My (very) first ever map :)
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Alright...
Decided to redraw the map for a story i'm writing - Check.
Went to where I left my hand drawn map - Check.
Couldn't find it - Check.
Had a smallish emotional breakdown - Check.
After *much* consternation, decided my hand-drawn map was crap anyway - Check.
Finally bought CC3 - Check.
Well, just completeted a rough draft of the aforementioned map (see attached image). Its far from complete, but it also seems as complete as i can make this draft with my current skill level. Chalk it off to a learning experience! I'd really value people's feedback and tips. I also have a few specific questions.
1. This map is way cluttered, and half the place names arn't even there! Am i niggling to much on details (less is more?), or should i try to make this map on a bigger size next time?
2. Mountains, mountains, mountains. I can't even decide if i've done a halfway decent job with them. The way i doodled it focused more on the "spine" of each range and it made them seem less... dominating? Also, there's one particular peak wthat i'd like to highlight but i'm not sure how to even begin going about that in a decent way based off what i've already done. Am i approaching mountain ranged "wrong"? The same goes for the forests.
3. Does anyone know how i can make dots for towns, this is what i was doing when i was hand drawing and i kind of like it more than the detailed little pictures CC3 is serving me.
4. I picked this template cause it was the most minimal one available too me. Can anyone recommend any good minimalistic templates?
Other than that i'd love to hear any tips, pointers, encouragement and thoughts. I figure asking open ended now will let me get into good habits early.
Cheers all!
H
Decided to redraw the map for a story i'm writing - Check.
Went to where I left my hand drawn map - Check.
Couldn't find it - Check.
Had a smallish emotional breakdown - Check.
After *much* consternation, decided my hand-drawn map was crap anyway - Check.
Finally bought CC3 - Check.
Well, just completeted a rough draft of the aforementioned map (see attached image). Its far from complete, but it also seems as complete as i can make this draft with my current skill level. Chalk it off to a learning experience! I'd really value people's feedback and tips. I also have a few specific questions.
1. This map is way cluttered, and half the place names arn't even there! Am i niggling to much on details (less is more?), or should i try to make this map on a bigger size next time?
2. Mountains, mountains, mountains. I can't even decide if i've done a halfway decent job with them. The way i doodled it focused more on the "spine" of each range and it made them seem less... dominating? Also, there's one particular peak wthat i'd like to highlight but i'm not sure how to even begin going about that in a decent way based off what i've already done. Am i approaching mountain ranged "wrong"? The same goes for the forests.
3. Does anyone know how i can make dots for towns, this is what i was doing when i was hand drawing and i kind of like it more than the detailed little pictures CC3 is serving me.
4. I picked this template cause it was the most minimal one available too me. Can anyone recommend any good minimalistic templates?
Other than that i'd love to hear any tips, pointers, encouragement and thoughts. I figure asking open ended now will let me get into good habits early.
Cheers all!
H
Comments
First, I like this map, it seem to go right to the point. Some other minimalistic templates I likes include Pär Lindström BW http://www.profantasy.com/annual/2013/july13.html
I do find the mountain ranges too thick (I'm fine with the forest). And some mountain overlap the sea, maybe you could remove those? Another suggestion would be to play with the size of the symbols to have bigger mountains in the middle (and therefore less crowded).
I don't understand the gap in the mountain range. What created it? It looks brutal and not natural to me. Maybe at least one river going in there somewhere would help?
Of course you can draw a circle instead of using a symbol for the city, the button is on the right of the screen.
Did you put your text on the text sheet and activate the sheet effects? If so, there should be a white halo that makes the text much more readable.
For the mountains, I would suggest setting them out in a more realistic fashion. If you go on to Google maps and look at a real mountain range in satellite view, you'll be able to get a sense of how mountains actually look. They tend to form in ridges and chains, with valleys, glaciers, lakes, and rivers between. When I do an overland map I start off by tracing where the mountain ridges will be using a contour line, then I go over that with the actual mountain symbols. It helps ensure I leave space for valleys and so forth, rather than crowding the map with nothing but peaks.
So what created them... probably natural forces. They do have some connection to the Fenris wolf of norse mythology (he's barely alive in that crack on the bottom left of Fenrir's Range).
I'll have a look for that button next time i fire up CC3 too
thanks again folks!
The one part that strikes me as odd is the mountain range north of "Fenderren Glen," which feels like it should be an arm of the Fenris range, but instead seems "out there" on its own, not an organic part of the map. Is the area from "Iron Mine" to "Twixton" meant to be an upland valley? If so, I might remove what looks like a marsh east of Twixton and replace it with mountains/hills connecting the isolated range to the Fenris. The Twixton-Twin Forts road could then become a pass descending from the uplands to the plain, following the course of the river. That's just a mild suggestion, however; this is a map I'd happily lay in front of a gaming group as-is.
I like watching maps transform and yours went from a Tolkienesque bare-bones black-and-white with colored lettering into more of an old world sepia-tone ink drawing. It's pleasing to the eye and much easier to "read". By varying the mountain sizes, you created a sense of 3D without using shadows which is really nice.
Well done!
The red marsh is quite important and as it's genesis is perhaps somewhat fantastical then perhaps i can get away with its slightly odd placement. The story goes that several hundred years before the drawing of this map there was a great battle there, one that raged on and off for months with neither side ever wresting victory from the other. The battle churned up so much earth around a major river that it was over the months turned into a marsh. I know thats not exactly realistic - but i think its good enough for fantasy? Also the mud/soil has a orange/red hue for which the marsh is named. I was planning to have the legends say its red because of the "rivers of blood" that the land drank in, but a particularly learned character would mention at somepoint that its got somthing to d with the minerals in the soil (or somthing?). I think it shows that i've not got any real geology/geographic knowledge beyond highschool level and hobby orienteering
Aeiou - I like your suggestion. If i'm grasping what your suggesting correctly then the eastern end of fenderren should be given a more "pinched off" look by nearly clossing it off with foothills (but leaving enough space for the road to form a pass). is that correct?
Cheers for your encouragement peeps, i shall do a third draft soon
I'd actually close off the valley from the marsh with solid hills connecting the two ranges, but make them "thinner" or less dense along the road. When you play, describe it as the road running through the least rugged terrain.
Another way to define the valley would be to add a solid brown-ish color over the valley area. Then add sheet effects to that layer to give it high transparency and an edge fade so it blends into the the map where it tapers off. Many maps use this method under forests and mountains to give depth and definition.
This is pretty much what I had in mind. And AEIOU's suggestion to keep the marsh along the edge of the hills is a good one. Perhaps, in the marsh's creation legend, one army was trapped against the hills and couldn't escape.
Heck you may want to try adding it to the inner map border edge? I say experiment with it and find that balance between the sepia and the B&W.