Hi all..

Thanks for the replies

I'm currently taking a step back and thinking through more of the overall geography of the map so I can be better prepared when putting it together in GIMP. I'm actually considering another approach, perhaps, as a starting point.

I've seen some maps that seem to be derived from "texturing over" a heightmap and then touching up in Photoshop or something to that effect. This way you get a genuine 3D look to the map, but still with the custom map look...

I might try this approach... going to experiment with it a bit on some small test maps and see what the results are like. Perhaps I'll post them here if I think it might be something worthwhile to share.