First attempt at the Sword Coast

[Faraene]

Hi everyone !

First post and first map
I needed a map of the Sword Coast for my D&D campaign and this is what I came up with.



To be honest I am not much of an artist so I know I need to work my drawing skills.
I'm not really satisfied with it and will redraw (as this is pen and paper so I can't correct everything) it but I wanted some opinions.

Let me know what you think and every comment is very welcomed !

Cheers

[rdanhenry]

Your forest interior and coastal wave markings are essentially the same. Changing one of these to make them distinct would help with land/water contrast (though if you plan to add color, that should also take care of it). Your shadows look to be consistent, except that they are missing on the eastern mountains. You might also add a little shadow on the edge of the forests. The lakes look like they've been drawn looking straight down, while everything else is seem from an angle, so maybe adjust those a little.

Otherwise, I'd say that it is looking good.

[Faraene]

Thanks for the comments !
Actually the eastern mountains are supposed to be dunes... I will definitely change them
I will work on the forests and lakes and keep you guys posted on here

Cheers

[DrWho42]

i agree with the above critique but otherwise i'm really digging it!

[Tiana]

Congrats on making your first map. I'd suggest to, instead of doing 'periodic taller trees' which as pointed out resemble your wave markers, add in a few clearings to break up the tree mass. It's a lovely first try. I can tell that the east is dunes but I'd suggest doing sand ridges around them to finish the effect. I'm sure your players would be very happy with this as a handout intended to be drawn by someone in universe!

[Faraene]

Hey everyone !
I finally switched to GIMP for my map. I am struggling a bit with the forests and could use your opinion. Well, actually I could use your opinion on everything ^^
Here is a part of the map :

[XCali]

I think something that catches my eyes is the trees seems to outsize the size of the individual mountains. That is one thing you can look at.

[Kellerica]

I think XCali makes a good point. I think I'd also consider adding some more mountains to fill the gaps between the ones already in place, in order to have more uniformed ranges. Not that having them be sparse is necessarily a bad thing either, it's just a question of style.

You're off to a nice start here, keep at it.

[EpicSyringe]

Deffinitely a great start. I love the layout of the trees (are those hand drawn?) And agree that the size comparison to the mountains should be adjusted. And remember when filling in those mountain ranges as suggested previously, if you are to go that route, should flow roughly north to south. Aethestically it looks more realistic and gives a natural feel to the image. Sweet work though deffinitely!

[Faraene]

Thanks everyone for the kind words

Yes everything is hand-drawn. I tried to make the moutains bigger and to fill a bit between them. Not sure as to how to make them "flow" from north to south though.



I'll keep posting since I get some great advices everytime