Welcome to the Guild! I don't really have anything more to add to what has already been said. Like Arcana, I was a long time CC2 user but I now prefer using dedicated vector and raster drawing software instead. The biggest gun in CC's arsenal is its symbol library, which you will not find in programmes like Inkscape/illustrator or Gimp/Photoshop unless you make your own.

If what you are after is a 'hand drawn' finish, then you might find that you are better off drawing your own individual symbols. The reason for this is that the human eye is incredibly adept at seeing repetition and when it sees it, 'computer generated' immediately springs to mind.

CC does allow you to create your own symbols to complement the existing symbol library, but (and this is my own view) I always found editing and producing new symbols in CC2 quite difficult.

If your preference is to look at maps on paper, then I would suggest you look at hand drawing your maps, scanning them and then editing / colouring them with a raster program like Gimp or Photoshop. To my mind this combination has delivered the best of both worlds for the creation of artistic, handrawn looking maps.

If you would like to learn a little more about software options, have a look at this thread.

Enjoy your stay at the guild!

Ravs