Results 1 to 10 of 10

Thread: Want some constructive Critizism!

  1. #1

    Default Want some constructive Critizism!

    Hello fellas! My first map, feeling kinda bad uploading it after watching ya'lls projects and such. But its my first work, and im really mostly messing about with my mind. But still, if anyone could take a look at it and tell about their first impressions, that would be great. Still alot of work is needed ofcourse, I will add names, figures, and some more basic geography etc etc. But would be nice with some feed-back, thanks!

    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	Working progress.jpg 
Views:	196 
Size:	936.7 KB 
ID:	52656

    Its very white, but when i originally started i wanted no colors, but after seeing what they can add, im sure of that my next map will involve color of some sort.

  2. #2
    Community Leader Guild Sponsor - Max -'s Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    France
    Posts
    4,220

    Default

    Didn't you already post this map, it reminds me of something?
    Pretty good job for a first map Coastlines looks a bit too computer generated for me, regarding the others lements of the map. Also I'm not sure about east and north-western river flooding but I may be wrong about that. The trunks on isolated trees looks a bit too thick at this scale. Looking forward to see how it will turn

  3. #3

    Default

    Yeah i Posted it on the "new member" forum, but the guy replying to me there, told me i should post it here as well for a chance to get more responses. Oh, are u saying i tried to hard on the coastline? becuase it sure is not generated, But maybe u are right, i had another model where the coast were very more round and smooth, but i thought it made the whole island look so small, with alot of curves and bends i generally think it gets a "bigger" look ^^. The flooding? yeah i dont know actually, didnt really have any serious thought behind it. Maybe thats needed for it to look realistic though. And about the trunks, yeah i know they are oversized as H*** but thats very thought through. I like the idea of the trees looking like trees, no matter the scale. I just think it gives a nice look to it. Thanks so much for replying. Means alot.

  4. #4
    Community Leader Guild Sponsor - Max -'s Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    France
    Posts
    4,220

    Default

    Ah yes I remember I saw it on your first post. About the coastlines, It's hard to explain, it just looks kind of too "regular" . I don't know, maybe it's just me

  5. #5
    Professional Artist Cunning Cartographer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    England
    Posts
    301

    Default

    For a first map this is great. The rivers aren't bad from what I can tell, you avoided the biggest faux pas and that is just randomly forking rivers off; they all seem to flow from uphill and lead to the sea from what I can tell. Bigger cities/settlements seem to be focused near water, which is the general idea (with exceptions).

    There are a few things I personally would change/alter, that stood out to me:

    The city near what looks to be a broken down wall (presumably a Great Wall that used the mountain range to divide the land in two) and the city near it. There are no roads leading to it, given the scale of the city icon I presume this is more than just a settlement? The fact that it's near what is essentially a World Wonder you would expect to have a road leading to it (they must have sent workers too and from that place at some point to build it) even if it was only built by the Northern/Southern civilizations.

    Speaking more on roads all roads should be leading to somewhere and will generally take the most direct route, either to cities or important locations, and then new settlements form on pre-existing roads that are near a resource, etc. There's a few forks in the road that are probably very unlikely. Roads cost A LOT to build across any great length and so only appear where necessary. For example your North Western city has a road leading south, but passes another larger town that also has a separate road heading south.. which is very unlikely they would build two roads that serve the same purpose heading in the same direction. Either highlight which are main roads and which are secondary dirt paths that have been formed, or strip back your roads a little.

    Finally, the crack in the lower eastern part of the map that looks like a huge fissure with some islands in it is oddly isometric and has considerably more depth than the rest of the map. As I can see the depth of the cliffs/islands I presume it is on a body of water as opposed to some opened up chasm that leads under the world (ala Forgotten Realm/D&D Underdark). If this is a body of water then I'd suggest applying the same isometric view to your southern facing coastal cliffs and your lakes (though smaller for the lakes).

  6. #6
    Guild Journeyer Eld's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    Germany
    Posts
    112

    Default

    Looks quite nice. Why is the north eastern corner darker than the rest? The symbols on this part look unsharp as if they were doubled. A second question is that there are these nice city symbols AND those rectangular dots. Are you going to replace the dots or what's the idea behind them?

    Do you intend to colour the map?

    If you'd put a scale in, it would be clear how big the land is. I think I need to agree on Max' argument about the coastline. The zig-zag does not help to improve the natural look of the coast. In the opposite, I think it makes it more unnatural as if you take a look at maps showing whole Europe or another continent, you'll see that maps of that scale are not able to show every single bay so that the coastlines are more smooth and calm. Of course, you could incorporate some bays and some edges, but I would suggest to enlarge the variety of calm, smooth coasts and zig-zag ones.

  7. #7

    Default

    Yospeck - Yeah about that, the City near the Wall, i was trying to incorporate some kind of lore and history to the map, and that is why the road stops out in the nowhere. The road there has not been used for centuries, and about the town, its some what of an outcast town with no direct contact to the other northern cities. It all has connection to a great war many years back when the eastern part of the island got totally destroyed. I was not sure if u should mark the "old road" and mark it in some other manner.

    And about the road in the north-west cities, i can definately see your point, and will make changes to that asap.

    And the crack.... yeah I dont know about that, i dont want to fix the other cliffs and lakes, because i want this look. But im not sure how to make the cravass in ay other way. And it is not a water filled hole, more like a opened chasm, and in that matter yo are definately right that the island makes no sense. and i will change this asap aswell.

    THanks so much for giving me some advise mate. Im so very new to this and i really dont have any clear directions or rules to go by. Thanks!

    Eld - Yeah thats all on purpose since the dark place with the unsharp symbols are a barren "ghost" region. All due to the great dragon wars mention above. I just like the idea of the Cartographer trying to explain as much in the map as possible, without text. Thats why i did the unsharp symbols, that may be a bad idea though.

    About the Cities, i just thought that the major big symbols are ofc the bigger cities and more important towns, while the dots are just smaller villages or even mines or harbors. I mostly did the dots just to mark it out. I will most definately change it as the work moves on.

    THANKS alot for your thoughts aswell, means so much!
    Last edited by Jockvonmock; 03-07-2013 at 03:18 AM.

  8. #8
    Guild Expert Facebook Connected vorropohaiah's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Malta
    Posts
    1,425

    Default

    The city could always be a struggling remnant of the once-great empire that built the wall. insular and xenophobic, its people have let the old trade-routes fall into decay as its nobility brood, remembering with bitterness the golden age of their ancestors even as their people struggle to maintain their dark temples...

    sorry got a bit carried away there

  9. #9

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by vorropohaiah View Post
    The city could always be a struggling remnant of the once-great empire that built the wall. insular and xenophobic, its people have let the old trade-routes fall into decay as its nobility brood, remembering with bitterness the golden age of their ancestors even as their people struggle to maintain their dark temples...

    sorry got a bit carried away there
    Haaha Cant believe i never joined this site before, so many kind and "neirdy" people, i feel just at home <3
    I love your work man, just checked your site out. So many stories, so nicely written, and the maps... the maps.. it all gave me the goosepumps. Keep good work up!

  10. #10
    Guild Member Facebook Connected Thordred's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    London, UK
    Posts
    78

    Default

    I don't think this looks too shabby.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •