Need guidance on mountains - shape, size, shading

[QT3.14]

Hello cartographers,


I've recently started trying to draw maps - I was working on a D&D Campaign and I figured, well, I need graphics. I need a map! Let's do a map! Sooner than later I found it to be not as easy as I thought it'd be - but I've fallen in love with it. Like, love at first sight.
Now, I'm a total beginner - fortunately, at the moment I have plenty of free time, so I've been practicing pretty much non-stop. However mountains .... whether because I have no artistic background or much knowledge, or because they're particularly difficult - or I am particularly difficult, I can't seem to figure out a way to draw them.

Precisely, I am looking at a way to display mountains on a world map and on some localized maps. I've attempted the triangle option, the "draw it in detail and make a brush" option and the "make a texture and apply it" option. None of which I particularly like.

This is what I've done so far:

a) My latest mountains. They still don't really look good to me, what could I do to improve?
https://imgur.com/a/T4BwL1T

b) The latest attempt at a map where I used brushes of mountains I drew individually
https://ibb.co/m6zPon

c) The previously made map where I drew the triangle version
https://ibb.co/e04qTn

In c) there's also attempts at hills, which I like how they came out, and a forest - which absolutely boggles my mind as well.

I've gotta mention that everything I've done so far has been done using your guys' tutorials. What can I do to improve on my mountains (and forests)?


Thank you!


EDIT: I'd like to keep things as hand drawn as possible!

[Falconius]

If you like things hand drawn as possible hand draw as much of the maps as possible and don't use stamps. That is such a thing that only improves with experience and practice, and perhaps doing studies of maps you really like.

That said I think the mountains in bullet point B look pretty good. I think the mountains you drew latest can be improved by bringing the bottom parts of the mountain lines more level, and by working on them a bit more. Particularly line weights. Remember that these are actually going to appear a lot smaller than shown there, so you want to keep your thinest lines thick enough so that they are still visible when shrunk down. Also consider that you may want to vary line weights not just for light to shade, but also for focus, for instance many people make outlines thicker than detail lines inside the shape,