Reply With QuoteHarenova is positively charming yet mysterious. When I'm not on my iPad I really want to read the blurbs on your map. Keep up the fantastic work!
Yes. The greenish yellows are grasslands and the dark, desaturated yellows are steppes. I haven't given the lower right corner of the map much thought if that wasn't obvious already and the lands around mountains and/or higher elevated areas need some work too. It's something I'm trying to wrap my head around.Originally Posted by Azelor
They are lighthouses/pillars.
I have a little textbox in the larger map but I doubt it's easy to navigate... Here's what it says:
"Pillars are used in the vast deserts for vagabonds and caravans as checkpoints. They are immense in size and point toward Nihileam [Polar north]. The fortification needed to keep the obelisks standing tall leaves only a small space to be entered. Newer and restored pillars collect water from rare rain and snowfall as well as what little moisture is in the air. Some nonperishable rations and survival gear are meant to be stored within, but because of their expensive upkeep, many have fallen into poor condition or have been looted. Resilient caravans are sent at the beginning of each season to major pillars to restock and perform maintenance work.
Last edited by Vagabondage; 08-05-2013 at 01:48 PM.
Harenova is positively charming yet mysterious. When I'm not on my iPad I really want to read the blurbs on your map. Keep up the fantastic work!
I agree with my esteemed colleague. ^
Awesome world-building factoids.
Ah... ... ... it's been a while... and I've been pretty sick. I've been trying to make an appointment with my usual doc but she has been unavailable and my work schedule is not at all flexible.
ANYWAY, I proceeded on my own and gave myself a day of therapy by hiking on a local mountain trail. It certainly was refreshing so now I've picked back up my work.
I'm taking baby-steps at this point -- as I have been doing with the entire project from the start -- and after having padded out a general overview of the world, I am focusing most of my attention on style. I've got my list of resources back on the first page but I have also come across the most beautiful medieval map since starting this project: The Fra Mauro Map... It's certainly heavily detailed and its orientation is perfect for what I have envisioned of my own map. The patterns, drawings, and scrolls will help fill space without having to think "Derp derp, is there a town/city here? Why is it there?"
Harenova is not at the height of technology or knowledge and while the map-maker is a citizen of the most advanced nation, an entire picture of the world is not so solidified as maps in the real world. It's a matter of aesthetic, ambience, and emotion that I want to convey within the story that the particular world is at the cusp of a real world equivalent of the Renaissance and the Industrial Revolution (17th century... thereabouts) however most of the world is still stuck in the medieval-ish era (either due to war, natural disasters, lack of resources, etc...). It's... difficult to explain as I haven't really seen many stories that might be like it...
Tatooine from Star Wars has become a heavy influence after recently viewing the films but this world is not so advanced to have starships, droids, and light-sabers... more like... makeshift dune-buggies+land-surfer, wind-up toys/clocks, and maybe a flintlock pistol here and there... all very rare things for a peasant/commoner to see.
I'm just thinking aloud here now.
The nobles, aristocrats, and university students of the most advanced nation have access to some technology (basic engines, wind up machinery... all relatively low-tech stuff) and the proletariat are without such luxuries. Yadda, yadda.It's fantasy, but I hope that my reasoning for such things is... reasonable. And while Harenova is mildly real-world based many of my decisions of the world and the whole story have been made because "Hey, wouldn't it be neat if...".
WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY IS: I'm not making a real-world accurate depiction of the fantasy world with this map but one that is created in the perspective of a character who is biased toward his nation and most likely drawing things so they look "pretty" more than accurate (mostly because educated guesses are the most accurate anyone can get thus far).
After all that... I have no progress right now. I'm just doing lots of research before I start the real work.
Last edited by Vagabondage; 08-12-2013 at 10:25 AM.
The time/tech period sounds almost similar to the Imager Portfolio series. Not quite, less advanced. It'll be cool to see another map in the Fra Mauro style. I've been half tempted to try something like it, but I'm quite sure the written bits would be the blank wall that flattened me.I wish you luck and look forward to seeing more progress. Feel better soon.
I know what you're saying, and it's the way I come at most of my own maps. I think accuracy should take a backseat to artistry and fun, to be honest.
That Fra Mauro map you found is fantastic. It is really disorientating at first, I love it. With that in mind your most recent projections fall more into place for me. As for fantasy or other imaginative map making I'd always take something that is interesting or aesthetically pleasing over realistically accurate. It's is an imaginary map for a reason after all. Unless there is a good reason for accuracy it can easily be sacrificed in favour of something more important. At the same time building it following the theories or "rules" of geography is a very interesting and fun exercise too. You are definitely getting all the bases covered in this WIP
I think I'm gonna get carpal tunnel soon.
The lines in the ocean are going to be strategically flecked with scrolls and text... and by strategically, I mean finding the crappiest looking areas and slapping the scrolls there.
EDIT: Blech. After taking a few minutes away from the computer and coming back with fresh eyes, I don't particularly like how the lines are looking around Tartaros. Doesn't look much like WATER as it does in the Fra Mauro map... I think I'll start over on that. Pft.
Last edited by Vagabondage; 08-13-2013 at 02:48 PM.
I dunno, I kind of like it. It's different, in a good way.
Yeah, don't get carpal tunnel. What if you start on a blank document, same dimensions, use a comb brush (one with many rough points in a line) with pen rotation, fill the whole page with squiggly wavy lines in a way they don't overlap, hide it and make a new layer, do it again in different directions. Put the layers on top of your map, clipped to the watermask layer, and paint masks on each of the layers so that the best parts show through on each. Does that make any sense at all?
Elsewise, the Fra Mauro map doesn't seem to connect the lines into circles anywhere that I can see. Maybe just redraw the bit between the continent and the island. It's not horrible, though, as is. But don't get carpal tunnel.
