World map of Cindaelus. Criticism wanted.

[Sursion]

It's not Geoff's Climate Cookbook but that's worth looking at too.

That helped substantially! Thank you very much for posting that.

Here are is the final result of an entire days worth of working. With labels, tectonics, and just a blank view. Thoughts? Advice? Criticism? All welcome.

Blank: http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/6540/blankm.jpg
Labels: http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/1663/labelsr.jpg
Plate Tectonics: http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/4920/tectonics.jpg

[ravells]

I really love the colour scheme you have gone with. It reminds of me of 1950s school atlases.

The labelling I does not work for me as there is a bit of a style clash there. You're using a Gothic / Fractur type font which has suggestions of 15th Century, Heavy Metal and horror - so I guess unless the map is intended to have that flavour I would steer clear for that reason and for legibility (although sometimes you do have to trade off legibility against theme and feel). But then I realise that font choices are intensely personal and everyone (and their dog) has a view about fonts and almost everyone will tell you that there is a better font choice for your map than the one you have chosen (whatever that font may be).

I do suggest that you read the link in my signature about labelling maps before going too far on the labelling. It's a 'must read' in my opinion because it sets out those rules which have become so engrained in map making we instinctively know when a map is not following them although we may not know why. So if you want to break the rules and know which ones you are breaking and why, then knowing the rules in the first place is always a good place to start!

[Sursion]

I actually have to agree with you on that. When I downloaded the font, I thought it looked cool. But when it was actually on the map, I thought the background was too.. colourful? For that type of writing. I'll download some more and see what I can come up with. Thanks for the feedback!

Edit: I have revised the fonts. Unfortunately, MS Paint isn't ideal for writing, so it's not perfect. But I think the new font has a more 'lighter' feel to it, which fits well with the artistic style of the map. Also, I made the labels much smaller. They no longer overlap anything important (mountains, borders, etc.). I've also added a silly compass in the lower right corner because I thought that area seemed to empty.

In terms of the map itself, I've added a few islands here and there to give it more depth. Mostly in tropical regions. I've also added a layer of ice over the north pole.

With labels: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images...maplabels.jpg/
Plain: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images...daelusmap.jpg/