Nation of Leystor / World of Arakai

[Adelas]

Hey all!

I'm Adelas, and I'm new to all this cartography and world-building since about 6 hours ago! I grabbed the first pencil I could find and set off drawing the first iteration of Leystor, the first island nation within the world of Arakai! As can be seen by the many ports, and heavy fishing industry, the island side of this nation is strong! If you guys are interested in the lore, and all the worldbuilding aspects of this map, will be happy to provide

As I'm using this as a functional map for my worldbuilding, rather than a purely aesthetic map, I have marked things in like resources and industry, keeping them as close to geographically correct as possible!

Constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated and taken aboard!

Since it's hand-drawn and I have yet to get photoshop or equivalent downloaded yet, it's just your classic blank black and white Sorry!



From Leystor,
Adelas

[Mouse]

Wow Adelas - start with a bang! LOL!

Welcome to the Guild

That's a great first map. I don't see that there's very much wrong with it at all.

[Adelas]

That's a great first map. I don't see that there's very much wrong with it at all.

Thank you! I wonder, is there any tips or tricks that may assist my not-so-artistic self in getting better at hand-drawing maps? As I want to get that down before I move into learning software to do my job for me!

[Mouse]

I've only ever hand drawn one map, so I'm not the expert here, but there are plenty of 'how to' tutorials in the Tutorial Forum, and I think there are a couple there about hand drawing maps, or at least map elements, such as mountains and trees - though you don't seem to be doing too badly at either.

Failing that you can always start a thread in the How Do I... section if you are really stuck.

On the software side of things - get right into it, since none of the software used for drawing maps will actually draw your map for you, and drawing a map with software is really quite a different process to drawing one by hand.

PS, CC3, GIMP or Krita are commonly used, along with a whole range of other similar software. Sketchup is commonly used for 3D maps. GIMP and Krita are free, and there is a free version of Sketchup available for use. A simple web search for the names of the software I've given you, and for any others you come across while browsing the Guild should take you to the relevant download pages

Happy Mapping