Esconia and Porovia -- Atlas Style Map

[Peter Toth]

Hello Cartographers,

Today I'm submitting a project I've been working on for the last two weeks, assisted by Arsheesh's tutorial explaining how to create realistic topography corresponding to climatology. In this map, the entire island is actually about the size of England (give or take) and situated upon a globe of predetermined size (I challenge anyone "mathematically minded" to determine the radius of this world given my scale and grid system!)

As the easterly trade winds blow over the two islands, they create lush tropical valleys on the eastern sides of the islands, leaving desert-like climates to dominate on the western sides. I agree that, according to this scheme, the western part of the island shouldn't feature the same density of river systems as the east, but decided to ignore this minor detail in the interest of curbing my urge for perfection.

Also, I have tried to create flood plains near the mouths of my rivers, as suggested by Pixie (thank you!), and the entire map has been labelled with important cities and other geographical features.

Please provide constructive criticism, for it is my ambition to make the next project even more realistic and interesting.

Thank you.

Peter

[MistyBeee]

I think I don't had the occasion to talk to you so far, but I'm always glad to see people submitting their work
I'll let my fellows talking about the map itself, but it seems pretty consistent for me. The main thing that comes to my mind when I look at your map is... I don't see your map : the thick grid hides it and give me the feeling I'm looking through a glass window, if it makes sense. There is something inconsistent in your map with the "non-geographic" elements : the map itself is precise, with thin rivers, no outline, etc., while the compass and grid are really in a different style, bolder, stronger... I would say the same thing about some of your colors : the red dots for landmarks and the strong blue you used for the see distract the eye from what matters : the map itself.
It's obviously good to focus on the geography when you create a map (well... it's the main purpose, isn't it ? ^^), but the "ornaments" (labels and landmarks, title, compass, grid...) are what makes your map seductive or useable depending on your purpose, and that would be the first spot to work on in my opinion
But once again, beside this, the map itself looks good. A little too aliased, maybe, but I love the global shapes and reliefs

[Peter Toth]

Thank you so much MistyBeee. Yes, now that you've pointed it out, I can see that the grid does detract from the aesthetic appeal of the map. As for the other "ornaments," I didn't really spend enough time with those details, mainly wanting the map to be as realistic as possible. Also, I'm not the finest artist, so when I do this in the future, I might be borrowing some compass roses and scales, for instance, from Campaign Cartographer. In the FAR future, when my maps are much more realistic, I will try to draw my very own "ornaments." I'm grateful to receive your constructive criticism and will be incorporating it into my next project.