# Mapmaking Discussion & Philosophy (WIP/Critique) > Regional/World Mapping >  New Eldoran

## Ilanthar

I'm working again on my Eldoran setting, doing many changes and using my new skills to develop it (doing some illustrations and letting my delirium go further  :Wink: ).
One of the thing is that I wanted to go back to a previous idea of a 2 suns system. The primary star is more a light provider than anything else, the additional warmth being almost constant and coming into play only when there's a 0, 1 or 2 suns configuration (with a slight change then).
The secondary star (hence the closest) is providing much of the warmth and is the only one to consider for seasons.
Here's a general sketch, I'll probably do a proper map of it.


And I finally decided to redo the general map. So, Since I'm not starting from zero again and rely on stuff I already wrote, the general continents are necessarily close to the old world map. I added things and I'm not borrowing anything here though (apart from paleo earth stuffs & actual earth/venus/mars things).

I'm looking forward to read what you think of it!


And for once, I did manage to do a polar continent that looks interesting when projected.

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## ThomasR

I'm pretty amazed by the look of your coastlines. I feel I recognize, not copies, but inspiration of earth continents and the three (land) parts is skillfully avoiding a crowded world, kudos for that. The color scheme is brilliant and I cannot wait to see the next steps. Do you plan to do a top-down map or something more classic pseudo iso fantasy one ?

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## Kalium

Those are some nice continents! Familiar, yet otherworldly, and some nice complex shapes. Looking forward to seeing where this goes.

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## Eilathen

Well, as a fan of all the older Eldoran maps, i will certainly be on board for this new journey, so to speak  :Very Happy: 

I always loved the shapes of the continents and i am curious as to how you will "fill them in" this time.

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## kacey

Amazing! This coast looks great!

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## Warlin

Nice land shape. Will keep an eye on your progress, Ilanthar.
Cheers.

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## Ilanthar

Thanks a lot everyone!
I wasn't sure the coastlines are not too much detailed for a world map.

@Thomas : three lands? There are 7 continents with the new polar one, but I guess you're talking about the 3 vertical couples, I guess. The setting is going as far as a techno-magical pseudo 19th century, so I plan to do a top-down map again, but with better details. I think I may reverse the process and go from bottom to top (regions to continent to world...).

@Kalium : thanks! I may begin by local maps, actually.

@Eilathen : so, you're not rejecting the new version? Cool! There will be some (necessary) similarities with the lands, but I will underline more the special and fantastic features if I can.

@Kacey & Walin : thanks for liking the new land shapes, that's reassuring  :Wink: .

And... I actually took time to develop more the system view... Not done yet, but some steps done.

Don't hesitate to critic!

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## arsheesh

Nice!  The layout so far looks really good.  I'm looking forward to watching this one come together.

Cheers,
-Arsheesh

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## Naima

> I'm working again on my Eldoran setting, doing many changes and using my new skills to develop it (doing some illustrations and letting my delirium go further ).
> One of the thing is that I wanted to go back to a previous idea of a 2 suns system. The primary star is more a light provider than anything else, the additional warmth being almost constant and coming into play only when there's a 0, 1 or 2 suns configuration (with a slight change then).
> The secondary star (hence the closest) is providing much of the warmth and is the only one to consider for seasons.
> Here's a general sketch, I'll probably do a proper map of it.
> 
> 
> And I finally decided to redo the general map. So, Since I'm not starting from zero again and rely on stuff I already wrote, the general continents are necessarily close to the old world map. I added things and I'm not borrowing anything here though (apart from paleo earth stuffs & actual earth/venus/mars things).
> 
> I'm looking forward to read what you think of it!
> ...


The map and continent shapes look great, my only criticism would be that , and only if the idea is an Earthlike world , that there is too much land and too little ocen making the overal world a bit of cluttered with landforms , but then its totally plausible to have a dry world with less watern than land. 
The Antarctic continent reminds me a lot of Antarctica.

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## ThomasR

That's what I meant  :Smile:  Your layouts are always well thought, kudos for that.

