WIP : Zazrak, a sci-fi world - My first map made from scratch

[Pollinosis]

Hello everyone!

This is still a work in progress, but I'd love to get some input and suggestions to make this map better!

First, a few words about the process I used.

1. I used Worldographer to create a basic layout of the map.

1.png

2. Then, I used photoshop to process the basic layout into a more realistic looking map.

3.jpg

3. After this, I created an outline of the political boundaries of the planet.

Political.jpg

4. And this is where I am now.

Zazrak.jpg

I'm about to start placing the names of nations and provinces, but I have no idea how to do that without making the map look like a cluttered mess. Any tips?

[johnvanvliet]

is this supposed to be in Mercator projection ?
if so it looks to be about 80 north to 80 south ( missing the poles 80 n/s to 90n/s )

[Pollinosis]

is this supposed to be in Mercator projection ?

I have to admit that I didn't really think about map projection when creating the layout.

I'm mostly focusing on creating a world that serves the purpose of my tabletop game, so interesting geography, choke points, interesting country borders, etc.

I'm about to start thinking about toponymy too and I'm fairly certain that my first attempt will be very messy and hard to read. If you know of any tricks that cartographers use to display written information clearly, I'd love to hear about them.

[stanlei]

The one thing that got my attention, was the coastlines all around your world. Isn’t it a bit to granular or jagged? When looking at real world maps, although they can be that jagged when looking way up close, from a “globe wide” distance they look more streamlined and flatter.