How to improve my map ?

[Wulfic]

http://i.imgur.com/JsiMjCx.jpg this is a map I have done for my fantasy world, I would like to know what can I do to improve it ? My knowledge of photoshop is very minimal and I have no tablet with a pen, everything was done with mouse and keyboard. What can I possibly do to improve this map ? I would love to have at a bit more medievalesque, add color to it, maybe different textures and so on but I really dont know how to make those changes. I would love to add a frame to with scale and so on. Any suggestions ? And if you have any then please tell how to do them because as I said already i am a total noob in this Thanks upfront !

[Diamond]

Firstly, welcome to the Guild!

By 'more medievalesque' I'm guessing you mean a more aged antique look? If so, one easy way to do it is to create or find a free parchment texture and set it up on its own layer on top of everything else. If you set that layer to 'Multiply' or 'Overlay' it will have the effect of merging the pattern right onto your map. It's worth trying some of the other Layer Settings too, to see what kind of interesting effects you get.

Try combining more than one pattern, too; use those layer settings to create fusions of multiple layers. As with much else in photoshop, just playing around and experimenting is oftentimes the best way to learn how to get cool effects with this.

You can also get different, distinct patterns to show only on certain features (like on the land only, the ocean only, etc) by selecting only the relevant bits and applying the pattern/texture only to them.

If you'll take a little bit of critique about your map itself, you have some serious river issues - see this thread for pointers.

[Wulfic]

Firstly, welcome to the Guild!

By 'more medievalesque' I'm guessing you mean a more aged antique look? If so, one easy way to do it is to create or find a free parchment texture and set it up on its own layer on top of everything else. If you set that layer to 'Multiply' or 'Overlay' it will have the effect of merging the pattern right onto your map. It's worth trying some of the other Layer Settings too, to see what kind of interesting effects you get.

Try combining more than one pattern, too; use those layer settings to create fusions of multiple layers. As with much else in photoshop, just playing around and experimenting is oftentimes the best way to learn how to get cool effects with this.

You can also get different, distinct patterns to show only on certain features (like on the land only, the ocean only, etc) by selecting only the relevant bits and applying the pattern/texture only to them.

If you'll take a little bit of critique about your map itself, you have some serious river issues - see this thread for pointers.

I read it but dont really know what you mean. I thought those rivers out. They all start in mountains or are branching out of the main rivers soo I think theyre ok.

[JonPin]

I agree with Diamond. Add some parchment texture and some color. As for the rivers: rivers don't branch downstream.

[Diamond]

99.999% of the time, rivers only have one outlet; the branches, which start in different locations, flow downhill and merge together to form a larger and larger river, finally emptying into the sea (or a lake) in one mouth. Think of a river system as a tree and its branches, where the many branches flow together to form the main trunk. In your map, the rivers flow from high places, which is fine, but as you say, the tributaries branch OUT of the main rivers, which is exactly the opposite of a natural river system. That's why the lesser rivers that flow into the main one are called tributaries - they contribute their flow to the greater river.

[Gamerprinter]

Yes, what Diamond says is true, and though I haven't done so in a while, note the little "River Police" badge under my name, this means I'm writing you up a citation. That part of my job is to do what Diamond just did, and point out how your breaking the laws of physics and geography in doing the rivers as you are. Don't worry, I don't know why, but many seem to screw up rivers, though its really quite obvious what rivers are supposed to do. Its hard to imagine how people get rivers so wrong so often. I find it baffling.

[Wulfic]

Now I understand. Damn, that makes a problem got to change somethings. Thanks for the advice guys !

[johnvanvliet]

well the "river police" ??

well and this might be me and a few others but

physics is EASY & SIMPLE

erosion ( rivers) is only the interaction of fluid dynamics and the erosion it causes in "hard" surfaces on witch they interact

qed

some of us are just well ODD that way


for the rest of the population i guess that feed back cycle is not the first thought



so basically DO NOT WORRY too much YET !!!


now


you can put a river ANYWHERE!!!
but
the terrain and topography MUST MATCH the rivers


Water flows down hill !!!!

when it gets to a near flat plain the rivers THEN can meander or find a path of lease resistance

from high energy to a LOW energy state -- Entropy

from the mountains to the valley to the sea
( then back into the air and clouds then to the mountains and plains)

so with a bit of practice " think like a river " and " "become the river " and so on ......
you can fill in with the rest of the eastern philosophies sayings




so on to the map , well the bad news

most of the rivers are "backwards"

the forks need to be the BEGINNING of the tributaries

many SMALL little creeks are needed to make a small river
a few small rivers join to make a BIG river


in my area ( Detroit area USA) i live next to a TINY creek ( bell branch) of the west branch of the Huron River

so
MANY creeks make a branch and many branches make a river

JUST like a tree branch

[Gamerprinter]

The River Police was something invented by RobA to look at newbie maps and look for geographical/geologic issues to help them make better maps. Those of us who report such issues often enough have been granted the "badge". We're just here to help!

[Wulfic]

Hi there guys ! After a long time I finally sat down to my world map and looked at the rivers, I made small adjustments, please, could you take a look ? Is this ok now or am I still wrong ? The blue ones are the rivers, the red ones are rivers which will be erased from the map : http://chryzantemyn.deviantart.com/a...253A1458815287