Hello Simon! I am new here too. I was asking the same questions when I joined up as well - I do all of my map work by hand. I have recently acquired an excellent set of drafting pencils and other materials and am going to work in earnest. I dont know what it is, but theres something very satisfying about rendering the maps by hand. I say do what you love - do what feels right. But yeah, the whole hybrid thing is awesome too. I do all my sketches in black and white, pencil on paper. Then you can scan it and put it into some editing software (GIMP for example) to add further texture and color. Or just leave it black and white - theres some beautiful maps out there with no color and plenty of detail. anyway, looking forward to seeing more of your work! ill be posting some WIP soon too, probably after the weekend.

Endyr