I'm brand new to digital cartography, though I have always had a thing for maps. I used to draw maps for the fictional books I read as a kid lol. Now that I'm working on a story of my own, I really feel the need to map out this world I've got in my head and see it in front of me. The only problem is that I'm completely clueless as to how to do it! Since I'm less clueless with computers than I am with pencils, pens, and brushes, I called my brother (he's into programming and such) and he referred me here.

I've browsed around a bit and researched what I could about some of the different programs I've seen mentioned, but I would be curious to see if any of you could provide some more insight... or any advice at all really. I like the 3D look of Blender, and the fact that I could also use it to create scenes and characters from my book, not just maps. My brother says he prefers Sculptris, but I haven't seen any maps made with it so I don't know if that's possible. Do any of you have experience with either of these programs? Or could you suggest some other ones? I'm on a budget so the less expensive, the better

Thanks!
zipper&button