WIP - Map of the Continent from the Witcher universe

[DwarfChieftain]

Hello everyone,

I'm fairly new to this forum, so please excuse me if I don't know something specific to it. I've been making maps for about 3 years now, lazily creating a map every 5-6 months. Right now, I'm working on the world map from The Witcher series. I just completed the physical map part (no labelling, borders, extra details), but I feel like I did something terribly wrong. Seriously guys, the more I look at the map the worse it appears to me, but I can't seem to find what's wrong with it, besides the desert.

So on the side note, how to I make the desert in the far right center part (yellow-ish) look better, more appealing to the eye?

Here's the map:

aIbWR1c.jpg

Thank you all in advance!

[Diamond]

Firstly, have some rep for jumping in with a map in your very first post.

As far as the map goes, I guess the only major thing I don't like is that your mountain chains seem too 'smooth'. There's not enough irregularity in the bevel effect or something; what about adding some kind of texture to them, and also a sort of 'fade layer' underneath that would help them transition better into the surrounding landscape?

For the desert, a subtle pattern or texture there might be just the ticket, maybe some simple rock or sand texture.

And welcome to the Guild!

[Chick]

Hello DwarfChieftain, welcome to the Guild!

What you are apparently seeing as mountain chains looks more like desert dunes to me. I think if you do the desert more like the "mountains" you've done, maybe on a smaller scale, and then redo the mountains into more distinct ranges with more height, grey/green color, and more mountain ruggedness texture, it might look better.

Congrats on your first map post, I think it's a good start and I'll look forward to seeing where you take it

[DwarfChieftain]

Thank you!

I have already done some improvements. There was a very drastic transition between mountain ranges/hills to flat areas, so I used a seamless rock texture at varying opacities and forms to give it a "mountainous" look. I also used a nice sand texture to give more flair to the desert (with sand/rock mix in between mountains and the desert. Lastly, I have done some minor improvements to swamps, forests and grasslands and also added a slight Angled Strokes filter to get a more artistic look. I will upload it here once I've rechecked everything.

It's my 5th map, but my first one done completely with a tablet, not with a mouse. Strange that I've never thought about posting here, seems like a very nice forum! I've been mostly lurking since 2010, but lost my old account