Quote Originally Posted by Nexan View Post
Hello, everyone.

Recently I've gotten back into making maps. When I was younger, I used to make up maps all the time for no particular purpose, really, except that it was fun. (I would guess that I'm not the only person here who did the same, heh.) But yes, now that I'm older, wiser, and have much greater access to technology, I decided to scan the map and play with it in GIMP. It turned out better than I'd hoped, but I still thought there was a lot more I could do (specifically I was looking for ways to add random noise to the coastline.) So then Internet happened and I stumbled upon this place!

And here's where I say that I'm truly impressed by you all (well, to be fair I haven't seen all of the maps on here, but you get the idea). I can only hope that my skills some day match yours.

Currently I'm (slowly) developing the below map for use in some sort of fantasy/steampunk sort of setting, although I suppose that really has no bearing whatsoever on the map itself.

Anyway, I look forward to possibly posting here more than once, although I do have a strong tendency to lurk so you may just as well never hear from me again.

Welcome to the Guild Nexan!

Where exactly would you like to go with this map? I see you have some shaded portions to show elevation. Is this merely a placeholder or something you want you final map to have(if so, check out HandsomeRob's or Patrickas's posts for starters) Or would you like to go toward a partial elevation shading and also texture mapping(see some of Jezelf's work). Or would you like to get to something that might be considered more artistic(check out my entry in the September Mapping Challenge) in style (not talking about skill level here, just style). Or even something else entirely. If you can find a map style that you would like to emulate we can point you in the right direction.

Also, I would highly suggest going through RobA's Gimp Regional Map Tutorial. Even if you don't want this style of map, his tutorial will introduce you to a wide range of techniques in GIMP itself (if your fairly new to GIMP).