Dai-Teikokushin

[Lawine]

Hi, I've been lurking every now and then on this forum, and finally decided to come on and share something I made; this is my first (semi) serious attempt at map-making and would enjoy some feedback from people with more (or less) experience than myself. It isn't finished yet, and I'm pretty open to changing things (within my ability to do so).

The following maps show the Empire of Dai-Teikokushin; a nation loosely based on feudal Japan (though the various names are designed to sound Japanese, they're mostly pure fantasy with some actual words but no doubt poor grammar thrown in).

The main island chain:


The political divisions (and also the names of the major islands):


The cultural borders:

[Llannagh]

Wow, that's pretty impressive for a first map! I like that you distinguish between political and cultural borders.

At first glance (on my smartphone right before sleeping and being very tired) your maps look solid. Good choice of colours, nice mountains... I'd like to see a merged version of geography and political/cultural maps, since geography is a big influence on those.

Also, of course, officially welcome on the forums! Plus have some rep for jumping in with a map!

[Pixie]

Weird land forms, but they do work with the map, specially on the political and cultural ones.
I like your take on sea coloring - it's pretty vibrant/eletric and works well with the solid color of the political entities. Not so well on a "sort of satellite view" like your geographical map.

Awesome start! welcome

[arsheesh]

Hey, not bad for a first shot. And welcome.

Cheers,
-Arsheesh

[Lawine]

Added a political and cultural map with geographical features, a bit half-assed:

[Lawine]

Thanks for the comments guys. I made a slight update with some additional details on the forests and mountains:

I'd like to see a merged version of geography and political/cultural maps, since geography is a big influence on those.

I'll have to work on that.

I like your take on sea coloring - it's pretty vibrant/eletric and works well with the solid color of the political entities. Not so well on a "sort of satellite view" like your geographical map.

Not sure if I can agree on them not working on the geographical map; I originally had a much lighter outer sea and that worked fairly well, but I feel like the contrast works better on this version. I'm open to suggestions however.

[Diamond]

That's really beautiful work, and very impressive cultural 'feel'. The only nitpick I have is that in a couple of places your rivers are doing impossible things, like flowing from ocean to ocean or splitting apart instead of joining.

[Wingshaw]

I agree with Diamond about the rivers. The other nitpicks I have are that some of your political borders are very straight-edged, which is normal in a modern setting, but less likely in a feudal Japanese one. Also, some of your cultural depictions, while not necessarily implausible, might raise eyebrows. For example, the enclave of Makanatari on the island of Zaisuke seems odd, unless you have an in-world explanation. There are a few other minor nitpicks I could mention, but I won't right now.

[EDIT: sorry, I had to nitpick. Couldn't help myself. First, it is unfortunate the way some of your rivers look when they reach a sea or lake (the river above Chotei shows it most prominently); second, in the cultural map, the lake on Chuukonoke looks like some of the mountains are on it; third (and this is a really minor nitpick, but you wanted feedback, right?) the cultural map also shows some minor yellow bits on Chuukonoke, which I assume aren't deliberate. Those issues are really minor, and you can probably ignore them if you want, and the map will still look fine.]

That said, I really like the style here, especially the sea, and the names feel authentic. Your decisions regarding political and cultural regions seem pretty good overall. I'd love to know more about the archipelago. Some people here have made maps using Japanese/samurai insignia, which would look good here, or just some text describing the peoples/places/cultures.

Welcome to the guild, and have some rep for your first (serious) map.

THW

[Lawine]

That's really beautiful work, and very impressive cultural 'feel'. The only nitpick I have is that in a couple of places your rivers are doing impossible things, like flowing from ocean to ocean or splitting apart instead of joining.

I don't think they actually flow from ocean to ocean anywhere; there's one which splits into a north and south heading river, but as far as I can tell none of them do impossible things. Could you explain what the issue is with rivers splitting apart? Plenty of real world rivers do this so I'm a bit lost as to exactly what you mean. Perhaps an explanation by way of example? If it's not too much trouble.

The other nitpicks I have are that some of your political borders are very straight-edged, which is normal in a modern setting, but less likely in a feudal Japanese one.

This is actually intentional; the borders are not fluid because they are decided upon by the imperial court and then given over to individual clans as opposed to being the result of conquest or what not. Each province is supposed to be roughly equal in population and wealth (except for the central urban provinces).

Also, some of your cultural depictions, while not necessarily implausible, might raise eyebrows. For example, the enclave of Makanatari on the island of Zaisuke seems odd, unless you have an in-world explanation. There are a few other minor nitpicks I could mention, but I won't right now.

I tend to like such oddities in politics and culture and what not; to me they feel more plausible than having uniform and fully logical borders. Cultural and political enclaves are not uncommon in real history, and inserting little oddities like that in the map give a good excuse for building interesting setting fluff. I should also mention that these cultures are not necessarily as distinct as people may be assuming; rather than being the difference between say German and French culture, it's more the difference between say the culture of Paris and the culture of Marseille.

[EDIT: sorry, I had to nitpick. Couldn't help myself. First, it is unfortunate the way some of your rivers look when they reach a sea or lake (the river above Chotei shows it most prominently);

I know, that's laziness at work; I haven't seen fit to fix that yet.

second, in the cultural map, the lake on Chuukonoke looks like some of the mountains are on it; third (and this is a really minor nitpick, but you wanted feedback, right?) the cultural map also shows some minor yellow bits on Chuukonoke, which I assume aren't deliberate. Those issues are really minor, and you can probably ignore them if you want, and the map will still look fine.]

Yeah, those are bugs. I kind of rushed the cultural map with the geographical features, thanks for pointing them out.

[flocko]

I love the colors and textures here! This is really cool looking. (though watch out for the river police) I'm curious which names have actual Japanese roots. I picked out a few real words in name parts and there are a few that sound more like elongated person names rather than place names.