Map Help for Professional Looking Finish!!!

[Ironheart Silva]

Hi there,

So I've got the basic outline of a world map and I'm looking to add a professional finish. I'd like texture on there and I'm not sure how to go about trees, i.e. what design (drawings or brush texture). I'm using Photoshop CC so it's a case of capable software but an ignorant user! I'd really appreciate any tips or tutorials you have.

Thank you,


TB.

[Chick]

Nice start.

For texture, go find a light parchment texture you like and blend it in as I've done. I used Overlay.

You need a lot more rivers. Also in the rivers you do have, I notice a couple of places where the confluence seems wrong. Rivers flow together into the direction of downstream flow. In this detail, the green circled one is correct, the red circled ones are wrong, should join as the yellow arrows show.



You'll want some forests, I expect, and at the scale you are using, green dots should suffice.

Hope this helps

[Ironheart Silva]

thank-you very much for your help I will definitely be adding more rivers and some forests, this was just a quick first draft - like the every early stages. You're help is much appreciated

thanks again!

[randigpanzrall]

Well Silva,

your map has a great potential, I think. The area and scale is a big pont. When your landmasses are continents, your map is showing a whole planet (more or less) and therefor your landmasses are very fringed I think. There is bay to bay and fjord to fjord. Just look at google earth for example. When you see all continents there, you wont see to much fringing. Even the some hundred fjords in Norway or the slender build east coast of the USA looks quite calm and smooth there. But of cause, it´s your world and your decision.

To the rivers: It´s right, you need more rivers. It´s good to have some six or seven large rivers spread on the world, like Nile, Danube, Ganges, Mississippi, Amazon or something and some minor rivers. Don´t spread them to regularly over the masses, some should be closer together some more far away. And be carefull with them, the river police is watching you. Crossings like chick marked in red should not appear to often. In this scale of map, it´s no problem to have one or to of this crossings because focussing in would tell us, that those rivers are not flowing opposingly but curved together in the right way

The Mountains: Even the mountains should be spread across not to regularly and they better were of differnt area, not to similar. You need (and alreday have) some large Mountain-areas, some medium ans some smaller. Choose symbols for Mountains of different size, that would make your map more realistic and interesting.

Maybee those ideas could give you some direction - even when your direction seems to be good as it is

[Ironheart Silva]

thank-you very much for your detailed advice I've always had a problem with coastlines as I'm deluded into thinking that in order for continents to look interesting the coastlines have to be fringed - but you're right, that isn't the case.

thanks again for your detailed help, I'm no geologist or expert cartographer so the basics really help.