Building a World Map using Layers in GIMP

[Porklet]

That's why I made it. Just remember it is intentionally overcrowded. You should delete most of the roses, and any extraneous lines. The map I first created it for just has two roses, and no circumcircle: http://www.cartographersguild.com/al...chmentid=29592

Also, a small scale map like a whole world which has straight Rhumb lines, has to be in Normal Mercator projection. If you want to get such things technically accurate, I'd suggest you look it up. The key point is that it distorts areas, so as you get further from the equator, things get bigger. If you've ever seen a map where Greenland was the size of Africa, that's a Mercator map. It also spreads out the higher latitudes so the poles themselves are infinitely far away. If you meant "world" as something much smaller than a globe, or your world is flat, or you don't care about technical details and just want a pretty picture, ignore this paragraph.

I am not certain how Rhumb Lines function. I haven't had the opportunity to look it up, yet. My world map is roughly 3,000 miles x 3,000 miles (same as the pixel count). Although, that might change once I start filling the land mass with junk. Most of the terrain features are representative, and the scale and details will be laid out in regional maps (assuming I don't die of old age first). It stretches from just below the equator to just above the arctic circle. I don't believe my map is too large for the lines you posted. Please correct me if I am wrong.

I did read that the center rose was placed at the port of call or major port or home city or what-have-you. However, the largest city on my map lies near the center, and I thought I might say that the Rhumb Lines were used for aerial travel as well. I am not certain how feasible that is, and I don't know what purpose the other compasses/roses would serve. As it stands now the Rhumb Lines basically encircle the mainland and pass between smaller outer islands, for the most part. I was thinking the system could have been invented by an explorer who first circumnavigated the continent, or something. I am quite fond of the way it looks, and I don't want to change it. I want it to make some sort of sense, however.

I have decided to keep your image as the background instead of water. The lower lines set depth, and I wanted to go with a brown motif for all of the terrain features, rivers, lakes, etc., except for flora. If I didn't I would still be collecting map elements this time next year. By keeping all of the regional elements the same basic brown motif I can get the world map situated faster and then concentrate on regional maps and their individual palettes. And since it's not a realistic portrayal of the land I can get away with using your Rhumb Lines as my backdrop instead of actual water.