Elyden map

[vorropohaiah]

I'm interested to see how you incorporate your mountains and trees on the maps. I have trouble with forests.

I know what you mean. i hate trees and have trouble making forests look convincing, though ill likely go for a bevel/emboss pattern lightly painted over forested regions. luckily (for me and not the inhabitants) its a dying world so there are only 2 large forested regions with a more relatively tiny wooded regions scattered throughout.

One nitpick: The labels in the lower right corner (Molachari Desert, etc) seem too stretched horizontally, too flat vertically, and/or too warped for the space, which is more broad and empty.

yeah that was part of my attemps at making the word stretch across the region. ill likely add more spaces between the 2 words in an attempt to keep the stretch more manageable and will likely tone down on the bendiness of the words.

thanks

[Hai-Etlik]

yeah that was part of my attemps at making the word stretch across the region. ill likely add more spaces between the 2 words in an attempt to keep the stretch more manageable and will likely tone down on the bendiness of the words

Try increasing the spacing between all the letters rather than just the words, and don't just press space, use the proper spacing controls if you want it to look good and be easy to manage. If your software doesn't support that, try using Inkscape to make your labels. It's fairly simple to load up an image, position your labels over top, hide the base image, and export the labels as an image you can load up in your raster editor. This map uses a lot of spacing control and was done in Inkscape: http://www.cartographersguild.com/al...chmentid=39598

[vorropohaiah]

Try increasing the spacing between all the letters rather than just the words, and don't just press space, use the proper spacing controls if you want it to look good and be easy to manage. If your software doesn't support that, try using Inkscape to make your labels. It's fairly simple to load up an image, position your labels over top, hide the base image, and export the labels as an image you can load up in your raster editor. This map uses a lot of spacing control and was done in Inkscape: http://www.cartographersguild.com/al...chmentid=39598

I'm using PS and, depending on the text, use a horizontal scale of 100% (default) to 350% (which stretches text as well as spacing, and a kerning of 0 (normal) to 200, the latter of which is used on those large areas where I want to stretch the word to fill out as much of it as possible; though generally I only apply horizontal scale to larger areas where I want to stretch the text to fill the available space.

how would you recommend labelling large areas otherwise?

[cereth]

Really wonderful stuff. Great symbols.

[Hai-Etlik]

I'm using PS and, depending on the text, use a horizontal scale of 100% (default) to 350% (which stretches text as well as spacing, and a kerning of 0 (normal) to 200, the latter of which is used on those large areas where I want to stretch the word to fill out as much of it as possible; though generally I only apply horizontal scale to larger areas where I want to stretch the text to fill the available space.

how would you recommend labelling large areas otherwise?

I'd recommend not stretching. Try only using the kerning option.

[Schwarzkreuz]

Welcome to the Lands of the Mountain OCD.

Ok joke beside, those Mountains looks great, i will adapt some forms that i still miss in ny collection.
This whole project is Realy stunning.

[Eberict]

Those are some very handsome mountains with good variety! I also really like the work I've seen done on your main map. It feels like a stunningly huge world and very overwhelming, which I think is appropriate. Really would like to know more about the nations on it; there are so many!

[vorropohaiah]

Welcome to the Lands of the Mountain OCD.

Ok joke beside, those Mountains looks great, i will adapt some forms that i still miss in ny collection.
This whole project is Realy stunning.

Those are some very handsome mountains with good variety! I also really like the work I've seen done on your main map. It feels like a stunningly huge world and very overwhelming, which I think is appropriate. Really would like to know more about the nations on it; there are so many!

thanks I have quite a bit of history written for the world and regions (particularly those with regions marked out on the map) though am looking for something that encompasses the nature of the world to post.

the gist of Elyden is its a world created by Two-and-Twenty Demiurges (worker gods, and always spoken as two-and-twenty, never 22 :p) who shaped the world and the cosmos with their hands. to cut a long and purple-prose-filled story short, they created the perfect world but continued shaping it as it was the only thing they could do. they were punished for their hubris by their father and stripped of their greater powers and consigned the largest of the planets they created -elyden. the mortal races were divided and grew around each of the demiurges, taking their traits. some of the demiurges hated the mortals, seeking to return to divinity, though others saw the nature of their punishment and became leaders of the mortals. many (including the crazed artificer god Vorropohaiah ) grew insane trying to cope with their loss of divinity, with their dreams and thoughts corrupting the land. those with worshippers grew strong, and those without weakened, falling into a torpid coma-like state, with their deranged nightmares corrupting the laws of nature. others forcibly attracted followers - through slavery.

basically this is the world left in the wake of the time of the demiurges. most of them lie dead, fossilised, their dreaming bodies bringing madness and corruption to the world, though a few remain in some form of 'concious' state, the most powerful being Rachanael, 17th of the Demiurges; who is the living-deity (the so called iron deity) of the Korachani empire that has come to dominate the Inner Sea

[Lukc]

I'm using PS and, depending on the text, use a horizontal scale of 100% (default) to 350% (which stretches text as well as spacing, and a kerning of 0 (normal) to 200, the latter of which is used on those large areas where I want to stretch the word to fill out as much of it as possible; though generally I only apply horizontal scale to larger areas where I want to stretch the text to fill the available space.

how would you recommend labelling large areas otherwise?

Now, you are about to learn how to kern easily and quickly in Adobe applications! Alt + arrow keys. That's right. That's all there is to it. Select the glyphs or lines you want to kern and play. Alt + left/right increases or decreases the spacing between individual letters, while Alt + up/down increases or decreases the distance between lines of text. I hope I've saved you a bit of time there!

In another note - this is an impressive project, but I would recommend you think about using paths for country borders - that way you can easily change them to different types, like dot-dash-dot or something. Right now they look a biiiit to close to the rivers for my taste.

Finally, one more note - I find your headwaters too ... plump and rounded. I know it's a result of the blending effects you're using for your rivers, but it's something that would make the map look much cooler if it they tapered more.

However, all in all, a very good map and wonderful project. Keep going, I want to see the finished map!

[vorropohaiah]

Now, you are about to learn how to kern easily and quickly in Adobe applications! Alt + arrow keys. That's right. That's all there is to it. Select the glyphs or lines you want to kern and play. Alt + left/right increases or decreases the spacing between individual letters, while Alt + up/down increases or decreases the distance between lines of text. I hope I've saved you a bit of time there!

thanks though I already use that great timesaver though

In another note - this is an impressive project, but I would recommend you think about using paths for country borders - that way you can easily change them to different types, like dot-dash-dot or something. Right now they look a biiiit to close to the rivers for my taste.

this never occured to me, Ill certainly try that out though truth be told, im changing them round so often that these are little more than place-holders, so I'll likely use the paths towards the end.