Helevos: the Anrel Isles
This is modern reworking of a map I first drew for gaming when I was about 12 - the start of my fantasy world of Helevos.
Historically Anrel was a mess of small polities and city states which collapsed in the Orphans War - a decades long conflict, so called because it was fought by a generation of soldiers who'd only known war, and whose own parents were dead from the conflict. The islands' greatest cities were destroyed in the war, so the landscape is littered with ruins, particularly around the border, where an demilitarised zone still demarcates the uneasy peace.
Comments helpful - this is an important map for me so I'm keen to get it right. It's tough getting a balance between detail (there are potentially lot of names and places) and showing the overall picture.
Its important for me to show the forests. Helevos has two ecosystems, the "green" landscape of farmland, fruit trees and grass, and the "virid" weed of poisonous vines and monstrous trees, incompatible with human life.
anrel atlas 2016.png
It's looking really nice and I think the terrain looks great. I'm not completely sold on the labelling, but this is probably just me. The labels seem so huge, the country names especially, and they seem to dominate the map. Having said that, they're very clear and readable, so I guess that counts more than artistry.
It's a very attractive map overall. Well done!
"We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams"
Thanks! This is still WIP, I'm not entirely happy with the labels myself though nice to hear that confirmed. I shall tinker.
Ok here's a second attempt, I've made the labels smaller and more spread out.
Questions: is it better to have the sea blended/shaded, or the contour lines as in this picture? I'm not sure which I prefer.
And I'm not sure I like that shield. Comments appreciated.
anrel atlas 2016.png
I feel the contour lines work better for this particular map (just my opinion, ofc).
Just as a fun comparison, this is the original map I drew a long time ago, when I was maybe fourteen or fifteen!
Anrel_1.jpg
Some personnal observations Robulous about my feelings.
I find the coast to smouth, with some more variations, it should seems more natural. For the lines in the ocean, on the contrary, it is too tortuous. And i prefer the second version with your landmass.
I don't know the hight of your mountains, but like this i feel it's really flat. If you want to make it higher, why not accentuate the contrast by adding brown colors ? And rework the coast in this part of the isle ?
Otherwise this map as an encyclopedic style very effective. Hope you keep developp it.
Cheers.
Ok resurrecting a thread, I was never happy with this so I've redone it in my current atlas style. Obviously text at the bottom isn't finished, but just general feedback, thoughts or ideas gratefully received!
anrelvB1.png
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