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## Eilathen

I'm definitely not rejecting the new version  :Wink: 
And i think you found a good balance between going "new" and still keeping it familiar so that one can see "yes, this is still Eldoran".

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## Ilanthar

Héhé, merci Thomas  :Wink: !

@Eliathen : Perfect! That was exactly my intention.

So, I've spend a bit more time on the system view... and it's taking more than expected.

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## Ilanthar

And some more, with a font I recently re-discovered. Moon conjunctions seems not very "easy to read"... maybe I'll go for something more simple for those.
The "mystical decorative part" isn't complete yet, as long as the frame.

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## kacey

I love the planetary map, so pretty.

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## RimusDev

Looks very cool, in addition to quality work with the coasts, the overall look looks great

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## Diamond

Ilanthar, why must you be so awesome?   :Very Happy: 

I LOVE that planetary layout/map - the blue-black of the background makes the whole thing look like a blueprint.

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## arsheesh

This just keeps getting better.  The gold and navy blue are a really nice pairing too btw.  

Cheers,
-Arsheesh

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## Ilanthar

Hey, thanks, everyone !

A bit more. I'm struggling with the moon phases thing : I wanted to show moons at each decime, & half decime but then I realized it was far more complex than I thougt... A bit of help could be useful if there are some specialists.
My main problem is with Cybèle.

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## Ilanthar

OK, I think I sorted out the moons thing...

It lacks some text, but it's close to an end, I think. I'll be working on the world of Eldoran (proper) soon, I hope.

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## kacey

Wow, those curved lines really give it some depth, really nice touch... I want this to hang on my wall it’s so nice to look at.

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## Ilanthar

Thanks, Kacey! I'm posting the finished version of this astronomical view here.

And I'm seriously trying to start something on the new eldoran, now.

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## Ilanthar

> *By Naima*
> The map and continent shapes look great, my only criticism would be that , and only if the idea is an Earthlike world , that there is too much land and too little ocen making the overal world a bit of cluttered with landforms , but then its totally plausible to have a dry world with less watern than land.
> The Antarctic continent reminds me a lot of Antarctica.


Yup, that's a good point, Naima. It's not meant so much to be an Earthlike world, but the continents are not supposed to be so close of each other as well. I reduced them a little bit to space them.
What do you think?

As for the south polar continent, I used a mixe of our arctic ice cap & antarctica to do it, so, not surprising.

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## Ilanthar

So, after a lot of failing tests (again) including different techniques, I finally got something that I quite like.

I'm trying to go from regional map to end with the world map, in order to get quality for regional maps & to not mess with scales (not sure it will works, but well...).
I'm starting with the big island of Osininka, east of Norumbega.

I've just done a small part of the shaded relief. You can guess it takes some times (even more after 5 failures...).

I'm not sure it fit the scale (at this scale, 1 px is supposed to represnt 1 km).

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## Ilanthar

A little more. Not sure if the volcanoes are recognizable...

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## J.Edward

I think it's looking good.

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## Vareck Bostrom

> A little more. Not sure if the volcanoes are recognizable...


Is that a river thats starting out from near the mountains and ends in a delta at the sea? Is it fed from runoff from the mountains?

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## Pixie

In the smaller screen of my phone, the large volcano is ver easy to spot. Once at the laptop, I see also a large and old caldera, to the southeast of that massive stratovolcano.

By the way, Ilanthar, the amount of detail is massive! Take care about two things: 1 - drainage of will power, which will make you abandon this, 2 - too much of a rugged terrain, as a consequence of going overboard on shading/lighting.

I'm astounded and curious about the outcome, will surely follow this. And I would rep you if I could, but the system tells me I have done it too recently  :Very Happy:

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## Naima

> So, after a lot of failing tests (again) including different techniques, I finally got something that I quite like.
> 
> I'm trying to go from regional map to end with the world map, in order to get quality for regional maps & to not mess with scales (not sure it will works, but well...).
> I'm starting with the big island of Osininka, east of Norumbega.
> 
> I've just done a small part of the shaded relief. You can guess it takes some times (even more after 5 failures...).
> 
> I'm not sure it fit the scale (at this scale, 1 px is supposed to represnt 1 km).


