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Very Poor and Crudely Drawn World Maps

Miseo

Minstrel
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.
2yudij8.png


And here is for the fourth age onwards.
2n7pqjb.png


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

Scribe
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

Minstrel
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

Maester
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

Myth Weaver
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....
 

SumnerH

Scribe
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:
11978km.jpg


Because it's all vectorized, you can zoom smoothly for detailed regional maps:
ouy7m0.jpg


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:
33vj3ok.jpg
 
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