The Khanate of Katlam

[- JO -]

Hello !

Here's another try with the app Procreate on iPad...

It is the map of a rich Khanate, surrounded by deserts and hostile cities. The country has acquired its riches thanks to the exploitation of a large lake and, above all, the construction of a dam city. The regulation of the river downstream makes it a fertile valley in the midst of the deserts and arid mountains of the region. The dam is considered a blessing of the Gods, but it is also a problem: it attracts the lust of almost all the khanat and free cities of the region. This is why an immense wall was built on the only land access to the Katham Khanate, on the north. As for access by sea, the Khanate also built huge towers to control the two straits of access to the inland sea, with very long chains.
Katlam surpasses all the other khanats of the region by its riches and its power. So far, it has defeated all invasion attempts ... but until when?

### Latest WIP ###

[Azélor]

Take this with a grain of salt, it's my realistic zealous side speaking here.
The dam reservoir looks oversized considering the geography and the dry climate. Lake Nasser is tiny in comparison and the Nile is a very long river.
The basin is too small to have that much water unless the lake is shallow. Unless it would be like Lake Chad. The lake is large but shallow and most of the water evaporates during the dry season.
But I guess it's not really a problem since not all maps are made to be that realistic. I just like to think about these sort of things.

Also another point. I believe that most of the silt would be trapped at the dam and it would probably not form many islands downstream. Just a thought.

Suggestion: You could have shallow parts on the lakes with some sort of wet forest or wetland.

Other than that, It's a pretty solid map. I especially like the little cities, some have their own unique architecture.

[- JO -]

Take this with a grain of salt, it's my realistic zealous side speaking here.
The dam reservoir looks oversized considering the geography and the dry climate. Lake Nasser is tiny in comparison and the Nile is a very long river.
The basin is too small to have that much water unless the lake is shallow. Unless it would be like Lake Chad. The lake is large but shallow and most of the water evaporates during the dry season.
But I guess it's not really a problem since not all maps are made to be that realistic. I just like to think about these sort of things.

Also another point. I believe that most of the silt would be trapped at the dam and it would probably not form many islands downstream. Just a thought.

Suggestion: You could have shallow parts on the lakes with some sort of wet forest or wetland.

Other than that, It's a pretty solid map. I especially like the little cities, some have their own unique architecture.

Thanks a lot for your comment, they are very well welcome. I understand your point, but the lake is not the dam reservoir, it's a lake with three rivers coming from the mountains. I was counting on the effect of the mountains on the climate with the ocean nearby... so this area, on the west of the country should be less arid than the rest : effect of the mountains on the warm and cold mass of air, humidity from the ocean, clouds, rain, rivers, big lake.... But I'm no expert, and I didn't look to make the most accurate map for climate...
And another thing : I choose to not pay attention at the scale for this map... so you have cities that are too big for the surface of the land, for example.

Your also right for the islands, probably... I wanted to show a very large river, with variation of level every year. In my mind, you open the dam once or twice a year to make the level of the river higher, in order to fertilize the place with the silt that the two big opened doors of the dam should let pass with water, and so, you could have islands on the widest part of the river, depending on the time of the year... but again, I'm really no expert, and it's probably a complete fantasy map on this point too...

[Falconius]

The people of this map love their mega civil engineering projects. Which is great because I love them too. And those cities are absolutely fantastic and well done. Nice job so far.

[Diamond]

This is a solid map! The scale/exaggeration doesn't bother me; it's a really cool style.

[Mouse]

You can tell its a 'Jo map'. Just look at all that amazing detail already

Beautiful colours. I love a good orange/blue juxtaposition

Looking forward to the rest of it

[- JO -]

The people of this map love their mega civil engineering projects. Which is great because I love them too. And those cities are absolutely fantastic and well done. Nice job so far.

Thanks ! Yes, it's a happy place... but for how long ? So many jealous people in this harsh world

This is a solid map! The scale/exaggeration doesn't bother me; it's a really cool style.

Thanks... it's just so I can draw detailed city AND on the same time, an entire country, on the same map... One moot : To hell with the scale !

You can tell its a 'Jo map'. Just look at all that amazing detail already

Beautiful colours. I love a good orange/blue juxtaposition

Looking forward to the rest of it

Thanks Mouse ! As you said, I love details ! For the rest of the map, it might be difficult to achieve what I want : Procreate is good, but offer much less tools than Photoshop.... I'll try to do my best with the iPad, because with it I can draw on a horizontal position...

[- JO -]

Hi !

Small update here... some colors and shadows added, some still missing...

[Mouse]

OMGoodness, Jo!

Even if you don't like Procreate as much as PS, in my opinion you work with it even better than you do with PS. What a shame it doesn't have quite the same power as you are used to.

Still - you may not realise it, but the things you do with one app invariably shape the way you use others. I might use GIMP more than I use CC3 for my maps these days, but the way I use it has been shaped almost entirely by my previous experience with CC3. CC3 is why I texture paint in GIMP.

Let us hope that by the time you get back to using PS you will have a whole bundle of extra talents like this one to add to your existing skill set, as I don't think I've seen you do a better regional map than this one.

[DanielHasenbos]

This is already looking beautiful Jo!