Map of Skelor

[Caenwyr]

Thanks!

What do you guys think about the land mass itself? And the arrangement of forests, mountains, desert and rivers and so on? I'm not sure whether this makes sense in a geological way. I know it's fantasy, but the more believable it is, the better it is, right?

Really like the shape of the land masses, though.

Hi Ahab, this is a stunning map for a first-timer. Before I lauch into any kind of critique, I'd like to say I too like the landmasses in this map! The mountains... there's tons of tutorials on the Guild that can teach you how to do them, it all depends on the style you prefer to use. But I really like their position on the map, they appear to be in really logical places. So thumbs up from me with regards to the mountains!

When it comes to the rivers though, I have two remarks:

1. the river on the eastern landmass seems a bit too "snakey" if you ask me. Rivers generally flow downhill, they won't double back unless the geography makes them, and even then erosion will eventually take much of that effect away.
   
2. My second remark is about the river on the western landmass, the one that flows through what I suppose is a desert. I'm not sure, but it seems like it splits up in two rivers, one discharging into a lake, another flowing into the ocean. If that's how you meant it, I'd like to point out that rivers almost never split up like that, and if they do, it's only for very short stretches. Another remark to be made if that presumption is correct, is that water that flows into a lake, must flow out of it again as well, and there seems to be no river flowing from the lake to the sea.
   Then again, I might be wrong, and perhaps that "strange" river is actually flowing from the lake into the other river. This would make much more sense, even though the joint of the two rivers seems to be in the wrong direction then. I guess if the river is flowing out of the lake, there should be a river flowing into it as well, but perhaps its absense could be explained away by the fact that you simply don't draw that small a river.
   Whichever of the cases is true here, I guess you should look into that river basin a bit.

Before you start panicking: don't worry, these are just minor remarks, I've seen maps that have way worse mistakes when it comes to rivers. Apparently rivers are one of the tougher things to get your head around. It's easier to draw them than drawing mountains, but finding the correct location can be a real pain in the butt. I would like to point you to this massively important thread by none other than the great Redrobes. I'm sure you'll find all the information you need there.

Lastly, when it comes to climate zones (forests, deserts, etc), it all depends on where on the globe this cluster of islands (or is it continents?) is situated. And for that, my friend, we need your input ;-).