A Tale of Three Maps

[handsome_unlimited]

I have just finished the third incarnation of Demeria's local region, and in the newest version the area has been rehashed completely. This is the first time I've considered tone and atmosphere in my mapping, and I've found it to be waaaaay harder than I expected. I'll upload the older versions for comparison, as well as my reasoning behind the changes I've made. The first (and worst):



This first version is extremely unimpressive, but did its job well enough. I can't actually find the labeled version, it must have been lost to the ether at some stage. Not much else to talk about with this one. Onto the next:



I'll be honest (and immodest), I actually like the inks on this one. I feel like with the knowledge I have now, I could fairly easily go back and re-colour and shade it to make it look much better. Alas, I have been busy with larger-scale worldbuilding, and wanted Demeria to be on the west coast of a continent... not the east. Which bring us to the overhauled new version:



Ok, so first up: the map has effectively been flipped horizontally. This is for worldbuilding reasons detailed below.

Next obvious point: the style. As opposed to going for a hand-drawn style, I've tried to make this one look like a realistic satellite image. This is ENTIRELY because of my own brain having troubles visualizing scale. For whatever reason, whenever I see a fantasy map drawn in almost any style, my mind fails to get a grip on just how big the area is. My mind comprehends the visuals, and translates them to travel times and numbers, but when I see a dotted line on a map I feel like I'm never picturing just how much is there. So I've gone for a less abstract representation, and I'm actually not sure I've achieved a feeling of communicating the true scale of an area.

Next up is the relocation of landmarks. This was for worldbuilding purposes, but for reasons less nebulous than wanting the area on the other side of a continent. Essentially, I want this place to feel remote and wild and untamed. The setting occurs five years after a massive plague wiped out a huge chunk of the populace, and many cities and towns fell as a result. I've brought the three farming hamlets into close proximity of Demeria City, and the roads are only patrolled in that small region. Kareda is around two days travel away, which is what I want - it is supposed to be a frontier town built on the ruins of a much older township. Beyond that, many adventurers head over the mountains to stop at Dolmar Inn on their way to Khole. Khole is an adventurer-magnet - a large, complex set of ruins promising archaeological treasures, fame and glory. Towards the south of the map, the roads are disused and go only to ghost towns (still possibly plague-ridden). Overgrown/inactive trails still lead to several forts and locations, but none are occupied by civilized folk.

So my aims were:
-Overhaul the map completely (successful)
-Design the map around my larger-scale worldbuilding plans (successful)
-Have the map convey a better sense of scale by showing, rather than telling distance (not so sure if I achieved this)
-Have the map convey the isolation, remoteness, and wildness of the setting (again, really not so sure if I achieved this at all)

I will be amazed if anyone actually read through all this. Kudos to you if you managed!

Yours Handsomely,
Fuhrer Guild King Handsome Unlimited

[ChickPea]

First map looks a little plain and unfinished, which, to be fair, it kinda is. I really like the second map, though it would be nice to see it without the grid. I appreciate you want the grid for gaming, but I feel it detracts from the look of the map here, especially in the mountain regions where there are so many lines! The forests looks great and labelling is nice and clear. For the third map, I'm not normally the biggest fan of satellite style maps, but you've actually made something very attractive here, and I like it a lot. Mountains, especially, look fab.

Have some rep, Oh Fuhrer Guild King!

[Ilanthar]

The second one is my favourite, I'd say. It's well balanced, and the grid is a nice "board game" or "old school" style without being too invasive.
The third one is quite pleasant too. All in all, I think you have a good color palette here.

[handsome_unlimited]

I am humbled by your praise!

@Chickpea: here's one without the grid, just for you!

[ChickPea]

Ah, much better! Thank you. Probably because I'm not a gamer I find the grid quite distracting.

[handsome_unlimited]

i understand what you mean, definitely. the grid isn't actually very functional with a forced-isometric map like that one. distances from left to right are to scale, but top to bottom are off (i can't remember off the top of my head, but 57.5% sounds right?)

[BlindBlake]

I personaly prefer the third one, mainly because of the quality relief shading. Did you create a grayscale picture and lightened it up or did you make those mountains by hand ?

[handsome_unlimited]

I personaly prefer the third one, mainly because of the quality relief shading. Did you create a grayscale picture and lightened it up or did you make those mountains by hand ?

Thanks!! The process was a mix of a few techniques I've learned at the guild. First, made a black and white super-rough heightmap:



then, eroded the dickens out of it with wilbur and just constantly, endlessly had to fill in basins to stop it from creating rivers at the edge of the map. which left me with this:



from there it was mostly just layer masks and styles, almost all of which i learned through Tear's Saderan tutorial. although i used different colours, textures, effects etc, i can still strongly recommend the saderan tutorial as a great means of seeing what layers effects can do.

[BlindBlake]

Cool! I'll take a look at this tutorial. Thanks for the explanation by the way.

[handsome_unlimited]

No problem!
The tutorial in question is here https://www.cartographersguild.com/s...ead.php?t=8086