Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 21

Thread: Northeastern Hestia [WIP Fantasy Map]

  1. #1
    Guild Member ExMachina's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    White Post, VA
    Posts
    74

    Wip Northeastern Hestia [WIP Fantasy Map]

    Map Name: Hestia (specifically the northeastern portion)

    This will be my third post so might as well jump into all the fun at this point. After a few trial and error maps using a variety of tutorials on this site, I've gotten a map that's well on its way to being a final product. The initial purpose was just to put some names and geography to a fantasy novel I'm cooking up in my head, however at this point it has become a work of art in itself. Nothing I'm showing right now is set in stone, hence why feedback will be so valuable from the many cartography masters that litter this hidden gem of a website.

    Description:
    This northeastern portion of Hestia has pronounced Greco-Roman overtones with the focus being on the large central nation of Araratia, which culturally and politically will be akin to the Roman Empire (not without creative license however ). The bordering nations of Assuria and Sarmacia will not follow this model and will serve to bring in cultural diversity to this portion of the continent and act as a buffer for the nations that lie beyond them. Illion and Eretia will be loosely rooted in ancient Greek tradition.

    The style of the map is antique and hand-drawn and has been produced exclusively in Photoshop. I'm pretty sure the one river flows properly (I hope so!) and I've stuck to a maximum of three fonts. As of now only major features and cities have been labeled but the ultimate goal is to have a very richly labeled map. One of the problems I'm trying to overcome is creating political boundaries, if anyone has suggestions please offer them.

    Please comment on anything and everything. Don't be afraid to bring the hammer down just because I'm new here.

    Hestia as of 9/22/09,

  2. #2
    Professional Artist Facebook Connected Coyotemax's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    Canada
    Posts
    1,945

    Default

    The only real concern I can see is the river leaving the lake. Someone from the river police can correct me, but that seems geologically unlikely as it is. From what I recall, lakes tend to have one outflow, but can have multiple inflows.

    The split at the end of the river looks like it's making a delta, which looks fine to me (hides from the river police just in case)

    Other than that, it all looks fine to me. Things are very clearly labelled or represented, it's not cluttered or overdone, and the style is very nice! *rep*

    My finished maps
    "...sometimes the most efficient way to make something look drawn by hand is to simply draw it by hand..."

  3. #3
    Community Leader Facebook Connected Ascension's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    St. Charles, Missouri, United States
    Posts
    8,392

    Post

    Yeah, that river has a problem, nothing major. The delta part looks fine but further up the river there is a split...that's a no-no. It splits and goes to two separate places. So what I would do is to chop the northern part off from the main river and instead have it sort of curl up to the north into Araratia. The double outflow from the lake is a technical violation but I'm not real picky about that...just put a swamp there Someone else might know more about that than I do, though. Otherwise it looks pretty good.
    If the radiance of a thousand suns was to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the Mighty One...I am become Death, the Shatterer of worlds.
    -J. Robert Oppenheimer (father of the atom bomb) alluding to The Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 11, Verse 32)


    My Maps ~ My Brushes ~ My Tutorials ~ My Challenge Maps

  4. #4
    Professional Artist Facebook Connected Coyotemax's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    Canada
    Posts
    1,945

    Default

    Woah, I didn't even see the major split! and that's why i'm not one of the river police

    My finished maps
    "...sometimes the most efficient way to make something look drawn by hand is to simply draw it by hand..."

  5. #5

    Default

    Technically, it may have a problem with the rivers as noted above - I have absolutely no idea on what is geographically feasible and what's not.

    I do, however, know the style looks great! I would very much like to see more of your work!
    The ongoing sketchpad - Craig's Sketchpad (NEW)
    Design and web services - CJ Productions
    All the latest at my personal blog - Craig John
    Photoshop Training Podcast - Graphic Basics (currently on hold)

  6. #6
    Community Leader Facebook Connected Steel General's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Ft. Wayne, IN
    Posts
    9,530

    Default

    I like the map so far.

    The river violations have already been covered so no need to say more than, 'keep up the good work'.
    My Finished Maps | My Challenge Maps | Still poking around occasionally...

    Unless otherwise stated by me in the post, all work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.



  7. #7

    Post

    It looks weird how the grid only shows up over the sea. Big parts of the map appear empty now, but perhaps that'll improve once you add more labels.

    The symbols for the Forlorn Steppe seem out of place; they give the impression of big rocky hills. Real steppes are mostly flat or gently sloping grasslands. Better symbols to represent this type of terrain would be bushes, patches of grass, very low & smooth hills, and galloping horses.

  8. #8
    Guild Member ExMachina's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    White Post, VA
    Posts
    74

    Post

    I suppose then I do not fully understand how rivers function.

    The way I envisioned it, the river flows out of Lake Orpheus (perhaps from a glacier), flowing from a higher point (up in the Ironside Hills) to the lower points of the coastal plains. Other then that I thought major rivers split all the time? I suppose I just don't understand the exact geographical reason, though my model here was the Rhone.

    Thank you for all your comments, I'm still plugging away.

    And thank you to Ghostman for pointing out my ghastly inaccurate steppe symbols.

  9. #9
    Community Leader Facebook Connected Steel General's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Ft. Wayne, IN
    Posts
    9,530

    Default

    I found the easiest way to think of it is as a tree. The smaller, higher 'branches' starting in the mountains/hills/etc. then merging into larger 'branches' and eventually into the 'trunk' before reaching the sea/ocean.

    Rivers rarely split, if they do it's only for a short time or in deltas (Ex: Nile or Mississippi) - there maybe some other wyas for it to happen but I'm not a geologist
    My Finished Maps | My Challenge Maps | Still poking around occasionally...

    Unless otherwise stated by me in the post, all work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.



  10. #10
    Guild Member ExMachina's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    White Post, VA
    Posts
    74

    Post

    Quote Originally Posted by Steel General View Post
    I found the easiest way to think of it is as a tree. The smaller, higher 'branches' starting in the mountains/hills/etc. then merging into larger 'branches' and eventually into the 'trunk' before reaching the sea/ocean.

    Rivers rarely split, if they do it's only for a short time or in deltas (Ex: Nile or Mississippi) - there maybe some other wyas for it to happen but I'm not a geologist
    I see, that makes sense...so the flow isn't the problem but the large split is? Suppose there were a mountain range or some other imposing geological feature where the river splits, would that be substantial reason to cause a divergence in two different directions?

    I want to maintain realism, however I very much like the shape the rivers give to Sarmacia.
    Last edited by ExMachina; 09-23-2009 at 01:05 PM.

Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •