[WIP] my first map

[Dn'k]

Hi there,

I'm a newcomer - and since a few weeks i want to do some maps. Don't know why, i just need to draw things. Im not good at drawing and im not good at photoshop either... So please be kind :p

I watched a few tuts on youtube and a few maps on that site. And i'd like to get some advice on my first map. Here are a couple of screenshots. can you tell me how to improve this ? what's wrong and what's ok ?

This is a close up of the most advanced part


and this is the whole map

[J.Edward]

That is really good Dn'k.
It looks like you are using a pressure sensitive tablet to draw.
So far, most of what you are doing is very good.
I like your color choices and your mountain ranges look quite good. The shadows are great.
I would never have guessed this to be your first map as it looks so well done.

My first suggestion is with the path with the flags.
I did a quick sketch to show an alternate way you could do that path.
That many flags seems like too much.


But really you are doing a great job so far. Keep at it. It looks great.

[Dn'k]

Yes i'm using an old wacom intuos 3 tablet.

Well thanks for the compliments, but there is very very good tutorials on youtube... Here are which I used :
that one for the mountains
These for the general shape of the land and the forest
and these for the town stamps

[Chick]

Hi Dn'k, Welcome to the Guild!

Here are some more good tutorials for you to look at: Quickstart Guide to Fantasy Mapping: http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=4276

From there, go to Hand Drawn Mapping for the Artistically Challenged: http://www.cartographersguild.com/sh...ad.php?t=10655

And be sure not to miss How to Get Your Rivers in the Right Place: http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=3822

[ChickPea]

This is great for your first map! I like your mountains. You've really managed to convey a sense of height. I have one suggestion for the snowy highlights. I feel that in a couple of places your brush strokes are a little too obvious, and you could perhaps try using the Smudge tool to blur the edges somewhat, just to make them blend a little better. Also, your castle has the river showing through it. Might want to erase that, or colour the castle?

You're off to a great start.

[AzurePlanet]

Welcome!
What a nice start, you're very talented!

By the way, I dislike the choice to use two very contrasting fonts.
Also, I noticed a village stamp in the sea: is that intentional, or just a mistake?

I look forward to seeing your progress.

[Dn'k]

g'morning

aww y'all too kind with me, i gonna blush
@chick i'll take time to watch these tutorials. Are my rivers in the wrong place ? Basically i just put them in the bottom of the valleys, flowing quite straight in steep ground and in a more curvy way in plains...

@chickpea i did use the smudge tool for the snowy highlights, i probably forgot some strokes... good idea to color the castle. its just a brush from deviantart, next step is probably to make a better one. I'm not happy with the brush, its too big (or too small) and often it just does not fit the shore line...

@azure planet : yes the village stamp in the ocean is a missclick ^^' And for the fonts, yes, i agree its not that good. I wanted a medieval-style font, but legible enough because the background was already too crowded in the mountains. And i wanted a font with the french accents (é, è, ê, à...). I didnt find something good enough, so i chose two differents kinds : a legible one with accents for the features of the land and a medieval-style one for the villages.

I have a question : how do you guys treat the scale issue ? do you chose a scale before hand, or adjust when u get a general shape of your map ? at the begining i wanted to draw a whole continent, but it seems quite small for a continent now. Probably there isnt more than 60 km between the two main cities...

[Chick]

The rivers look fine, and you are correct about steep straight and wavy flat.

I always do the scale first, because it matters in both horizontal sizes of things and vertical sizes of things. If a continent is 3000 miles across, the mountains are drawn smaller than if the continent is 500 miles across, but also the height of things like trees and buildings is affected. You can draw very pretty pictures of the land, but if the scale is not correct, it's not much of a map, it's just a pretty picture.

[AzurePlanet]

I have a question : how do you guys treat the scale issue ?

I always chose the scale before to start drawing. I must know immediately the size of my own lands.

[Meshon]

Yes, give some thought to your scale. I think you will find that you want to use a single icon for villages, rather than the multiple huts you have now. These make it look like that is the actual extent and size of the village. At that distance it would probably take less than 10 minutes to walk from Singibyr to Iskartoft. Which is probably not what you want.

The art is looking really good, keep it up!

cheers,
Meshon