Hand Drawn Map tips?

[Midgardsormr]

Most of my hand drawn maps are scribbles, at best, because I typically draw them while the players are watching. However, when I do set myself to drawing a more attractive and deliberate map, I can do so. I'll answer your questions one-by-one.

1. Drawing more "spherical" maps instead of just using the dimensions of the paper

I've never needed to spherize a map. My campaigns are typically too localized to worry about that sort of thing, and it's not as though I'm making the PCs plot actual navigation courses.

2. How detailed do some of you go when hand drawing?

Depends on the purpose of the map. The regional map will include mountains, forests if they're dense enough to be an obstacle, major rivers, cities and points of interest.

Adventure sites are highly detailed, of course, though I don't use battlemats.

I usually only zone cities. The only buildings I draw are the ones that are important for one reason or another. If I need to draw in additional buildings, I can do so later.

And that answer covered question #4 as well.

3. Size of paper, do people usually use an 8x11 or use some larger peices?

I use whatever is handy, which is usually 8.5 X 11" printer paper or 11 X 17" sketch pads. For a little while, I used some even larger drafting vellum because I had it left over from a professional project (nothing better than supplies paid for by someone else!)

5. Lastly how the crap do you guys name half of the stuff you make? Map names, City names, lakes, rivers etc.

I just pull a random assortment of sounds out of my head. Or sometimes I roll Word Yahtzee dice. I'm no linguist, so I don't really even attempt to make believable names. Sometimes my names are puns or culture references; none of those showed up in Vendria, though.

6. Any other ideas that come to mind

A lot of these are things I already kind of know about and have put to my own use, but it would just be nice to know how some of you guys think when started a map

I run very character-driven games, and the relationships between people and groups are more important than geography. I usually know something about factions when I start world building, but putting them down on a map, even a scribbly one, helps to clarify my thinking. It shows me where my preconceived notions about what the world is are unlikely, or even impossible.

Sometimes following that practice results in some unlikely geography (like the river switchback that RPMiller pointed out in Vendria), so it's not the best way to make consistent and reasonable maps. It works for me, though, and since most of my players seem to enjoy playing in my games, I think I'll keep it up.

I don't know if I said anything particularly noteworthy in there; take what's useful and discard the rest.

[Yandor]

No these are all great, I wanted to make this post, to help others mostly, to maybe get an idea of where to begin, I've done things the same way over the last years, just grabbed a piece of paper, a pencil, threw down blobs and then defined them. Very easy, but it requires a lot of sketch lines and erasing. So like some of you have said, having an idea of factions, some features you actually wont on there etc before drawing it will really help in drawning my maps, and plus this is to help people get another insight on how to draw stuff, maybe they've never hand drawn a map =D

The other one I really wanted to know is how you name things, I've used generators and all sorts of stuff to get names, and well the best thing I've found so far is to get a word part like "Dor, Ion, Lon, Ius" etc and just add other word parts, such as my map name "Ashlon", Ash - Lon...

[Gamerprinter]

Very easy, but it requires a lot of sketch lines and erasing. So like some of you have said, having an idea of factions, some features you actually wont on there etc before drawing it will really help in drawning my maps, and plus this is to help people get another insight on how to draw stuff, maybe they've never hand drawn a map =D

I never sketch. I prefer pen, because I pre-draw the image entirely in my head prior to placing it to paper. I never erase. I start drawing away and if I make a mistake that I can't hide, I start again, but usually don't have to.

Just because I draw it in my head, doesn't necessarily mean the final outcome is exactly how I saw it, rather it just gives me direction and the artwork finishes itself. If it doesn't work, I try something else.

The other one I really wanted to know is how you name things, I've used generators and all sorts of stuff to get names, and well the best thing I've found so far is to get a word part like "Dor, Ion, Lon, Ius" etc and just add other word parts, such as my map name "Ashlon", Ash - Lon...

I am no linguist, however, like cartography, its something that interests me, so I know little pieces and parts of words from various languages. I research anytime I need more data. However, I choose from what I know, then look at an ethnic regions words that describe town or river and add them to the parts I know.

Sometimes, I completely make it up out of my head, say it outloud, to see if it sounds interesting. If it works I use.

More often than not, I plan my map site names like I plan everything else - in my head.

[Yandor]

Awesome! all great ideas, and hopefully it will help not only me but others too

The thing I've discovered, but no idea if its actually linked anywhere here (probably is) but heres a link to a very simple but can become complex when you get the hang of it, its powerful when used right... Its a Fantasy name generator as many of you probably already know =D

http://rinkworks.com/namegen/

[Naryt]

I like to generate my own names using this process. PS, if you like the article, you should save a copy as the original appears to have vanished into the aether.

[Airith]

Well, AutoREALM, a mapping program, comes with AutoNAME which provides all LotR names, lots of old languages (welsh, english, scottish) and different assortments.

I don't use it as I'm trying to use GIMP now, but I usually combine two words into a completely new word. Some (maybe rather bad, but I thought they were good at the time xD) examples, in the mountain - Mehtunai, laketown - Ketwa, basin city - Sibayth, wrath ring - Grahnth, ring fortress - Tregos, east plain - Tesan, below Racin[mountain] - Lonae.

I think synonyms work well too, like if you have an old forest, Elder Forest might work.

Or just names that come to you, randomly out of your head.