Amalga [WIP]

[elemental_elf]

I'm slowly working on rebooting my oldest setting Amalga. I'm making it more fantastic and less gritty. Right now I am working on the map.

I started off with a basic sketch of the continent. I wanted the continent to look interesting, so I created lots of bays, channels and peninsulas.



From there, I created added terrain. I decided I was tired of the hand drawn look I usually go for, so I went with terrain that showcases the elevations of the continent. Its more realistic and is strikingly different than kinds of maps I have been creating lately. I really wanted to emphasize how mountain ranges cut people of from one another, which leads to new nations being born. So I made sure to include lots of mountains. I have a weird idea for a Ghost wall where the souls of the recently deceased go for a period of time before heading off to heaven/hell/wherever. Denizens of Amalga can go to the wall and meet and converse with the dearly departed in a safe environment (as opposed to traveling to other plains to do so). The wall is represented by the pink line. As a by product the line also cuts the continent off from the rest of the world.... Or maybe Amalga is a plain and that line represents its eastern edge? I haven't decided yet.

(LARGER IMAGE)

From there, I decided I did not like the green coloration of the terrain, so I switched it to shades of brown. At this time, I also added the rivers. Rivers serve as the arteries and veins of a medieval world. I often feel I neglect rivers, so I really wanted to try and include as many as possible. I'm still working on creating more tributaries but for now I have the big rivers on the map. I also began testing how to create undersea terrain.

(LARGER IMAGE)

At this point, I realized the ocean was looking a bit lacking. My land looked fairly detailed but the seas were just a giant blank blue area. I created undersea terrain. After a few different tests (as seen from the above picture), I found a style I liked. The inclusion of underwater terrain is helpful because I want to include a few Mermaid/folk kingdoms. Having more than wide open blue plains helps make the sea-world appear more realistic. During this iteration, I also sketched out the land and sea borders of the principle kingdoms and empires.

(LARGER IMAGE)

Finally, I began the process of adding cities. I have only included a few capitals because I am not sure the icons look appropriate.

(LARGER IMAGE)

Well, that is the evolution of the map thus far. What do you guys and gals think? Any and all concerns or criticism is welcome.