I think looks very good already but I wouln't go that route, I would make first world map and then regional map , unless you want to spend ages mapping a whole planet, I would focus on regional maps only for the regions you really care for and have some more specific interest.

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## Ilanthar

Thanks a lot everyone!

@J. Edward : from a shaded relief master, that's more than reassuring.
@Vareck Bostrom : not sure to understand. I didn't draw any river yet. Maybe my unfinished sea & coastline is confusing? I hope it's gonna be clearer now.
@Pixie : thanks for the advices. I know I'll have to restrain myslef for not doing too much. I'll plan to use big "flat" areas and lower opacity for that. I think I'll probably use the opacity settings to make the relief "readable" at world size as well.
@Naima ; don't you know I'm crazy? I do intend to do everything... and that's probably gonna take ages indeed. But I'll certainly start with major places of interest, indeed.

Some more.
### Latest WIP ###

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## Warlin

If you're not already creasy you'll certainly be it before you end this world map, Ilanthar. For the sake of your mental health, stop this crazy job!
Great shading work and an amazing technique which I envy you. I have the same feeling than Naima or Pixie, the amount of detail can kill the map, but I can not presume the final result, so it's up to you to map  :Very Happy: .

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## ThomasR

You just do not know what's good for you and we're lucky for that  :Smile:

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## J.Edward

> Take care about two things: 1 - drainage of will power, which will make you abandon this, 2 - too much of a rugged terrain, as a consequence of going overboard on shading/lighting.


Very true and wise advice. I am guilty of making the terrains too rugged.  :Wink: 
But, rugged is fun.  :Razz:

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## Ilanthar

Thanks everyone  :Smile: , I've done a bit more, but it's joining other stuff in stand by... for now.
I hope to be back on this soon.

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## Ottehcnor

Wow! The amount of detail you have on this is incredible! I hope you come back to this soon, I can't wait to see how you progress with it.

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## Ilanthar

Thanks, Ottehcnor!

I'm working a bit on this again. I changed the paper texture for a more "19th century" and clean one. I also lowered the opacity of the water because I think it's gonna be easier to see the contrast with the land when I'll add colors on it.
### Latest WIP ###

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## Ilanthar

And some more.
### Latest WIP ###

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## Ilanthar

Here you have the general layout of the mountains of Osininka. I know there are a lot, but you can see the plains, don't you  :Question: ?
### Latest WIP ###

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## Greason Wolfe

Nothing wrong with a lot of mountains. Gives the inhabitants something to climb "because they are there." : D

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## Ilanthar

Hehe, thanks Greason Wolfe! The "man climbing a mountain" allegory...

A bit more details on the mountains & volcanoes.
### Latest WIP ###

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## Ilanthar

And some more.
### Latest WIP ###

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## Ilanthar

More mountains again.
### Latest WIP ###

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## ThomasR

You are really dedicated !

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## Ilanthar

Merci Thomas!
So, mountains are done mostly done in the north part. I'm doing some tests about colors/rivers/border.
Not exactly what I want, but a start nontheless.
### Latest WIP ###

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## Ilanthar

I'm almost done with the mountains. It lacks some details in the south part, but it's coming to an end.
### Latest WIP ###

I'm soon gonna be able to work on the other elements.
I've been wondering about what to do with the seas/oceans... I kinda want an atlas style, but it's rather empty right now.

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## bkh1914

That's an impressive amount of detail.
And of time spent.

I'm looking forward to see what you do with the land and rivers.

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## MistyBeee

Oh, Ilanthar, that's such a _huge_ work on this one ! I can't wait to see how it will look like at the end. If it's similar to the System View in quality, which is one of my favorite map ever, you'll have a masterpiece !!

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## Ilanthar

Thanks bkh1914  :Smile: .



