September/October 2014 Lite Challenge: The Inland Island Sea

[Chick]

I've decided to try my hand at an old fashioned antique/vintage style map. I have no idea what I'm doing, so suggestions welcome.

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[Corilliant]

It reminds me of the Aegean Sea...I love that outline.
I assume those rivers are just sketches?

May I ask how you got that border?

[Chick]

The border is from an old vintage map of the Mediterranean which I have been using as kind of a guide for what old maps looked like. I'll probably change it to something of my own eventually.

The rivers are freehand, but I think most of them will not appear on the final map, since it's a map of the sea, not the land.

[SJS]

I like the coastal shading you have there - different colors for different countries? - and the background color/texture.

[Chick]

I've added some water hatching marks and dotted the land (although I don't like the dots, I think I'll redo them). Yes, the colors represent regions and I've named them now, as well as names for the islands. Now for the seaside towns .....

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[Diamond]

That is looking great so far, although the small names are impossible for these old eyes to read.

[Chick]

That is looking great so far, although the small names are impossible for these old eyes to read.

I deliberately reduced the size to save server space, since right now it's just a concept. I'll post a bigger one soon.

I'm curious what size/resolution all you Photoshop users use. I worked my way to 1200 dpi and 8K pixels in the last one, just to get the small type readable.

[Chick]

I've written a little history to go with this map. Hope you enjoy .....

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Danceros

Danceros is a small terran planet circling slowly about a large white star. It consists of 80% arid uninhabitable desert. There is one large single body of water, an equatorial freshwater inland sea filled with many islands, and a band of fertile land surrounding the sea. A few small rivers drain the fertile region into the sea, but none are navigable, and lead only to the edges of the desert. Light winds blow ceaselessly, but the climate is gentle near the sea and few storms arise.

Danceros was colonized by a large group of humans who crashed a multi-generation colonizing spaceship there 329 Danceros years ago, and had no choice but to settle and create a civilization on the planet. They began to farm and fish in the narrow band of land between the sea and the desert. The benign climate allowed the colonists to live comfortably outdoors with only the simplest of shelters.

In the ensuing years the humans completely surrounded the sea and inhabited all of the islands. Initially, salvaged seeds and plants from the ship hydroponics were planted and grew quickly. With no livestock, a full agricultural society based on growing crops and fishing for the edible local water life developed. As a result, almost all the permanent villages are on the seacoast.

The sea was simply called The Inland Island Sea, and the people quickly taught themselves to build large and small sailing ships from the small amount of indigenous wood-like material available, and to weave sails from plant fibers of their crops.

There are no mountains and little exposed rock on Danceros, so stone and metal goods are practically non-existent. Thus there are few roads beyond local footpaths, but people trade their goods and crops freely via sailing ships. What few forest-like areas there were are mostly gone already, and the great ships are highly prized. Growing terran trees is a primary long-term goal in the central regions, and the plantations are subsidized and supported by the rest of Danceros.

There is little government on Danceros, but eight distinct regions eventually formed based on various human philosophies. Danceros is small enough that people often travel to live in the region that most suits their own personal desires. These diverse groups coexist peacefully and any hope, or interest, for eventual rescue by other humans has disappeared. They now consider themselves and their children Dancerians.

This map was finished two Danceros years ago, shortly after papermaking was rediscovered, and is presently the only copy in existence.

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[Chick]

Big enough for anyone's eyes I hope

This is starting to look near finished to me, so comments, critiques, suggestions, etc, are most welcome!

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[Corilliant]

Wow, that's a lot of work you've put in there!
My only critique is to tone down the colure a bit. They are a little too fluorescent in colour, against the background, and the yellow drags too much attention by itself.

But wow that was quick.