Navalla Regional Map - my first map post!

[nothingbutblue]

Hi!

This is my first time posting here. I think I joined initially like a year ago...but was so flabbergasted by the quality of maps here that I never did post my own. But no more!
I've done a bit of map work here and there, but I would still consider myself new to it. I'm a concept artist and world building fanatic, and most of my personal work (maps included) is done for Riak, my megahuge neverending project for which I have many pages of information written up, alongside maps, drawings of characters, environments, technology, textiles, a plant species guide, a mini dictionary with grammar rules... yeah.

Anyway, I have a world map for Riak, but I'm thinking it may be high time to do some edits for it. In the meantime, I suppose I'll use this as my first post- a regional map of Navalla that I made about six months ago, which I've essentially enlarged and detailed from a chunk of the Riak world map. Some of the locations here are written in my fictional language of Haak, for which I've currently developed a small dictionary and a few grammar rules.

Anyhow. I hand draw all of my maps in Photoshop, and I don't use any stamps or brushes (except my own).

I realize that my style is a bit different from much of what I've seen here, but hopefully you guys will like it. Looking forward to hearing what you think!



Navalla Regional Map 3.jpg

[lorelei]

Nice work!

[snodsy]

This is really nice, I typically don't like vibrant colors but I think this works. To make your elements look more in the distance perspective, try creating longated ones - The saving spire works well, but the forest at Sial Flik doesn't work quite as well, if it was wider it would work better, just something I've learned from drawing these.

Also because you put a stroke around the type, you may want to kern the letters to be have a little more space between them so they do touch/overlap with teh stroke. Great job you should be proud of this one, my first one wasn't near as good

[Ilanthar]

I would also have chosen less vibrant greens, but it is a very pleasant map above all! The different buildings are very well done.

[nothingbutblue]

Thanks for the replies guys! I know that most of the work I've seen on here tends towards being very sort of old and faded and traditional looking, which I love as well but for some reason is never what I end up creating. Always been a sucker for the colors. Hopefully I can successfully implement that in a way that still looks nice.

[SteffenBrand]

I love seeing vibrant-colored maps as well as more traditional ones, too. =) This is actually the first map I see from you, and it is well done! Rep! I would like to suggest to think about your labelling a bit. Currently you cross a lot of dark-lined areas as well as some symbols you included making this very hard to read (and you indicate what is what by the color of the typeface anyway so it won't be hard to see what is meant if you go a bit more away from the labelled thing). You could also think of a little bit thinner outline (going more in the range of your lining you use anyway) and use somewhat of an outer glow as you use on the sea as well.

Keep up the good work,
Steffen =)