WIP: Lompang

[Nonfavourite]

So in a vague attempt to actually start doing something, I stopped working on the map I wanted to be working on, and started working on this one. I'm a complete beginner, so this is mostly me trying stuff out and seeing what works.

Lompang is meant to be an island nation, comprised of several islands wrapped around a central sea. It sits roughly on the equator of the world and is a hot, tropical location.

[Nonfavourite]

I've changed the colour of the ocean and tried to give a bit of height/depth to it. It mostly looks like the islands are sitting on clouds, which, terrible, but I can't figure out a method of fixing that that I'm satisfied with. I've also begun defining the actual border of the map - the plan is to have an ornate(?) frame around it, which can be carried over into other maps for this world. I've also added a texture to the ocean, which is either too subtle or not subtle enough, I can't decide. Also, the thumbnails are really dark for some reason.

[Nonfavourite]

Wow. And the file that comes up when I post this stuff is both way too large and way too saturated. It's like Joseph's Technicoloured Dream Coat.

[xpian]

The shallow waters really do look quite cloud-like in your latest image, yes. I think it has to do with both the whiteness of the paint and the puffiness of the brush.

First, you could restrict the extensive use of shallows to just some of your archipelagos, and leave very little of it around the larger continents (unless it's a semi-enclosed shallow sea). This would have an effect of making the landmasses seem to sit more securely on the water.

Second, you could go for a much more aquamarine color instead of white. Also, use a "glazed" paint style with a single, uniform transparency level for all of the shallow regions. When you overlay "puffs" of the paintbrush so that they are semi-transparent on top of each other, you make things look more cloud-like.

Third, while still keeping a little gradient and fuzziness, you could make the shallow regions more sharply defined. In particular, the shallows really need to mostly follow the coastline, which will make them appear to radiate from the coastline much more clearly.

Here's a pretty picture of Fiji.