My First Attempt at a Hand-Drawn Map. Need Feedback!

[Cuin]

My kind of style Redleg.

I've found that the writing makes a HUGE difference in terms of how professional the map looks. So, I spent some time studying calligraphy to benefit the maps. Here is an excellent resource on calligraphy, pdf download is free: here. I haven't made pens myself, I bought a set of Speedball brand pens and an inkwell. When I was shopping for those I found a set of nibs labeled as for cartography! So of course I bought them. I only use the dipped pens now because the width of the pen stroke is so much finer. Also I find the process much more enjoyable that way.

[Gidde]

I got hooked on dip pens as well If you haven't already tried it, grab a dropper-bottle for the ink, it makes the whole process much easier and cleaner (fewer blots).

[Redleg]

I picked up some dip pens but had disasterous results. Two of the pens themselves were defective and bled everywhere. Ended up returning them and got some Faber-Castell art pens.

[Redleg]

Also, as I typically do, when I learn how to do something differently and prefer that style over what I had been working on, I will set the old project aside and think of it as a learning curve. I learned quite a bit from the map I had posted, and will be fine tuning my future maps to reflect this. I also am starting to dabble with the idea of using Gimp for future projects, but for now, hand drawn is what I'm sticking with. Thanks for the great feedback and support!

[Falconius]

How does one use a dropper bottle? Stick the nib in the end of the dropper part?