Welcome!
The Cartographers’ Guild is a forum created by and for map makers and aficionados, a place where every aspect of cartography can be admired, examined, learned, and discussed. Our membership consists of professional designers and artists, hobbyists, and amateurs—all are welcome to join and participate in the quest for cartographic skill and knowledge.
Although we specialize in maps of fictional realms, as commonly used in both novels and games (both tabletop and role-playing), many Guild members are also proficient in historical and contemporary maps. Likewise, we specialize in computer-assisted cartography (such as with GIMP, Adobe apps, Campaign Cartographer, Dundjinni, etc.), although many members here also have interest in maps drafted by hand.
If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ. You will have to register before you can post or view full size images in the forums.
Maw of Vys regional map commission - all rights reserved.
this is a very nice one. don't think i've seen it before. nice mountains and colours too. im not seeing many repetitions with the mountains - are they individually-made or brushes?
Thank you. I didn't create a thread for it so you wouldn't have seen it before. There are no repeating mountains; about half were originally created for use as png brushes but instead of cloning them I just cut and pasted so that there'd be no repeats, then I added a bit around the edges where they needed smoothing into the background, and the other half were drawn directly as needed to fit the remaining space. The only thing I cloned were trees... I created about 45 unique trees which I stamped in place one at a time (approximately 80% are clones of those) and I 'painted' the remaining 20% as needed on the spot. All of the settlements were designed and drawn on the spot, though it's hard to see them here... it was sized to print at 17 x 21 inches. Working on this map solidified my realization that it's easier for me to just draw everything by hand. More time consuming certainly, but actually much less frustrating than trying to select the closest brush-shape for what's in my head, placing it just so, and then going back in to fix edges. I can also create a unique style for each map by painting it all by hand instead of using brushes and clones, and that's really why I started mapping in the first place. There was a time I worked at an embroidery and screen-printing business... lasted only as long as I could stand the repetition.
Indeed, handdrawn seems to fit you better.
Yeah... I do kinda envy your speed though, on occasion.
Stunning! Simply stunning!
Gorgeous map!
