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Ok - I have a question. Why is it cut off at the bottom? There's nothing on the map itself to indicate it should end so abruptly there.
Ok - I have a question. Why is it cut off at the bottom? There's nothing on the map itself to indicate it should end so abruptly there.
It was a legend.
Sorry - way more kudos than flames :-). I like it - it's colorful without being garish. You chose the perfect way to use both blue and green for landcover without confusion - you just leave oceans uncolored. The lettering is stylish while still being legible.
A question about the scale... the ship graphic makes it clear the distance/ time relationship is travel related. But would it be a month's travel IN a ship, or since your map's focus is so totally land-based that you don't even name the oceans, is it average travel time overland? If by land, maybe walking or riding figures would be better. Or label the bar on top with the ship, as one week, and below with figures , as one month (or whatever the ratio is).
That's a very nice parchment background you have there. And some pretty coloured continents/island.
So why the unnecessary, definitly digital dropshadow?
I like the drop shadow, I think it makes the whole thing pop more. I assume it cuts off at the bottom because the land is supposed to continue on further, but the map maybe wouldn't work as visually well if it went right to the edge of the canvas, especially with the drop shadow.
This is another map I worked on. The paper I make myself I just scratch around until it looks right. Thanks for the kuddos. The Distance is walking.
Map-Pel.jpg
Any feedback on the Pel map?
I like your Pel map. I approve of legible labels... you're using an interesting mix of typeset and hand-lettered effects though. The whole thing has a bit of a hand-drawn look, and things like the big continent labels could only be drawn in by hand on a paper map. But the smallest lettering is crisply typeset. Not bad; just be aware you're doing it.
I'm not sure what you're trying to accomplish with the loose coast-following lines just out in the water - can you explain that? And what does the dotty coast outline symbolize? Are the several mountain symbols out in the water on purpose?
The subtle mountains, hills, and forests are great. The red-dot cities allow your settlements to jump, without taking overmuch space. They would be a kind of modern innovation if they were 3-D (think Google Maps), but the flat ones you have could easily imagined as the work of a period cartographer. The font sizes seem appropriate, but there's too many different fonts. One ought to stick with maybe two fonts, say one serif and one sans-serif, and do all one's variation by switching forms - upright, italic, all-cap, bold, size, color -- those provide plenty of distinctive-ness, without the confusion.
Your three big graphics - the ship, compass rose, and coat of arms - all clash with the hand-drawn look of the rest of the map. They're too rendered, or photographic, to match. Either is a nice look, but together not so much. Likewise filled dots for cities AND pictures for keeps is a mismatch. Either one is fine, just not both. To distinguish a keep from a settlement you could get away with a slightly different symbol, still minimalist, and things would be more harmonious.
As Hai-Etlik will often point out, a graticule on a map implies some precision, and a crisp set of squares implies a certain couple of projections. If yours are lat/lon-related, you're only going to be plausible if this is a fairly restricted amount of latitude, near the equator. If they're simple locator grids, maybe you could put on alphabetic labels to ensure nobody thinks lat/lon. If it is lat/lon, and this is a wide expanse of latitude or particularly high latitude (maybe over 25 or 30 degrees N or S ?) you may want to try a grid appropriately curved for whatever you want your projection to be. If it's supposed to be a seriously-period piece, consider dumping the graticule altogether and doing rhumb lines or nothing. Search these boards for 'rhumb lines' to figure out their how/why. If this is for a game and you need a grid for play purposes, no problemo - it's a grid pure and simple and it's fine :-).
Which begs the question - can you install a scale? About the first thing I want to know on a map is "how far is that from there...? "
That sounds like a lot of complaints - it isn't: I like it; I just want it to get even better :-).
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