First map!

[lxdengar]

Hi Folks!

My name is Mike, and let me first say, I stumbled upon this site a couple of months ago while doing research and I'm amazed at the artistry and imagination (not to mention the pure research) that people put into their projects here. Truly amazing. Thanks for the inspiration!

I've been working on a book idea and felt the need to take it to another medium. So I started this map in hopes it might make some things coalesce, as far as my world's backstory. Although I've only been working on it for a little while, it's definitely helped, so I'm determined to finish this map.

I was deeply inspired by Schwarzkreuz and his map of Arden, so I'm doing something similar. The map is 62x40 inches, at 288 dpi for printing (hopefully a nice size poster someday, we'll see how it turns out). I don't have a timeline on to complete it, but I'm aiming for the end of summer. Normally my work involves a great deal of working in 3D, so its actually a welcome break just to work in Photoshop.

As it stands right now, I've finished the major outlines of the continents. Let me say that the sea in the middle is not a 'natural' occurrence (that's a major plot point of the book), but I'm expecting everything else to be logical and believable.

Here's a couple of images. The continents as they currently stand, along with some zoomed in sections. Sorry if its a little blurry, I just used a quick magic wand to fill in some sections. I also wasn't sure how *big* I should make them, in a working thread.

Once again, thanks - there's a great deal of knowledge here, so I'm open to all suggestions and criticisms. Thanks for your time!

Cheers!
mike