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  1. #1

    Wip Hyrusen - My First Map

    Hello there This is my first real map. I've done some stuff before but I ended up discarding all of it. I am now trying a different style and I think it's turning out pretty good.
    I'd love it if you guys could tell me what you think.
    Below is a detail of the Island of Shing-K'noa.
    Tell me what you think of it and what I could improve




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  2. #2
    Guild Member Facebook Connected madbird-valiant's Avatar
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    Welcome to the guild!

    My only real issue is the rivers. The source really shouldn't be the tip of a mountain, and rivers very rarely split heading downstream. Also, is the entire island surrounded by cliffs? It strikes me as odd that Nagasan Harbour isn't on the water, and going by the cliffs has no easy access to it.

  3. #3
    Guild Artisan Neyjour's Avatar
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    Excellent work for your first map!

    Very nice style and colours, and I like how you've done your forests. So simple, yet effective! The only thing that doesn't look quite right is that they seem to be floating a little bit. Maybe try adding small lines to make them more grounded. I've done a quick example, so you can see what I'm talking about.

    Also, the river outlets need just a little bit of editing to keep that 3D depth. Again, I've done a quick (and messy - I'm drawing with a mouse - LOL!) example.

    I agree with madbird that it seems a bit odd that the harbour isn't on the water, and the river coming down from the tip of the mountain looks very strange.

    But overall, this is a beautiful little island! My favourite detail is the small clump of forest at the top, hidden between the mountain peaks.
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  4. #4

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    Hey guys Thanks for letting me know on the stuff I could improve. I did a few changes and moved some stuff.
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    Nagasan is now connected to the water
    I removed some cliffs because an island surrounded by cliffs like that did seem a bit weird :S
    And I made the trees look stumpy

  5. #5
    Guild Member Facebook Connected madbird-valiant's Avatar
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    Much better, although the river still looks very strange - what I usually do is just have the river go between some mountains and disappear from view. That conveys that it runs from the mountains without having to have a single water concourse snaking its way down a steep mountainside.

  6. #6

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    Is there any reason in particular that a river is starting up the mountain? Rivers usually start from areas between mountains where rain gets funneled down the slope.
    Last edited by Althaen; 12-24-2013 at 02:47 AM.

  7. #7
    Guild Expert jbgibson's Avatar
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    Actually, I'll buy the river starting up on the mountain -- it won't be the *only* part of the river, the one rising on that slope, but the locals are free to designate which of dozens of tributaries is the "main" tiny creek that's the upper end of that river. What I don't buy is the split where the lower river decides to go to two different parts of the coast. Real rivers tend to join, not fork. There's exceptions, but you aren't depicting the situations where that might plausibly happen. Take a look at Redrobes' tutorial on How to get your rivers in the right place, and your believability will jump noticably.

    If you're going to have the mountains so prominently lit from the right, your forest and shore-cliffs should be lit/shaded likewise.

    Good start! And thanks for pitching in with a contribution right in your first post - that's worth a smidgen of reputation all by itself.

  8. #8

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    Thanks for the positive feedback i've been working for the past few days and i've come up with something really cool I'l wrap it up soon and reveal it

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