Wip

[Nettle]

Thats beautiful :3

[J.Edward]

That's looking awesome.
And it looks like it has more color already over on IG.
Great stuff DD

[DimLeek]

That is really beautiful. Feels a bit strange that I think I like the border even more than the map itself!

[Dimension Door]

Oh, wow! This is looking fabulous. Love the overall composition and the elevations on the map itself are a killer. I think the labels work! I too have a bad habit of not having the sense to plan for them well enough in advance and have to usually resort to some trickery to get them in properly...

And also, for my two cents, while I definitely do get maybe wanting to get a text editor program in order to do the text properly, I think using straight text for the labeling is very rarely a bad idea. Curved labels, in my opinion, should only be used when there is some clear reason for them needing to be so. Personally I wouldn't have added a single curved label to this map, even if I had had the opportunity to do so

I also really like the little borders you added for the labels... for some reason I never think to do that in my maps!

Thank you Kellerica for the kind words!

There are so many things to think about when making a map.. There is just no easy way of doing it, no shortcuts. Just hopping from one thing to another and hoping you get it right along the way. Straight labels it is for this map! Maybe I’ll do something different in the future.

I think your labels could easily be smaller. In any case, I would put them in front of everything else unless you can manage to put them in the background as a mere fancy effect. The folding of the ribbons is a bit large too; you could save some space by folding them a bit closer to the main part of the ribbon – if my English makes any sense here. But it does look absolutely great and I'm amazed by how quickly you assimilate advice, good as it may be!

Eowyn! Thank you for this tip. I went back and resized the labels and it looks cleaner now. I was afraid it would not be readable if I made them smaller but that does not seem to be the case. So your English makes sense I didn’t up end redoing the ribbons. Not because I didn’t want to but because there are so many hours already on this map.. But I learned a lot along the way.

I like everything about this, the border is going to be amazing, and the way you’ve done the title is really cool... I can’t wait to see what you do with the colour.

Thank you Kacey! The border became more and more detailed as I went along. I added some color, I hope you find it fitting.

Actually, I love it the way it is. Putting the labels "on" the physical map so that map elements are sometimes in front of them looks great.

Jshoer, yes, they added a little bit of depth, I liked that too. But that was luckily still possible when they are smaller. So I kept some of the depth in there and made them smaller.

Ok, so this is another of those "wow" moments. 'cause you know...
Wow...

Thank you for wowing my map Misty Beee. I appriciate it. I really do. I wow you too.

That's a beautiful map and the borders are great, but I have to agree with Eowyn Cwper; the labels could be a little bit smaller.

Elatan, great advice. Fixed it! I hope..

Thats beautiful :3

Thank you Nettle for the nice comment!

That's looking awesome.
And it looks like it has more color already over on IG.
Great stuff DD

Thank you J.Edward, again. Here comes the full color thing. Fingers crossed, I hope it works.

That is really beautiful. Feels a bit strange that I think I like the border even more than the map itself!

Well DimLeek, I think I’m with you on this one.. I went a bit overboard with the map but I didn’t really mind. I hope the color brings some attention back to the island.

- - -

So here is my progress. I added color and some but not all of the shading. I’m still figuring out a lot of things along the way and I add and subtract things everytime I work on it. There are some obstacles though. The title Draconis.. It just does not pop enough. Any ideas? Is it the color or the shading? And should I add more color to the labels..? I’m still considering putting a compass on the map but I’m not sure if that makes it too busy. Decisions, decicions..

One day I’ll know how to make a map. One day.

### Latest WIP ###

ECCB148C-2A9F-41C0-9ED0-FC2CB2461021.jpeg

[kacey]

One day I’ll know how to make a map. One day.

You already do!!! I don’t know how long you’ve been making maps, but you’re definitely the one to watch right now... Pretty soon I think you’ll find people asking you for advice, and you’ll quickly become a guild favourite... What you’ve shown us so far is really quite stunning, and the colours are looking really good. I see what you mean about the title though, but I don’t think it’s the shading... I feel like if you made the lettering more of the darker rusty red colour, like in the flags down below, and a little less yellow it would really stand out... And I love, love ,love the shadow city just behind the border at the bottom, it’s a really nice touch.

[Wingshaw]

Yep, this looks incredible! The frame, the 'shadow city', the map itself. I'd easily believe this is the work of a professional artist

Wingshaw

[Kellerica]

Aye to basically all that Kacey said. You certainly are a force to be reckoned with already, and over time will be even more so. You definitely have a fan in me.
Can't wait to see what you'll do next!