Page 3 of 4 FirstFirst 1234 LastLast
Results 21 to 30 of 33

Thread: Tornalia (WIP - later stages)

  1. #21
    Community Leader Guild Sponsor Gidde's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Michigan, USA
    Posts
    3,673

    Default

    I have to disagree with MadLetter, at least for a map this size. On a continent level the only rivers that would be visible are going to be named River because they're huge. A "stream" or "creek" etc. would be invisible at this scale, leaving you stuff like "flood" or "torrent" .... I think you're just fine naming them X River.

  2. #22
    Community Leader Gandwarf's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Netherlands
    Posts
    3,012

    Default

    No I agree.
    Madletters point is that not every river needs to have "River" in the name. I know a lot of rivers in the real word have "River" in their name, but it's also left out a lot: (River) Thames, (River) Rhine, Amazon (River), etc.
    Check out my City Designer 3 tutorials. See my fantasy (city) maps in this thread.

    Gandwarf has fallen into shadow...

  3. #23
    Guild Expert rdanhenry's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    California
    Posts
    1,612

    Default

    Well, the River part is left out of name often, because it isn't necessary in context or the river is famous and there isn't anything else to confuse it with. Just "The Amazon" can be ambiguous without context, however. Do you mean the Amazon River or the Amazon Basin or the Amazon Forest? Or that gal over there in the fur bikini with the spear? On a map, however, the labeling is clearer if the word "River" is included. It could be abbreviated to "R.", but if you leave it out, ambiguity could result. Either that, or make river names blue. I've seen that before.

  4. #24
    Guild Journeyer
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    SC
    Posts
    227

    Post

    That's a really solid map there.
    “Maps encourage boldness. They're like cryptic love letters. They make anything seem possible.”
    -Mark Jenkins

  5. #25

    Post on the river names

    Extended response to MadLetter's good point about the river names: I think there are three separate issues here: rivers in which the word "River" is never (or almost never) part of the name (like the Euphrates or the Danube), rivers where the word "River" is part of the name but is often dropped (like the Amazon River or the River Thames), and cultures that have different naming conventions.

    The first category is not presently represented on my map, which may or may not be realistic... The Torlak River was recently renamed in order to promote nationalistic tendencies among the subjects of the Torlak Empire. It's previous name was "The Agraz" I think, although that's not official canon yet. Also, the Dornal River was called "Dorn" or "Dornflow" back in the days when a civilization flourished on its shores.

    The second category is pretty common in Tornalia...the Evinelle, Hest, Tronghai, and Evarka are examples. I made a conscious decision to label all rivers and other geographical features with their full names, unabbreviated.

    Third, cultural differences: the Arven language requires that river names include the element that translates to "River." I think a number of real languages do the same. As a result, the human cultures always use the word "River" when referring to rivers that flow through Arveia. And some river names are exonyms...Burnt River is called a completely different name by the goblins who live nearby, the Tsaangkil River is called "Tsaangkil" by those who live on its shores (and "-kil" means river in their language,* so "Tsaangkil River" is technically redundant), and those who live by the Ngabu River simply call it "Ngabu" (meaning "Mother Water" or something like that). The labels on the map reflect the usage of the dominant cultures (Torlaki, Loranian, and to an extent the Arven and Valnor) rather than local usage.

    Of course, the shorter and more direct answer is that I'm from North America, where pretty much all of the major rivers have "River" (or "Rio") in the name, so that's what I'm familiar with and I'm sure that subconsciously influenced me.

    *no, they don't speak Dutch...

  6. #26

    Wip Final WIP update

    As promised, here is the final WIP update for this map. Next time I post it will be in the completed section...in fact, depending on the feedback I get, it might be in its completed form now. Curious to see what people think!

    Major changes in this version:
    • The ocean layer was redone, featuring a narrower coastal border. I also created a second version where the coasts are lighter in color than the open sea. That's more realistic, but I'm not sure I like it better. I'm posting both so that you can compare.
    • I blended the colors on the terrain color layer so that the borders between climate zones aren't as severe looking. Actually, the difference is pretty subtle, but I think it's an improvement. I did this by duplicating the terrain color layer twice, dropping the opacity, and using the smudge tool.
    • Added some color and texture to the mountains
    • Put brown riverbeds in Goblin Gorge and the dry or seasonal rivers


    There were a number of minor tweaks as well, which I won't list here (if you're really bored, see how many you can find...)
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version. 

Name:	14-tornalia.jpg 
Views:	71 
Size:	2.03 MB 
ID:	18531   Click image for larger version. 

Name:	14-tornalia-alt.jpg 
Views:	61 
Size:	2.04 MB 
ID:	18532  

  7. #27
    Professional Artist Guild Donor Sapiento's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    Salzburg, Austria
    Posts
    3,654

    Default

    Fine map, Scott. I really like the style, especially the compass rose is lovely. Repped!

  8. #28
    Community Leader Facebook Connected Steel General's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Ft. Wayne, IN
    Posts
    9,530

    Default

    Neat stuff here, not sure which version I prefer.
    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.



  9. #29
    Community Leader Facebook Connected torstan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Posts
    4,199

    Post

    Really nice work. Love the style.

  10. #30
    Guild Artisan Facebook Connected
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Atlanta, Georgia, United States
    Posts
    928

    Post

    Yeah, it's hard to choose between dark on light or light on dark for the shore/oceans.

    I think I prefer the lighter ocean/darker shore, but I'm not sure.
    I think, therefore I am a nerd.
    Cogito, ergo sum nerdem.

    Check out my blog: "The Undiscovered Author"
    It's the story of a writer... follow me in my simple quest to get published, and share your own writing stories, adventures and writerly tips.

    Pimping my worldmap here. Still WIP... long way to go, but I'm pretty proud of what I've done so far...

Page 3 of 4 FirstFirst 1234 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
  •