Kingdoms of Eastern Jahannam - First Draft

[GreatWhiteNorth]

Here's another pet project of mine that I've been working on for a few weeks. This one came out as I went along, meaning it isn't attached to any kind of story at this point, and probably still needs a bit of work. Even though I included a scale bar, I'm not sold on the in-world size of the land masses and might like them smaller. Names of cities/towns etc are also in flux, as a number have been borrowed from other fantasy stories. Anyway, thoughts and suggestions are appreciated!

Jahannam Complete.jpg

[Domino44]

That border is really cool. I like this map but I would like to point out a few things that I think could make it better. First I don't think that those mountains work very well with this map, especially because of their shading. I also think the icons need to be bigger, if they were they would be a lot more eye catching. Did you try to create cliffs for the area that you labeled the Whistling Cliffs? I think that area would look really good with at least a kind of rocky ledge. I also think that the names need a little work (although I wouldn't change The Fingerbones, I thought that was cool). I know you said that this wasn't tied to any story but is there a reason why the town Closing Eyes is in the middle of the Yamarani Wastes?

This is still a very cool looking map.

[jgvaughan]

While I like the map overall, I do agree with Domino44 about the placenames and in some part the way the mountains don't really stand out. The placenames don't fit in a lot of the locations and the mix between the type of names is also confusing. It's like some of the names are in 'English' while the others are in some other 'language'. I realize you mentioned the names are still in flux, so don't take my comments as being negative but just a guide for when you begin to work through all the placenames, etc.

Again though, I like the style of the map as well as the border. All the terrain seems to work with the overall layout. Some of the coloring on placenames seems to clash at times but that could just be these old eyes of mine.

[GreatWhiteNorth]

Thanks for the feedback. The icons being bigger is a really easy fix, and after looking over it again I totally agree. As for the mountains, what aspect do you suggest changing? I could remove the shading really easily, but I was attempting to create a shadow effect (obviously), but one that wasn't completely filled in, as I thought that might be too dark? Do you have a suggestion on an alternative style?

[Backtired]

Colours, font and border are TOP!
I don't like the symbols though

[Domino44]

I would suggest doing a different shading effect, I didn't like how the shading on the mountains are straight. Mountains are rocky so the shadows fall unevenly and the way they fall now make your mountains feel flat.

[Lingon]

I love the colors and the main font! The serif and italic font doesn't match the one in red though, in my opinion. Regarding the mountains, I think the shading works, it does make them feel flat as Domino pointed out, but I quite like that actually. I think they are too steep though, which makes them look unnatural, and the outline also feels too thick for this map.
Overall I really like this though!