My first map, "Nalrim".

[invernomuto1976]

Hello,
this is my first experience with GIMP and cartography in general. I'm trying to do a map for the videogame "Dominions 4" by Illwinter. I'm using the awesome Gidde's "Hand Draw Map Tutorial" and Gidde's brushes.

While I'm not entirely satisfied by some elements placement (it's too "crowded" of hills and mountains), I'm learning a lot from the tutorial. I've never used an image manipulation program before and I'm trying to understand the basic concepts (layers, alpha channel, etc).
I want to thank Gidde for his tutorial, it is really precious for beginners.

[Durakken]

Whenever I look at a map that ties itself to a game and the person isn't saying that something is there for a specific reason or not I have a hard time commenting, because I have no idea whether you meant to do something that looks wrong or whether you got it wrong because you didn't know that it was wrong... In this particular case it's the shape of the mountains and the placement of the river... The mountains would I think never form like that and the river as a result couldnt' form either but it seems odd that there is just the one right in the middle of the map.

Other than that the map looks nice save for the river doesn't look like it fits with the map, but I don't know how to fix that. It looks like it doesn't match the map aesthetically. Maybe it has to do with a blur element you did on it? I dunno.

[Chick]

Hello invernomuto1976, welcome to the Guild and congrats on your first map!

It's true that mountains would never form in the way you drew them, and there is a thread here: http://www.cartographersguild.com/sh...ad.php?t=30156 that gives you pointers on geographical issues, but let's talk mapping first.

You are correct that you used too many mountain and tree icons. Spread them out a bit and don't worry about leaving blank space, there should be lots of that. In addition to making it easier to see the parts of the map as distinct, you will need room for labels later.

The icons you chose are fine and look good. Just don't fill the entire area.

Your river appears blurry, but I suspect that is either an unsteady hand on the mouse, or perhaps a resolution that is too low. You should be using at least 2000x2000 px, bigger if your computer can handle it, and a resolution of at least 300dpi.

The river shape is good, it comes from mountains and flows to the sea with tributaries joining correctly.

Your coastline is ok, although I'd make it just a little more irregular with a few deeper bays and longer peninsulas.

The color and shading is nice.

For a first experience with both GIMP and cartography, congrats on a fine start!!

[invernomuto1976]

Whenever I look at a map that ties itself to a game and the person isn't saying that something is there for a specific reason or not I have a hard time commenting, because I have no idea whether you meant to do something that looks wrong or whether you got it wrong because you didn't know that it was wrong...

You are right, I should have specified what I was trying to obtain from my map from a gaming perspective.
My goals were:
1) draw a map that does was somewhat symmetrical East - West.
2) draw a map with four different "zones": East and West borders (where players start), a Southern sea zone and the central area, divided from the rest by the mountains but accessible through some "passes".

In this particular case it's the shape of the mountains and the placement of the river... The mountains would I think never form like that and the river as a result couldnt' form either but it seems odd that there is just the one right in the middle of the map.

Agreed. The two mountain lines that run from North to South should have been a valley but they're ugly

Other than that the map looks nice save for the river doesn't look like it fits with the map, but I don't know how to fix that. It looks like it doesn't match the map aesthetically. Maybe it has to do with a blur element you did on it? I dunno.

I was experimenting with tapering dynamic with the GIMP and probabily the brush was a little blurry.

Hello invernomuto1976, welcome to the Guild and congrats on your first map!

It's true that mountains would never form in the way you drew them, and there is a thread here: http://www.cartographersguild.com/sh...ad.php?t=30156 that gives you pointers on geographical issues, but let's talk mapping first.

You are correct that you used too many mountain and tree icons. Spread them out a bit and don't worry about leaving blank space, there should be lots of that. In addition to making it easier to see the parts of the map as distinct, you will need room for labels later.

The icons you chose are fine and look good. Just don't fill the entire area.

Your river appears blurry, but I suspect that is either an unsteady hand on the mouse, or perhaps a resolution that is too low. You should be using at least 2000x2000 px, bigger if your computer can handle it, and a resolution of at least 300dpi.

The river shape is good, it comes from mountains and flows to the sea with tributaries joining correctly.

Your coastline is ok, although I'd make it just a little more irregular with a few deeper bays and longer peninsulas.

The color and shading is nice.

For a first experience with both GIMP and cartography, congrats on a fine start!!

Thanks for the suggestions and the welcome!
I'll trying to finish the colouring of this map then I'll try something that looks more realistic.

[ChickPea]

Not much to add beyond what others have said, except to say that I think your colours are lovely and it's a great first effort, especially when you've never used an image editor before.

There's a set of brushes & brush presets you can download for Gimp, called Gimp Studio. More info here: http://libregraphicsworld.org/blog/e...d-for-gimp-2.8

I love the Comic Ink calligraphy tool preset from that pack for drawing rivers. It's so easy, even with a mouse, as the tool settings smooth everything out and it just flows! If you're serious about learning more about Gimp, maybe give some of those Gimp Studio effects a try. I find them incredibly useful.