First attempt - Abelios

[Apeiron]

Hi everyone,
here my first attemp at fantasy mapping. This is what gonna be Abelios a kingdom of my D&D setting. First, i want to specify that i know nothing about photoshop so my plan was to take a look at the tutorial tread and pick one that suit me well... I choosed to go with handdrawn map tutorial by Gidde for GIMP. So i did some research on google to go through the first steps. Here what i got for now...

Abelios-1.png

I'm now struggling with my mountain.

[caribbeancasa]

Hi Apeiron,

Working in GIMP or Photoshop for the first time can be very difficult. My only suggestion would be not to tie yourself to one tutorial. If the mountains in this particular tutorial or giving you trouble, try the mountains in other tutorials and see if they are easier for you. You might find that one style works better for you than another.

In my case, I was so terrible at drawing mountains that I used texture files instead. My map turned out fine (in my humble opinion) and so will yours if you play to your strengths and use the styles that are easiest for you.

Just my $0.02 worth. Good luck with your map!

[Apeiron]

I finaly decided to follow your advice and try another style of mountain... I am realy not sure about it but well after trying several styles i end up with this one, i hope i gonna be able to do something nice with it in the shading mode.

Here an update of my work.
Abelios-2.png

[Josiah VE]

Those look awesome! And for a first attempt too! Great! (trust me, a billion times better than the first maps I drew). Are you using a tablet?

[Apeiron]

Yes i'm using a Intuos creative pen tablet. Used it for the first time in this project and well it's an awesome tool.

[Caenwyr]

Yes i'm using a Intuos creative pen tablet. Used it for the first time in this project and well it's an awesome tool.

I can't remember the days I used to draw maps with just a mouse, that graphic tablet (I have an older Bamboo, but the principle is the same) made such a difference! Also, I love your mountains, they kinda remind me of Guilin, China. I have to concur with Josiah (not that I mind ), this is very impressive, especially for a 'novice'!

[caribbeancasa]

I finaly decided to follow your advice and try another style of mountain... I am realy not sure about it but well after trying several styles i end up with this one, i hope i gonna be able to do something nice with it in the shading mode.

Here an update of my work.
Abelios-2.png

Holy crap, those are amazing! Nice work Apeiron! Can't wait to see where you take this. Happy mapping!

[Schwarzkreuz]

Cant wait to see how you will draw other elements. Nice start.