Reply With QuoteHey Ray, welcome to the Guild! I like that map quite a bit - the names are fantastic. I think my one suggestion for now is to tone down the parchment pattern - the bumps and shadows are distracting when trying to focus on details.
The Ancient and Revered, and Hastily Named, City of Birchburgateton
Hello all. This is my first attempt at making a map. It's for a goofy fantasy story I've written, and has recently introduced me to the joys of cartography! I used Inkscape to build it. What can I do to improve it? Thanks for your suggestions. Embellished Birchburgateton Map.pngEmbellished Birchburgateton Map.svg
Hey Ray, welcome to the Guild! I like that map quite a bit - the names are fantastic. I think my one suggestion for now is to tone down the parchment pattern - the bumps and shadows are distracting when trying to focus on details.
I have to agree with Diamond that the parchment is a teeny bit overwhelming. Have a google around for parchment images. There are tons out there, and quite a number here at the Guild too (Barek has some in this thread, to name one off the top of my head).
The other thing to aim for is consistency with your line art. Two points to consider...
1. You have some illustrations that are sharp and clear, and your text is crisp and clear too. Most of your buildings and roads, on the other hand, look a bit blurred in contrast. The crispness of some elements only makes others look fuzzy in comparison. I love the look of the little buildings, but there's a clash between the crispness and the softer linework.
2. Would it be possible to bring a little more consistency to the thickness of your lines? I'm not sure if you've made some of the icons, or downloaded them. Right now, between the various colours and line thickness, everything looks a little disparate. The more consistency you can bring to the various elements, the more they will look like they belong together, and your map will be better for it.
One final thought... I'd try ditching the pure black on some of your elements. It just screams 'digital'. Try a very dark grey or a dark brown perhaps (depending what you do with the parchment). Pure black, imo, doesn't usually work with parchment backgrounds (unless perhaps there's a lot of colour). I often find dialling it back just a notch or two helps the elements to 'merge' into the background.
You've got the makings of a great map here. I map in Inkscape a lot, and it's great to see what other do with the software. I'm interested to see your next update.
"We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams"
Awesome! Thanks for the great input folks! I'll keep working on it and post an update next chance I get. Thanks again!
Ditto what 's been said about the background color - the orange is a bit harsh on the peepers.
My Finished Maps | My Challenge Maps | Still poking around occasionally...
Unless otherwise stated by me in the post, all work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.
Birchburgateton sounds like an English town, so given our fondness for "counterintuitive place names" I'd guess it's pronounced Burn? (qv. Featherstonehaugh, pronounced Fanshaw!)
Whaaaat?? That's like pronouncing London as "Glue".Originally Posted by Robulous
(qv. Featherstonehaugh, pronounced Fanshaw!
We've been pronouncing these places for over a thousand years, we contract things. So Warwick is Worrick, Leicester is Lester, and Worcester is Wooster.
And yes, we do cringe and glare at stupid American tourists. Secretly
Hehe, in Scotland there's Kirkcudbright, pronounced 'Kir-coo-bray' and Milngavie, pronounced Mill-guy.
We would absolutely never cringe at American tourists!
"We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams"
I work in one of the most touristy areas of San Francisco, the Embarcadero, and had a Scottish family in for a quick glasses repair last week. They kept asking me if I could tell them where Im-barse-a-dera was, and I was mystified for close to five minutes.
Sorry to hijack your thread, Raymond.
Posting Permissions
