[withdrawn][unpaid]Help me make some map(s) for my novel(s)?

[FAHall]

Hey Guys,


I've been trying to make my own maps, following the awesome tutorials on this site, and I've learned two things.

1. My computer doesn't have very much memory
2. I'm colorblind and mostly talentless when it comes to making pretty maps.



I'm working on writing a novel and I'm having a hard time remembering where places are in relation to one another. I know there are tons of people on this site that are a gazillion times more talented at cartography than I am.

I'm actually looking for three different maps, but they will need to be made one at a time.

The first is a physical map of my entire world. I will happily add all of the "political" entities onto the map myself as well as all of the names of things.


The second map will be a political map of the entire world. To do this, I'm hoping to work with the same person that made my first map. I will take the physical map and give a general idea of where the countries need to go and then have the mapping genius (whoever wants to help me) convert the map to a political style based on the countries and locations I want.

The third map will be a close-up of the region where most of the action takes place in my novel. So, it will be a zoomed in physical map, but I'm hoping to get all of the neighboring regions to be grayed out around it according to my political boundaries.


Okay down to the info:

Commission:

[Unpaid] *sorry*

Credit! When I get my novel published, the cartographer will get complete credit for all mapping work done in the novel. I can put names, urls, whatever you want for credit.

Time Constraints

Honestly, I'd love something ASAP, but I know that this is an unpaid gig and therefore am willing to wait for awhile.

Style


Map 1&2:
http://www.cartographersguild.com/at...4&d=1258385964

http://www.cartographersguild.com/at...3&d=1256770724





Map 3:

http://www.cartographersguild.com/at...7&d=1258466988

Description of Map


The first map is a complete world map. It is roughly earth sized. I have attached an image with VERY general ideas of what I want the continents to look like.

The big fuzzy ellipse signifies a big continent that I want, but I have no preconceived notions about the shape.

The one in the bottom right hand corner suggests the general shape I want. A big crescent continent with an island in the middle of the "inner sea" or bay.

As far as the big middle guy, the only things I really care about are the placement of the "seas" that kind of insert themselves from the West. I also want the "finger like" bits that I have. You might notice that some of it is not too dissimilar to the earth, and if you look at it that way, then I'm looking for an "Italy" type country in the midst of my "Mediterranean sea", and then a big "Sweden/Norway" finger arching over the northern sea. Also, I guess, it is important that there be a fairly narrow passageway to the "Mediterranean" sea.

Islands: I'm hoping the artist can add in lots of little islands for added detail. I only wanted to give some VERY GENERAL physical guidelines, and I want it to be up to the artist to help me create the details.

What the heck are the big blue bars? Those are just to indicate that there should be more water between the fuzzy ellipse continent and the rest of the continents. Overall, my world has too much land and too little water. As I mentioned before, I'm not much of an artist. What I'm hoping for is a world with a similar ratio of water:land that the Earth has.


I have also attached an image with a basic idea of the climates. Honestly, it shouldn't be that different from how the earth is set up. There is alot of crossover between my areas, and I want the artist to take lots of liberties to create more realistic regions. For instance, I want the artist to decide where they think mountains, forests, marshes, lakes, rivers, jungles, other deserts, plains, steppes, etc should go.

Light blue: arctic/subarctic
Yellow: dessert/arid
Red: tropical
Green: temperate


Quality & Size

* I want something of similar quality to the images I linked.
* These will be required for print
* The size of the maps I linked works, or bigger depending on what the artist feels is best.

Copyright - (as simple or complex as you need. If you want something watertight consult a lawyer, the suggestions below are just for illustrative purposes and may not provide the protection you require).


* I will have the right to use the image for commercial purposes, the artist will have the right to exhibit the image as part of his/her portfolio but not to exploit it for commercial gain.









Anyways, I don't know if anyone is interested in taking on this project. If not, I'll continue to hack away at it with my mediocre mapping/GIMP skills.



Thanks a bunch guys,
Alex

[FAHall]

I played around, and I was able to create the basic landmasses. I figure this cuts out a few steps for anyone that wants to jump on this project.


I have attached an image.

[Ramah]

If you can do that then you can do the rest.

Try following Tear's tutorial (if you can lay your hands on Photoshop) and you might be suprised with what you can achieve.

Edit: Ah, just noticed your post in his thread and that you use Gimp. Well... I think there are usually workarounds between the two programs. Good luck with it.

[FAHall]

If you can do that then you can do the rest.

Try following Tear's tutorial (if you can lay your hands on Photoshop) and you might be suprised with what you can achieve.

Edit: Ah, just noticed your post in his thread and that you use Gimp. Well... I think there are usually workarounds between the two programs. Good luck with it.

Alright, I think I'm going to bite the bullet and do this myself.


After trying for a more satelite realistic map, and failing miserably, I've decided to give your style of map a try Ramah. I was looking at the Aronbor map and I like it alot, and since my biggest problem was making the mountains look good, using Isometric mountains solves that problem.

I will probably be starting a WIP thread soon.