# Gallery > Finished Maps >  The Lands south of Anaskur

## J.Edward

This one started life as a little thumbnail sketch from 2018's Mapvember, I think.
I seem to have a leaning toward tall ones. I do have a wide one i might do soon.
I'm not sure if this is part of the world from the Journey of the Sarune, or if it's another.
I was imagining a place that is very old, but is in decline in some places.
Big areas of wilderness, though perhaps where some societies once lived.

Which city would be your capital? or the beginning of your adventures here?
Which city do you think is the oldest? Which one is the largest?

I need to write up a new article on software sometime soon.
I've been trying out some new programs, as i always have issues with PS.
Well, i hope everyone is having a great October, and a great week.
Jump in on that October challenge, it still has some time left.  :Wink:

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## Kellerica

That compass rose has to be my favorite detail from this one! It's so fine and delicate and all kinds of lovely!

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## KMAlexander

Yeah, this is stunning. I echo Kell's comments about the compass rose as well.




> Which city would be your capital?


Amarn or Mung would be the capital and probably one of the oldest, most likely because of their location.
I'd wager Harum was the largest due to it being a seaport and providing access to the enormous inland waterway.

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## arsheesh

Just saw this piece over on Insta and am happy to view it in a larger format.  Very attractive.  I must say the naming convention you have for this piece is great.  Really a fine piece all around.

Cheers,
-Arsheesh

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## DrWho42

i love how well composed it is as well as how subtle the cities are. depending on the map, i'm curious if there's any distinguishing landmarks or features individual to the cities but i dig it so far~

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## J.Edward

> That compass rose has to be my favorite detail from this one! It's so fine and delicate and all kinds of lovely!


That was the very last thing I did. ;P



> Yeah, this is stunning. I echo Kell's comments about the compass rose as well.
> 
> Amarn or Mung would be the capital and probably one of the oldest, most likely because of their location.
> I'd wager Harum was the largest due to it being a seaport and providing access to the enormous inland waterway.


That sounds reasonable. I can imagine Amarn being the older of the two, but Mung being the one that Become the stronger, eventually becoming strong enough to found an empire, which later split.



> Just saw this piece over on Insta and am happy to view it in a larger format.  Very attractive.  I must say the naming convention you have for this piece is great.  Really a fine piece all around.
> 
> Cheers,
> -Arsheesh


Thanks Arsheesh  :Smile: 
Naming is a tricky business.  :Wink: 



> i love how well composed it is as well as how subtle the cities are. depending on the map, i'm curious if there's any distinguishing landmarks or features individual to the cities but i dig it so far~


Thanks Doc  :Smile:  
Not sure what you mean... 
some of the cities sit on the leading edge of a mountain or hill, such as Ashur, Narmir, Darak, Astira, and Amun.
Gudun sits up on a hill. Amarn and Gral are lake cities.
Skar, Gardin, Uruk, Rimi, Mung, and Kiga are river cities.
Koris, Akiris, Aru, Theis, and Harune all sit at the mouth of rivers.
Then there are all sorts of port cities of varying kinds.

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## Wingshaw

A very nice composition. I like the simplistic colour palette and the verticality (although I'd be keen to see a horizontally laid out map at some point).

I imagine the Gulf of Thura might have been an early place for civilization to start, in which case Koris or Athura may have been the largest/oldest/capital-est.

Wingshaw

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## - JO -

The feel of perspective is amazing ! Great work, as always !

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## Veldrin

I'm astonished. The mountains are beautiful, well detailed, but I guess I'm even more fond of the reliefs on the shores. It may seem trivial, but I feel I'm able to imagine the topography even where you didn't draw any mountain.
A great piece of art  :Smile:  congratulations

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## Ilanthar

You really have a particular talent, John. I mean, this is elegant, detailed but not crowded, interesting from afar as when zoomed, well thought and labelled...
Harune sounds like a good place to begin an adventure if you ask me  :Wink: .

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## Jaxilon

Wonderful again and I can't wait to hear about software. I'm not having any issue with it lately other than just not  buying out any time to paint. I have recently added a couple packages to my repertoire but I haven't even spent time with them yet.  :Frown:

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## Eilathen

As always, splendid map. With your maps, I'm always transported into a different world just by looking at them...they ooze flavor and vibrate with atmosphere.
And I always wonder: what lies beyond the map that he depicts on the finite paper? Not many cartographers are able to do that. And I appreciate you sharing all these places with us, J! I enjoy every journey you gift me  :Smile: 

(and I wish you'd do more world-maps instead of always cutting them off on different sides....too much speculating and wondering ... ^^  :Wink:  )

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## J.Edward

Sorry for the late responses. 
I'm beginning to feel the limits of my ability to keep up with so many platforms to post to while being super busy with work.




> A very nice composition. I like the simplistic colour palette and the verticality (although I'd be keen to see a horizontally laid out map at some point).
> 
> I imagine the Gulf of Thura might have been an early place for civilization to start, in which case Koris or Athura may have been the largest/oldest/capital-est.
> 
> Wingshaw


I am planning to do a wider format one soon.
It's just coincidence that I keep dropping these tall maps.  :Wink: 



> The feel of perspective is amazing ! Great work, as always !


Thanks Joel  :Very Happy: 



> I'm astonished. The mountains are beautiful, well detailed, but I guess I'm even more fond of the reliefs on the shores. It may seem trivial, but I feel I'm able to imagine the topography even where you didn't draw any mountain.
> A great piece of art  congratulations


Thanks Veldrin  :Smile: 
I like those little bits just as much as the big bits. 



> You really have a particular talent, John. I mean, this is elegant, detailed but not crowded, interesting from afar as when zoomed, well thought and labelled...
> Harune sounds like a good place to begin an adventure if you ask me .


I am getting better at this map thing. ;P
You could get to a lot of places from Harune.



> Wonderful again and I can't wait to hear about software. I'm not having any issue with it lately other than just not  buying out any time to paint. I have recently added a couple packages to my repertoire but I haven't even spent time with them yet.


I am getting a bit backlogged due to over-extending myself.
Hopefully I'll get to the software soon.



> As always, splendid map. With your maps, I'm always transported into a different world just by looking at them...they ooze flavor and vibrate with atmosphere.
> And I always wonder: what lies beyond the map that he depicts on the finite paper? Not many cartographers are able to do that. And I appreciate you sharing all these places with us, J! I enjoy every journey you gift me 
> 
> (and I wish you'd do more world-maps instead of always cutting them off on different sides....too much speculating and wondering ... ^^  )


Thanks Elathen  :Smile: 
Hehe, yeah, the border is part of the feel, making one ask "where does that go?". Showing hints of what is beyond the border.

I have world maps in development, but they involve so much more story related stuff so i can't always push them to the front.
Also, time. I have so many orphan maps that need doing. shudders. Too much stuff.

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