Very Poor and Crudely Drawn World Maps

[Miseo]

Well, I figured I would draw out the world maps I had in mind. But I'm in my office at school. So all I got is the school computer. And MS Paint.

Yep.

Paint.

SOOOOO... I did what I could with what I had. It totally sucks though. Like, REALLY BAD. Maybe one day I will redo it. With like, country names... and geography... OOOOH who doesn't like mountains?! And forests too I suppose... but really, who cares about forests amirite?

Anyway... here is a map of the world during the first, second, and third ages.

And here is for the fourth age onwards.

That vertical line represents the Great Rift. An impassable space that divides the world in half. Rifts are created when too much magic permeates an area, separating and enclosing the area and giving birth to Abominations. Most Rifts are manageable and disappear over time, but the Great Rifts is the largest of its kind, and breeds massive Abominations into the oceans, making sea travel quite dangerous.

There is no map for the dark age yet. But that was the age before the sun existed. So it would basically be like the first map, but with more of the land covered by the Frozen Seas.

 

[jm.milks]

If you can get your hands on a copy of Adobe illustrator, it'll work wonders compared to paint. If you work at, or attend school, you should be able to get a discount subscription.

That's what I'm currently using, and even though I mostly use a writing tablet now, making a map is completely doable with a mouse and keyboard.

 

[Miseo]

If you can get your hands on a copy of Adobe illustrator, it'll work wonders compared to paint. If you work at, or attend school, you should be able to get a discount subscription.

That's what I'm currently using, and even though I mostly use a writing tablet now, making a map is completely doable with a mouse and keyboard.

Ohhh... that sounds good. I'll have to check it out sometime.

 

[Insolent Lad]

I do my maps in Corel Draw which is pretty much comparable to Adobe Illustrator and its chief competitor. It's not cheap but at least you can buy it instead of having to subscribe a la Adobe (and the cheaper 'student edition' does everything the standard version can). Well, to be honest I draw by hand a lot and then scan and transfer to work further.

However, you might also look at the free AutoRealm software at AutoREALM download | SourceForge.net — it's not as full-featured or user-friendly, maybe, but it can do a lot.

 

[CupofJoe]

I am lucky enough to have access to Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and host of other software and devices...
And I still use a pencil and paper most often. I can make and redraw so much faster than I can digitally. Never underestimate the power of Low-Tech....

 

[Insolent Lad]

I still use a pencil and paper most often. I can make and redraw so much faster than I can digitally. Never underestimate the power of Low-Tech....

I definitely need a light box, though, for tracing. More useful than any software!

 

[K.S. Crooks]

website I used the map maker is at donjon; Fractal World Generator. It is a wonderful tool and the map you create can be saved to your computer and opened in Photoshop to modify it as you like.

 

[SumnerH]

Inkscape is a free vector graphics program if you don't have Corel Draw (or Illustrator). You can easily do your baseline cartography there, and then if you want to import things into Gimp (also free) for some finishing touches.

Whichever package you choose, starting with the vector shapes gives you a lot of flexibility. You're going to need the outline shapes even if you decide to go with a relief/photorealistic map for the finished product. So start with vector shapes. They also give you more flexibility down the line if you want to do larger/smaller versions.

For instance you can add in a few vector mountain/hill symbols and some inset/outset blurs for the coastlines and do pretty decent stylized hand-drawn looking political maps just in the vector setup:

Because it's all vectorized, you can zoom smoothly for detailed regional maps:

And if you want to make more realistic looking relief maps, you've got all the shapes to import into Gimp or Photoshop and do the texturing there: