Thread: [WIP] unnamed (undecided) fantasy map for a book.

Originally Posted by Troedel

I love the layout of this one. It all looks full of adventure secrets to discover. But why MS Paint and not Gimp? It would be harder in the first place but in the end easier I think. Otherwise I´d love to see where this gets. The concept of going large to small is one I like because my way of thinking until now was going the other way round. But the way you do it makes it easier with the detail. But I´ve got the feeling it could be time consuming

It is quite time consuming, yeah... but I enjoy doing it
One of the reasons I don't use Gimp much (I have it installed) is because I don't like the layout. It's annoying for some reason.
I've also tried my hand at photoshop, but let's face it. It's quite expensive AND difficult to learn.

If I ever finish my book, which (hopefully) I will... Then I'll most likely draw a hand-made map for the books instead.

Originally Posted by Aenigma

It is quite time consuming, yeah... but I enjoy doing it
One of the reasons I don't use Gimp much (I have it installed) is because I don't like the layout. It's annoying for some reason.
I've also tried my hand at photoshop, but let's face it. It's quite expensive AND difficult to learn.

Well, within certain limits, The GIMP has a quite configurable layout. You can drag the palettes around to form columns and tabbed groups within those columns. Maybe you just need to spend a bit of time customizing it. The other thing is the tab key which lets you hide and unhide the palettes as you need them so you can have the image full screen and just summon the tools when you need them.

Another option is Inkscape, which is very good for mapmaking and has a very different interface from either The GIMP or Photoshop. But it is a vector editor rather than a raster one. This actually suits many cartography tasks well, but does mean you'd have to do a lot of work adapting your map. But then you'd have a fair bit of work turning your single layer map into a multiple layer one in The GIMP or Photoshop too, and to really get the benefit of them, that's something you'd want to do.

That is, either (layered raster or vector) means a fair bit of work in the short run, but it would probably save you a lot of effort in the long run.

Originally Posted by Aenigma

I did not use any program except MS Paint and my mind.

Hey, for using just MS Paint, you have a really nice map there. Besides, one thing I have learned from seeing YouTube videos, you are only limited by talent when it comes to using MS Paint.

Example: Mona Lisa with MS Paint.

Keep up the good work, and repped.

rmfr

I've noticed a rather irritating limitation with Paint, which has made me consider Gimp once more... I can't "bend" words so that they fit better on the map, if you know what I mean.

I'm just glad that we have some fine tutorials on this site

It has been a while since you posted your map, but it is still just as impressive. I have been working on a similar project for the past few months and I have to say that I am extremely jealous of your coastal realism. Much like everyone else who has posted, I would love to have your skill in that area.

There is one thing I do have to ask about your map: do the names and places mean anything? Most of them have a very nice ring to them, but looking at it linguistically would the names fit together? For example, in Western Europe place names tend to be more towards the front of the mouth (think Paris, London, France, Spain, etc.) and as the places get further east, they start becoming more glottal (Poland, Germany, Moscow, Turkey, Hungary etc.) until you reach Asia where almost EVERYTHING sounds like you are trying to swallow your tongue (Tokyo, Beijing, Jakarta, Bharata [the native name for India]).

The reason I think this is important is because there will be instances when names will differ from the norm (think England, India, etc.) and this differentiation will denote some historical influence by a stronger culture. The name England is partly derived from the Angles who invaded the island then known as Albion. And Albion, if you say it aloud, is a front-of-the-mouth kind of sound. And the Angles--who came from the Germanic area of Europe, have an eastern-sounding name. Thus you can determine that the country of England was founded by Eastern-Europeans just by the name.

The same goes for India, originally called Bhuarata, which was named by the Greeks, an Eastern European group, and derived from the name Sindhu which was, if I remember right, the Sanskrit name for the Indus. And saying Bhuarata and Sindhu aloud poses a real risk of strangulation. History lesson aside, however, I think it would add a lot to the culture of you map if you thought about where each name came from--such as a person, event, etc.--as well as how it sounds. In a truly and independently evolved society, Kairel, Janitz, Rene, Han'draul would never all be part of the same geographic region.

Its something to think about, anyway.

Originally Posted by Javert

It has been a while since you posted your map, but it is still just as impressive. I have been working on a similar project for the past few months and I have to say that I am extremely jealous of your coastal realism. Much like everyone else who has posted, I would love to have your skill in that area.

There is one thing I do have to ask about your map: do the names and places mean anything? Most of them have a very nice ring to them, but looking at it linguistically would the names fit together?

Yes, some of them do have a meaning, like the city named >>Han'Keba<<. Han'Keba literally means "The City by the lake Keba" It may not seem totally logical, but languages usually arn't. One has to understand how a language works before it becomes logical.
As you might have guessed by now, I am developing a language for this fantasy world that the book will take place in, though it is still far, far away from being a complete language.
My idea was that some cities were named after a certain family which founded the city, or made it important in the line of trade and things like that.

One key thing I always keep in mind now that I'm making a language of my own is >>practicality<<
By that I mean that I try to avoid all those "charrgborgolomthisisalongowrd" and such things. I do use the ' in a few words, but I only do that because I think it has a practical use.
Also, I try to make the language beautiful at the same time.

One key thing I always keep in mind now that I'm making a language of my own is >>practicality<<
By that I mean that I try to avoid all those "charrgborgolomthisisalongowrd" and such things. I do use the ' in a few words, but I only do that because I think it has a practical use.
Also, I try to make the language beautiful at the same time.

You are crafting a language? That is something that is far out of reach for me. Again I'm impressed. And contractions like Han'Keba really do make sense, insofar as words in another language can make sense, that is.

But you are really doing this full-out. One of the reasons why I think Tolkien was the father of modern fantasy is his around-the-board approach to everything fantastic. Language, Culture, Geography, History--It was all included in his works. And if you are following in somewhat of the same path I think you will reap some of the same rewards. Great job and I hope to be able to see the finished product.

Originally Posted by Javert

You are crafting a language? That is something that is far out of reach for me. Again I'm impressed. And contractions like Han'Keba really do make sense, insofar as words in another language can make sense, that is.

But you are really doing this full-out. One of the reasons why I think Tolkien was the father of modern fantasy is his around-the-board approach to everything fantastic. Language, Culture, Geography, History--It was all included in his works. And if you are following in somewhat of the same path I think you will reap some of the same rewards. Great job and I hope to be able to see the finished product.

Thanks! I'm also trying to avoid things that I feel are too cliché, like for example; The classic fantasy setting now-a-days is: Treehugging elves + stoneloving dwarves + humans that kind of like/hate everything.
I'm creating a different kind of creatures. There will of course be humans, but also another species that is slightly inspired by Harpies.

I've been working on this world on a regular basis since the summer of 2009, but only now am I really beginning to write the story. Most of the time has gone to making the "frame"/setting of the world.

Another cliché I would like to avoid is this whole "I'm the lonesome hero and I don't know my parents cuz they be DEAD! /cry" scenario.

Just a little update for you.

What do you think about the forests?