Rough Sketch Coastal w/ Large Island(s)

[marcuslee]

I kind of like writing to fit a map as well, not that I do a lot of it but, shrug. If some place ends up being too far away and would result in long boring trips then I just fill that with "it rained for the next few days and they traveled in grouchy silence". Filler like that is invaluable when writing to a map.

And, you can always alter the filler to make it interesting. Character development can be done. Or, if you need a character to be somewhere that take three days to get there ... but you only have two days, come up with a plausible excuse to either start their trip one day earlier or place them one day closer to the location. For example, on their way to town A to buy supplies, they have to go to town B because of whatever is wrong in town B ... instead of going straight to town B, which would have been too far for whatever reason. Rambling, I know!

Mapping to a story is much more precise and takes way longer to map properly in order to get distances correct and results in lots of editing the map.

This is precisely why I would like a more detailed map right now. Before I start to write a single word of the final story, I will study the map, come up with some possible place names, brainstorm possible story lines, etc .... Right now ... without a map ... I sit around with writer's block or only with a few vague ideas of what I would like to do. As it is, my ideas right now will work for most maps.


Mark

[Ascension]

I'd take this week and do some backstory/history/character development and then if no one jumps on it then talk to Ravs. He'll do ya up right and then your heroes can start their journey.

[marcuslee]

I'd take this week and do some backstory/history/character development and then if no one jumps on it then talk to Ravs. He'll do ya up right and then your heroes can start their journey.

Good suggestion.

Today I have been collecting research on ancient people and thier lives since I am going to pattern my story from real life. Just a few minutes ago I was watching a video on YouTube about metal smelting. I still don't think I understand completely but enough to put it in a story, methinks.

The other day I was thinking of ways to come up with character's names. I think I am going to use non-English phoenetic combinations.

So, in other words, I have a lot going on. Anyone who wants to join me ... because there will be room for multiple authors, you are welcome.


Mark

[Korash]

Not that I am taking this, but just to see if I am thining along the same lines....Here is a quick sketch of what I understand to be what you want. I didn't put the other islands in, but let me know if this is even close.

this might help others if they do it instead (Go Ravs! ;-) ) or your making corrections....

[marcuslee]

Not that I am taking this, but just to see if I am thining along the same lines....Here is a quick sketch of what I understand to be what you want. I didn't put the other islands in, but let me know if this is even close.

this might help others if they do it instead (Go Ravs! ;-) ) or your making corrections....

You see, what I was looking for wasn't that hard. It isn't instantly usable but it is a lot better than anything that I have created myself.

Now, I know that there are tutorials on the forums on how to use different resources. Honestly, I haven't looked at them because I didn't want to work for hours to just figure out the style that I want, sifting their several tutorials just to find out that they are teaching me something that doesn't fit my criteria.

Your example is good enough for me. So, a specific tutorial or instructions on how you did you what you just did would be great. Even if you just briefly tell me what you did.

• What programs?
• How did you contour the land?
• How did you get the double line for the contour of the land?
• How do you decide where to put forests, mountains, deserts, etc ...?
• (Not included in your map)How about rivers and lakes? How do I decide where to put them?

Any info you can provide would be helpful.

I tried drawing a map with a mechanical pencil this morning. It was better than the fractal maps I was creating a few days ago.

And, perhaps if someone still wants to help me, I don't mind working on this with you. So, if I can figure out part of it, maybe someone else can either help me get started or help me finish. Only time will tell.

Thanks for your help already.


Mark

[Korash]

• What programs?
• How did you contour the land?
• How did you get the double line for the contour of the land?
• How do you decide where to put forests, mountains, deserts, etc ...?
• (Not included in your map)How about rivers and lakes? How do I decide where to put them?

Any info you can provide would be helpful.

I tried drawing a map with a mechanical pencil this morning. It was better than the fractal maps I was creating a few days ago.

And, perhaps if someone still wants to help me, I don't mind working on this with you. So, if I can figure out part of it, maybe someone else can either help me get started or help me finish. Only time will tell.

The first thing I did (was at work and only a short time to do it) was use "Snag-it" (a print-screen ap that we have at work. you might be able to find something like it) to grab your map, and then replaced the land colors with black. The water with white. Then edge detect to find the edges.

Seeing as how you used a prog to produce the map to begin with, you should be able to outline your land masses in that prog. Once you get the outline, if you still want the double line just select the line and offset it.

