Farmland and other various elements

[ExxonPirate]

I'm working on a map, and I'm having a hard time drawing farmland. So far I've done a crisscross-type pattern, and then filled it in with a faded yellow (wheat) colour. It looks... okay. I want to know how you guys do it, what's your technique?

As an aside, I also wonder about roads. The dotted line just doesn't suit the style of my map, so I've gone with a more "realistic" - for lack of a better word - road, where it's two parallel lines with shading. But again, the shading (a brown, dirt colour) and the road itself looks mediocre. What tips can you give about drawing roads?

[Wingshaw]

The hatched pattern of farmland that your describing is something particularly associated with modern farming practices. It's a convenient pattern because it is easy to do and easy for viewers to recognise, but you might want something that looks more realistic/natural. If you want a medieval feel, long narrow strips are good, but can be a bit confusing (try googling 'burgage plots' for some diagrams). Alternatively, you could try something like this: farmland.jpg. It's a tiled pattern I created to use as farmland. One of the biggest advantages about it is that you can easily flip it horizontally and/or vertically to gain two, three, four more patterns.

As for roads, I was also interested in a way to make roads look more interesting/realistic. You could try giving the edges a furrowed look, as though there are ditches or shrubs on either side. If it were me, I'd probably recommend the straightforward line. On a detailed map, it's lack of uniqueness won't show up too much, and it's easiest to do.

Hope those comments help.

EDIT: the image was meant to be turned 90'. It looks better when slightly horizontal.

[Azélor]

for the road, you could add some rock/brick texture with the border bleding with the surroundings.

[ExxonPirate]

Thanks for the tips guys.