> *By bkh1914*
>  I'm looking forward to see what you do with the land and rivers.


I'm not there yet... but I hope you won't have to wait too long  :Wink: .




> *By MistyBeee*
> If it's similar to the System View in quality, which is one of my favorite map ever, you'll have a masterpiece !!


Merci beaucoup! I _hope_ I'll be able to do a similar quality with this... But truth is that this kind of map is way more time consuming and difficult for me to work on, so I would not bet on it...
But you can bet that I'll try  :Wink: !!

I tried something about the waters. Not sure it works and I know the pattern is a bit too obvious at a certain distance. I intend to break it a bit with additional elements.
I've also started to rework some elements like stamps (the one for the Argonautes's Company too, but it has no purposes on this map) and key/scale.

And some more mountains details, ofc  :Very Happy: ... (I'm really close to the finish with those). Did they look realistic btw?
### Latest WIP ###

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## ThomasR

Zoomed in, the sea clashes with the coastline. While your mountain work extremely well (believable and well done), the sea-land transition screams "digital".

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## Ilanthar

Merci Thomas  :Smile: !
Yup, It was one of the things I suspected with this...  And reassuring about the mountains  :Wink: .
Those mountains of Osininka are done  :Cool: .

I tried some coastal ring and some coloring of the land. And for a better contrast, lowered the sea opacity again...
I'm really having troubles finding a good contrast/coloring with a good legibility both between sea/lands and mountains/lands... but maybe that's because I'm trying a lot of new brushes and change often my mind  :Question: .
### Latest WIP ###

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## Ilanthar

Another test for the lands. I think I like it a bit better.
### Latest WIP ###

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## kacey

The mountains and coast are really impressive Ilanthar, and I really like the scale bar illustrations as well. Is there any chance we'll ever see a tutorial on how you make you're shaded relief? I would love to know how to do this.

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## Ilanthar

Thanks Kacey!



> Is there any chance we'll ever see a tutorial on how you make you're shaded relief? I would love to know how to do this.


Sure!

I only use the airbrush tool of krita (of the old set) at opacity 1 and black.
I turn the 4 layers at "burn", opacity 35%. I generally use the previous layer at burn 100% to draw the next one on it (draw the  step 3 on the step 2 at burn 100%, for example).
You can play a lot on adding details or not for reinforcing or not an area.


1 : general topography
With the brush at 10 pixels wide, just the main lines

2 : more details
Brush width = 5 px
Addition on the main lines, plus some secondary ones.

3 : more details
Brush width = 5 px
additional details & reinforcing shadows.

4 : details
Brush width = 2 px
A lot of lines to gave more rugosity and underline some elements/ridges even more strongly.


On a different note, I'm still messing around with the land colors. I think I'm hesitating too much between too very different things...

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## Neyasha

Those mountains are insane! I was just asking for a tutorial and completely overlooked your last reply. Thanks so much!

I'm not so sure about the new color of the land. I think I like the lighter color better, as there is more contrast to the water.

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## ThomasR

The technique is brilliant !

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## Diamond

I'm really amazed at your talent, Ilanthar.  THIS is why I'm your number one fanboy!  Though I'm almost certain I can't pull it off as well as you, I'm going to try out that mountain/topo technique some day very soon...

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## kacey

Hey thanks Ilanthar, I really wasen’t expecting you to give away you’re secrets so willingly. I really appreciate it I’ll have to give this a try though it seems you still have to have some good old talent to pull of this technique. Out of curiosity, how much time have you put into this so far, and what resolution are you working at for the world map? Or are you blowing up the smaller sections to work on them separately?

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## Ilanthar

> *By Neyasha*
>  I'm not so sure about the new color of the land. I think I like the lighter color better, as there is more contrast to the water.


Thanks! Right now, I just left this question aside. I just can't find something to my taste and start to wonder if I'm gonna color the lands...




> *By ThomasR*
> The technique is brilliant !


Héhé, thanks Thomas! Its quite time consuming though... and I already spent quite a lot of time and tests before I found this, as you know  :Wink: !




