Personally, I don't think the colors you've chosen fit too well with the style. They're the kind of muted colors you'd find on a modern map.
I was displeased with the way the Gorian map was going, so I thought I'd try out another one of Ascension's tuts - the Antique Style. I've diverged quite a bit from the tutorial, so I thought I'd post what I've got so far and collect opinions before going farther. This thing has taken me about seven hours so far... I'm exhausted.
Personally, I don't think the colors you've chosen fit too well with the style. They're the kind of muted colors you'd find on a modern map.
I think I'm going to stay with those colors. I actually have a couple of antique atlases, one from the 1890s, one from the 1870s, and both of them have a kind of muted pastel color scheme. Granted, a lot of that might be due to the pages fading over time, but I tried to replicate some of those colors here. Also, once I do the final overlays it should tone things down even more.
Any other suggestions or criticisms? How do those Vandy mountains look? Seeing as he originally scanned them from antique maps, I figured they'd look right at home here.
Here's an update. City/town icons added, as well as some text.
This looks very good. Have some rep.
Maybe you want to tone down the woodcut effect in the bays, especially the Gulf of Sharen (I could hardly read the name)
I like it.
Very curious river just above 'Empire' of Dasicca. going all the way to the point of the peninsula. it must be a fairly concave peninsula?
Need a name fast or inspiration for one? Click me
Very nice. I really like your mapping-style. Another good looking map.
Have some rep.
I'm trapped in Darkness,
Still I reach out for the Stars
Looking good so far Diamond.
One little thing that kind of caught my eye is that the various fonts tend to get 'lost' when they are over a lot of terrain features.
My Finished Maps | My Challenge Maps | Still poking around occasionally...
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Okay, update time. I toned down the woodcut effect, so the text in the bays should be easier to read now; I also replaced the outer glow around the country names with a 2px stroke. That might be too much, but we'll see how it looks; I can always go back and change it.
All the country names are in - next I'll name the major rivers and mountain ranges, and then... the towns and cities. That might take me a few decades.
Oh, and a bit of background on this world: Basically, it's a fantasy steampunk type of setting, with mid to late 19th century tech mixed with magic. Besides humankind, there are dwarven nations (including a pseudo-Islamic one), and orc-like barbarians in the east (for whom I need to come up with a good name) who alternately feud and ally with the barbaric human tribes in the same region.