first ever world

[gidgetmj]

So like I said in my intro I needed to make some maps for a manga project I'm working on. I'm just having fun right now and playing with some details and all. I still have no idea the look I'll be going for, so I guess Ill just be making all kinds of different types. LOL Anyways, I'm pretty proud of myself but I can't take all the credit since I used a tut I found on here to really understand everything. And wow I totally didn't know this would be so addicting!

[Kestenvarn]

Not bad. Though the beveled edge seems kind of turned inside-out, so that the lands appear to be lower than sea level.

[Jykke]

Try removing the bevel and add a small gradient glow instead. I liked the color tones of your land here, also the water isn't that bad at all.

[Steel General]

This is a nice start.

The beveling can appear that way depending on the source of the lighting. For example, due to his work with stained glass and the way his workshop is oriented Ascension often reverses the default light source. So, all of the shadowing is reversed and if you don't realize that it looks like everything is sunk instead of raised.

Not saying that's the case here, but something to keep in mind.

[Ascension]

It's more of a northern hemisphere thing that I set the sun in the lower right (for morning, lower left for afternoon). If I were sitting in a room under a light then I'd put the light in the top left, for doing something like a ball or toy or something. Anyways, as to the map...me likey, except for the divergent rivers (spliting downstream...they need to converge or join downstream with the branches in the highlands). If you're going for deltas, then they need to be much more tightly packed together and closer to the coast. Overall, nice. Hope to see this move along with some cool labels and grafix.

[gidgetmj]

so I read up on rivers and water today and now I'm like amazed at how retard it looks. LOL You guys have really helped a lot and I hope to have a reworked map soon. I need to get some of this stuff down before I finish my project so hopefully I can advance fast. Thanks guys!

[gidgetmj]

ok so I went through a lot of tutorials. and really liked one I found by ascension (you are amazing BTW) and then looked up tons of info on rivers and topography. Hand drew my map this time and figured everything out on paper first (it seems to help better) plotted most of the storyline I need for my project (some structures are places specifically for the storyline). and I came up with this. I really never knew how much work goes into a map and I have a whole new appreciation for all of you!! I'm still plotting and thinking for boundaries and labels (yeah its been a painful process with my editor) Anyways, um I think I need some help making the land not appear to just be pasted on the water. I didn't bevel it this time in hopes to make it not have the problems as before but I just can't find a good way of making it not look pasted. So any tips would be super helpful.

[Ascension]

First, thanks Second, take an airbrush around the landmasses in a medium or light aqua color to paint in some shallow areas then take a dark teal to the deeper parts of the ocean. You might want to have your coastlines be a lil more jagged, that might help as well. Overall, so far so good, keep on keepin on.

[Steel General]

Coming along nicely and I second Ascension's suggestions and would add thay you might want to 'scale-back' the ocean texture just a little so it doesn't look like they are covered with tsunami's/tidal waves.

[Jykke]

First, thanks Second, take an airbrush around the landmasses in a medium or light aqua color to paint in some shallow areas then take a dark teal to the deeper parts of the ocean. You might want to have your coastlines be a lil more jagged, that might help as well. Overall, so far so good, keep on keepin on.

You said pretty much all that I also had in mind