Starting on a concept

[TaylorH]

Hello, everyone. I've made many maps in the past (most of which haven't survived the ravages of time) and am quite proficient at Photoshop and other software packages, but I've decided to take on Cartography as a primary hobby instead of it being something I do rarely. I come to you with a peculiarly simple question, especially given the context I've just set. How does one get started? In every other hobby I've ever had it's usually a case of starting small and working one's way to larger, more detailed projects. Walk before you can run, essentially. There are many examples, but I'll give a few. In animation you start off with simple "bouncing ball" exercises and then move on to, say, full character walk cycles and in art you start with basic perspective and shading values and gradually progress to figures. But with cartography, what stumps me is there's no real starting point that you can work towards in the sense that you start small and finish large and complex. It's not as if beginners start with a simple island and then only if they do this will they be able to make a continent. No, it's more a case of just starting from that high point, instead of climbing the ladder. It's not because it's confusing, but because I'm so used to hobbies which follow that similar structure. I guess the starting point in this hobby is the world concept and basic outline of say, the continents? Of course, one's real starting point should be the study of geography and one should at least have a simple understanding of the basic processes involved in the natural world.

I ponder this because as I've decided to start Cartography as a genuine hobby, I'm confused where to start. I guess I just block out my continents and land shapes and everything else? I want to start working on a world proper, but these thoughts have hindered me slightly. Should I just start with the concept and basic outline of everything and work from there, going through the layers?

I hope my rambling is in some way coherent.