As for the mountains, forests and stuff....You did say that you wanted some sort of "unpassable barrier like mountains or a desert" on the right edge. Hence those mountains and the desert As for the rest, They just sort of placed themselves there. All you need to do is look at the land mass and say that "I think some mountains should go here and there, some forests here and maybe there, hills in this area and so on. Once you have some basic stuff laid out, remember that rivers flow from High ground to Low, and the steeper the faster it flows (and the straighter it is) and when it hit the low lands it will start to wonder a bit. ( as steel General has said a few times, Think of Rivers as a tree > the leaves are the high ground and as the branches get closer to the trunk (and the ground) they come together and get thicker. Only rarely will the trunk split before it gets to the ground (sea or ocean). Sometimes you will see exposed roots (think deltas) but not very often. In the lowlands, you may get swamps that spread the river a bit. Forests will usually have some sort of stream or river passing through it somewhere as a source of water.

Lakes will usually be be in low land, or at least lower than the land around it. One thing to remember, more than one river may flow into a lake, but only one will flow out. Placing the rivers and lakes is mostly a "I want something here" sort of thing. One thought to keep in mind is that most early towns and cities are placed along coast lines, lake shores and rivers (major trade routes don't you know) so think about where you want to have the cities.

Like Ravs said, the best way to figure out your map is to pick up some paper and a good pencil and go at it. Seeing as how you already have the land mass, make the outline as I described above and print it out. I would suggest doing it initially on a 11x17 and print out a few copies. I tried to find the tut that I was trying out for the mountains to show you what I was doing if you like that style, but I couldn't. Sorry.

Once you have a sketch that you like the look of, post it in the WIP forums. If you would rather, I could help you out developing the map, but available time is not something I am long on, so the help is most likely to be spaced quite a bit. I have been trying to get better at terrain features so I don't mind doing something like this. Just let me know what you want to do, or any corrections/additions/placement issues you want me to make.

[marcuslee]

All you need to do is look at the land mass and say that "I think some mountains should go here and there, some forests here and maybe there, hills in this area and so on. Once you have some basic stuff laid out, remember that rivers flow from High ground to Low, and the steeper the faster it flows (and the straighter it is) and when it hit the low lands it will start to wonder a bit. ( as steel General has said a few times, Think of Rivers as a tree > the leaves are the high ground and as the branches get closer to the trunk (and the ground) they come together and get thicker. Only rarely will the trunk split before it gets to the ground (sea or ocean). Sometimes you will see exposed roots (think deltas) but not very often. In the lowlands, you may get swamps that spread the river a bit. Forests will usually have some sort of stream or river passing through it somewhere as a source of water.

Great info. Much better than simply rivers go from high ground to low ground.

Lakes will usually be be in low land, or at least lower than the land around it. One thing to remember, more than one river may flow into a lake, but only one will flow out. Placing the rivers and lakes is mostly a "I want something here" sort of thing. One thought to keep in mind is that most early towns and cities are placed along coast lines, lake shores and rivers (major trade routes don't you know) so think about where you want to have the cities.

One river out? Didn't know that. See, I am learning something.

Like Ravs said, the best way to figure out your map is to pick up some paper and a good pencil and go at it. Seeing as how you already have the land mass, make the outline as I described above and print it out. I would suggest doing it initially on a 11x17 and print out a few copies. I tried to find the tut that I was trying out for the mountains to show you what I was doing if you like that style, but I couldn't. Sorry.

Yes, I have been experimenting with drawing the map myself on paper. And, yes, it is easier than fractal programs. And, it looks a little more real, methinks.

Once you have a sketch that you like the look of, post it in the WIP forums. If you would rather, I could help you out developing the map, but available time is not something I am long on, so the help is most likely to be spaced quite a bit. I have been trying to get better at terrain features so I don't mind doing something like this. Just let me know what you want to do, or any corrections/additions/placement issues you want me to make.

Whatever help you can offer is greatly appreciated. And, I hope your comments thus far will help more than just me. Because this info is really good.

I have an outline for a map that I did recently. It has no features, for it was my first attempt at drawing my own map. Don't worry about adding features to it. I was just wondering if the contour of the land is realistic. And, if not, what did I do wrong?

http://www.everythinglee.com/terra/maps/map1000.PNG


Once again thanks for the help.



Mark

[Carnifex]

This sounds like a fun project. I can do a nice scetch if you want. Free to use anyway you want. BUT if I later make a high quality map AND this project grows commercial I'd like some payment though.