This looks nice for a background sketch map, I would just remove the colors, make the rest of the map and then color the borders. But that ofc depends on what type of map you want to do. I would suggest to look into tutorial sections, pick a style you like and run a tutorial.
Check here: http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=4987
There is a collection of tutorials depending on what you use (photoshop,gimp etc..)