Looking good as always
Is the "A map of" necessary? Now that the other text is gone, it could make more sense to remove it. For one thing it's a bit redundant since it's in the map section of the encyclopedia, for another it's even more redundant because anyone can see it's a map
"The Secular Republic of Parthis and its Suzerain States", for example, is exactly the amount of information required. The rest of the maps feel like they've got a high level of precision - it'd make sense to reflect this in the labelling wherever possible
Hi vorropohaiah. I'm a big fan of your world-building and cartography project. Since I have been for a long time been meaning to do an atlas of my own world, I wanted to ask how you get correct longitude and latitude graticules? I know Fractal Terrains can do this, but when you're using a pre-built world with existing coastlines? More specifically, how do you go about changing the projection from a worldview map to a regional map, and even if you decided not to do this; how would you go about re-centering the projection for each regional map, all while keeping the graticule consistent with the overall map? I want to do a traditional atlas type graticule, with the central line of longitude being more or less vertical. This has been giving me a lot of headaches as I just can't figure out how to do it.
I don't know about vorro, but I use NASA's free G.Projector program to do this.
I created an equirectangular map of my world without any graticules on it, with continents in white and oceans in black. When I want a new projection I open G.Projector and select that map. I then fiddle with the options (different map projections, graticule settings, latitude and longitude of the center point, etc) then once I've got a projection that I like covering the correct area, I then export it as a jpg at the largest size possible. The exported jpg is used as a template from which I create the map.
I know some other people on here use the same program (I think - Max - does, for example), though their techniques might vary a bit
Actually I'm also using G.Projector. Once the projection imported in photoshop, I just get rid of G.Projector graticules to draw mines using paths.
Pretty much what Raptori and -Max- said
in more detail - i have an equirectangular worldmap (black land white sea) which i import into g. Projector. Generall i use an equidistant conic map, thugh the projection depends on the latitude. i then export a map without graticules, keeping a note of the settings. I then use a blank map and export another one with graticules. I then use those exported g.projector maps as templates, tracing the coastlines in more detail on one an the graticules on the other.
Obviously if youre making an atlas, keep in mind regions youve already mapped when youre mapping adjacent regions - dont retrace the coastlines if theyve already been done, otherwise youll end up with conflicting areas!
After Raptori said about using a brush to do caterpillar ranges I tried out some in PS. I put them up if you wanted to try them out.
I'm really enjoying your thorough style and wanted to help out if I could.
Here's the link http://www.cartographersguild.com/ma...tml#post250987
and here's what the brushes look like
Sample 1.jpg
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so, I've started work on this again. Though I haven't posted much over the past year-or-so, I've been slowly tinkering away on this between other projects. I've settled on a colour palette I'm happy with, and have decided to rotate the maps to make the longitude lines line up with the page orientation a bit better than before.
Now it's just a matter of adding the labels, which, as always takes time with me
Below are the two maps I'm actively working on at the moment: The first is a political map, depicting Korachan, centre of the High-empire; and the second is one of various 'feature' maps I have planned, depicting not necessarily nations, but particular regions. This is the Shibboleth, one of Elyden's largest rivers:
Korachan.jpg the Shibboleth.jpg
The maps were re-oriented and re-scaled from the previous versions so most of the labels need to be repositioned to line up with the latitude lines.
I'm not 100% sold on the fonts yet (so far I'm using various fonts from the IM fell family), though they will do for now.
The shaded areas in the maps are the areas of focus and will be described in a small cartouche, though the previous style cartouches wont be used (a generic key will feature in the beginning of the Atlas. The shaded area in the first map denotes the lands of the nation of Korachan (in the north) as well as the Dichotocratic Republic of Hoamm (in the south). Another map will focus on Hoamm in more detail, and another will concentrate on Korachani colonies, in insert atlas style. The second map is the drainage basin of the river Shibboleth and will concentrate on tributaries and other river-related labels in favour of normal placces (though capitals and major cities wwill be featured).
o work on the Korachani map for the Atlas Elyden is close to completion. There’s still work to be done with the mountains and some other physical features, but more on that after the map:
Korachan.jpg
I’m quite pleased with the map overall though there’s still work to be done. The labels are clear (though I already notice some labels, like the mountains and larger geographical features are too dark, especially compared with the nations), the colours are what I was aiming for (though the actual printed map in the Atlas Elyden will be missing the weathered look to make printing easier) and the overall style is what I was aiming for. One down, about 100 left to go… To give you an idea of what that means: this map alone ended up with me adding over 150 new entries to the Encyclopaedia Elyden. Imagine what the whole Atlas will add to the Encyclopaedia!
I’ve come up with a symbol-based resource key that’s going to be used across the Atlas, which explains why there isn’t a key in this map – the complete Atlas will have a 2-page spread at the beginning of the Atlas detailing the key, labels and other details so they don’t need repeating across all the maps thereafter. In a nutshell I’ve come up with a few dozen symbols pertaining to resources and industries – pickaxe for mining, fish for fishing, grain for farming, etc. think most are pretty intuitive, though some, though want of better design, might not be. One particular symbol I’m having trouble with is the symbol for dross (a slurry-like food that’s a staple amongst the lower classes and slaves of most nations, made from everything you can think of – discarded veg & fruit, insects, grizzle & animal fat, human & animal corpses, and other things), which is a bowl. Hopefully its good enough as I really can’t think of anything else to use as a symbol.
symbols.jpg
There’s various roads and routes – main roads, roads, pilgrimages (the Shadow March) and sea routes. I was thinking of adding distances to the sea routes (which I can’t do with the land routes, due to there being so many labels!), but I’m not sure they’re necessary in this map (other than for my own ease of reference when writing fiction based in those areas)
This particular map will be presented in landscape orientation, with each individual leaf sized at A4 (for a total size of A3). Once all the maps are done I’ll have to add a gutter (3mm per page half) to make it easier to read the map (something I notice most modern atlases seem to ignore), which is why the border on the top and bottom of the page are larger than the left and right.
The page borders have not only the standard graticules and degrees but also an alphanumerical grid (A1, B2, C3 etc.) which will be used for the index in the back of the Atlas, listing every entry alphabetically. I'm going to start work on that now that I've finished this map, to give me an idea of how long the index will be. I'll post that once i'm ready with it.
I also added a ‘focus’ the map. In this case the focus is Korachan and Hoamm, so I faded all other territories by greying them out, as well as their labels and keys. I’m not sure if that comes across well in the finished product – any feedback on this, or anything else in general?
Obviously this leaves me with mountains and other geological features (marshlands, deserts, salt pans, reefs etc.). The mountains, as always, are giving me a hassle as I just cannot settle on a style that I like and feel fits in with atlas style & time period I’m aiming for. I like coloured topography maps but fear they are too ‘modern’ for the relative time period I’m aiming for (1880 – 1900), which leaves me with my nemesis – the hairy caterpillar ridges, which are very time-consuming. Though if I spent as much time drawing them as I spent complaining about them I’d probably have done them by now!
#Atlaselyden, #Encyclopaediaelyden, #Korachan, #Fantasy cartography, #Elyden