent a bit more brownish to match a bit more with the mountains?

[Ascension]

The second image has some promise, maybe change the color from rust to something a little more brown, possibly light brown. I don't think that you'll be able to do mountains like I do with CC3...those who are experienced with CC3 could probably answer that better, though, as it would take a lot of tinkering.

[RobA]

As for the flat world i really got no idea,it would be better if i tried to make this a globe right?
Which are the differences?Enlighten me a bit in all this plz,thx

The big issues for land shapes is the distortion that occurs at the poles in the horizontal direction. Assuming 1000km per pixel at the equator, half way up (at the 45degree mark) it is 707km per pixel. At the arctic circle it is about 400km per pixel, until at the very top it is distorted across the entire map.

If you only have a small portion of the globe then this spherical distortion can be mostly ignored.

The other mentioned issue is the climates, where you will have significantly different biomes depending on the latitude and location on land masses.

-Rob A>

[Gandwarf]

Brown mountains like you posted in your last (second) version can definitely work. Make sure all the mountains have the correct drawing order, meaning mountains that are in the back should not be drawn in front of other mountains. If it's a continent you posted I would reduce the size of the mountains by at least half. You can put a lightbrown contour just underneath the mountains to make them part of the terrain some more. Also try popping some trees near your mountains, I am sure that will make them look better as well. Just mountains in a map can look a bit weird.

I like the general shape of your latest landmass by the way.