Nine Islands (WIP)

[maackey]

nine_islands.pngnine_islands_v0.2.jpg
"My First Map"

Its more of a test to see if I can go through a few tutorials and get out a half-decent map. The tutorials, while awesome, sometimes were very complex and used imo way too many steps to achieve some effects. So I made my image tiny and played around with all the filters, overlays, brushes, etc. until I found a quick and dirty way to achieve the look I was going for. Which brings me to ask: does anyone have any good ideas for showing tropic/arctic/etc. biomes while still keeping the abstract old-fantasy feel? Also hints and suggestions on how to make it look better are much appreciated.

edit: fixed a couple errors, changed some filters and saved as a jpg for size, but herp derp jpg don't have transparency. Anyway kept both for comparison.