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Thread: My first big mapping project

  1. #11
    Guild Artisan Katto's Avatar
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    Agree with Marken4. For me it is best to add a rough sketch of the mountains on a separate layer to get an idea how the rivers will flow. Zoom in to about 200-300% when drawing them.

  2. #12
    Guild Novice Dark Umbra's Avatar
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    Why are the rivers too wiggly? Rivers in our world are as wiggly as mine... for example a rough map of Germany.
    I know where mountains and hills will be and I pay attention to that while I´m drawing the rivers.

  3. #13
    Administrator Facebook Connected Diamond's Avatar
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    I don't think that it's that they're too wiggly, it's that the wiggles are too regular, too even.

  4. #14

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    Wigglyness.
    It's all about scale and slope.
    In general, rivers up in the hills and mountains have been cutting their way down a steep slope creating valleys. Real world valleys up in the hills and mountains tend to be straight-ish. Certainly 10's of miles during maybe turning 180 degrees, for example.
    Further down hill the rivers and rains have deposited the flat lands using silt. Being flat the river has no real incentive to go anywhere but there's still a slope to the sea somewhere. The river meanders about and can turn 180 degrees in just a few 100yds or less.
    In the hills the river is flowing fast and has a tendency to erode the corners out making the route shorter. In the flatlands, it reaches a speed that is slow enough that instead of cutting the corner down, it deposits silt on the inside of the curve (where it flows slower) and cuts out the outer side of the curve (where it flows faster) this increases the wigglyness. At some point it can go so far as to create an oxbow lake which I'll have to ask you to look up on the web somewhere.
    SO.
    In general, straighter "up in them thar hills" and wigglyer "down in the lowlands".
    You might get tight little wiggles in a flat bottomed valley (like one created by glaciers/ice age) so the general course is straight, but it wiggles along it. This appears to be what you have so when you do your mountains, bear that in mind, I guess?
    --
    "I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly dreaming I am a man"

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    ............. Some of my 3D Stuff (POVRay)

  5. #15
    Guild Novice Dark Umbra's Avatar
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    Thank you. I see what you mean.
    I think at the moment drawing with my mouse is my biggest problem. I ordered a graphic tablet yesterday. It will be easier to fix and draw this map with it... and other things too, of course.

  6. #16
    Guild Novice Dark Umbra's Avatar
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    Sorry, there were some problems with the delivery so I got my tablet on Thursday.
    The rivers are less wiggly than before I hope. Where the lines are the other rivers will be. When I have sketched them, I will enlarge them near the sea. Sorry for my English. I hope you understand what I want to say.
    I also coloured the sea, the land and the borders.
    I don´t know how I should draw the mountains. Realistic or by brushes? If I use brushes, how big should they are?
    I think the whole map should be about 300 miles wide. What do you think?
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version. 

Name:	map.jpg 
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Size:	3.34 MB 
ID:	30376  

  7. #17
    Guild Novice Dark Umbra's Avatar
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    Okay, they were still too wiggly.
    Here is a new version.

    What mountain type should I use?
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version. 

Name:	map1.jpg 
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Size:	3.38 MB 
ID:	30387  

  8. #18
    Guild Journeyer Marken4's Avatar
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    I wouldn't go for a satelite style, neither brushes. Although I like this style: http://www.brodt.dk/peter/mount.html (The one at the bottom)

    (The Rivers look a lot better now btw )

  9. #19
    Guild Novice Dark Umbra's Avatar
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    Thank you, Marken4!
    The style you showed me is great! I think this will take much time but I will try.

  10. #20

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    Excellent job, I agree with Marken though, the rivers should probably be a bit straighter unless the whole region is extremely mountainous... very nice keep it up!

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