> *By Diamond*
> I'm really amazed at your talent, Ilanthar. THIS is why I'm your number one fanboy! Though I'm almost certain I can't pull it off as well as you, I'm going to try out that mountain/topo technique some day very soon...


Thanks a lot Diamond! I'm doing my best to not disappoint such a fan  :Wink: !
And looking forward to see what you'll do with it!




> *By Kacey*
> Hey thanks Ilanthar, I really wasen’t expecting you to give away you’re secrets so willingly. I really appreciate it I’ll have to give this a try though it seems you still have to have some good old talent to pull of this technique. Out of curiosity, how much time have you put into this so far, and what resolution are you working at for the world map? Or are you blowing up the smaller sections to work on them separately?


You're welcome, Kacey  :Smile: ! I've spent a lot of time before I found this method, so if it can be used, it's for better. Plus, I'm really eager to see what fellow guild members will do with it.
As usual for a personal project, I didn't really count how much time I've spent on this... a certain number of hours, for sure. I intend to reuse the moutains for the world map, a minima. There's a ratio of 1:12 between the two, 1 px = 500 meters on Osininka, 6km on the world map. And yeah, I will do the regional/countries map to "build" the world map.

So, I've followed the incredible Tamriel WIP, and thanks to the explanations of MistyBeee and Mouse, I did another attempt for a sea pattern (with Mouse/Krita method).
I think it's working a bit better this time. Thoughts?
### Latest WIP ###

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## MistyBeee

Hehe, it's great to see those little towns popping here and there.
As one of the pattern experts (hum ^^'), I would recommend a biggest one for this map : as the map itself is very big, it needs something to its measurement. However, I really like the design itself !
And I think I forgot to tell how I'm deeply in love with the tiny mappemonde & the scale ! I want to see more of them ! I want them everywhere !!

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## Ilanthar

Arff... There are still a lot of things that feels not "right". The cities being one of the many.

Anyway, I've followed your good counsel MistyBeee, and I spent (waaaayyy more time than I planned) to do another bigger sea pattern. There are little glitches here and there, but I've spent too much time on it already.
Since I can't decide myself about the sea color, I tried this "in between".
I've also tried a new test on land colors...
### Latest WIP ###




> And I think I forgot to tell how I'm deeply in love with the tiny mappemonde & the scale ! I want to see more of them ! I want them everywhere !!


Thanks! Those I won't change and are to my liking too. I've done a new stamp for the "Compagnie des Argonautes" that I added above the Mappemonde. I won't be on this map, though.

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## MistyBeee

Oh... probably because of my weak English I'm afraid you misunderstood what I said... Sorry for the rest of you, guys, but I'll split in French for a little while ! 

Je ne voulais pas forcément dire qu'il fallait un motif plus grand (quoique celui-ci soit absolument fantastique et je me réjouis que tu l'aies fait !  :Smile: ), mais plutôt qu'il faudrait que la répétition se fasse de façon moins rapprochée. En gros, travailler sur un document de 600x600px au lieu de 200x200px. Pour ce qui est de l'ampleur du motif en lui même (petites ou grandes vagues), c'est autre chose  :Wink: 

I just can't understand why drawing a pattern needs so many time. It's the same for me, and I always need tons of edits to be happy at the end. I guess it's going better with more practice... anyway and once again, your waves are stunning, Ilanthar : good job, as always !  :Smile:

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## Naima

Coming along nicely , I love the mountain style, but I think the sea has a too much evident repetitive patter, although looks very good, I would see it more fitting for a less realistic geographical style and a more stylized one perhaps? I would personally go with a similar style for sea as for the mountains ... may be try something withsubtle dotted sea waves ?

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## Ilanthar

@MistyBeee : No worries! I'm a fast reader and sometimes I misread... And yeah, doing patterning is definitely time-consuming, even with good tools. Don't know why either.
Thanks for your view. I'll see if I can test something different. And I will surely keep those patterns anyway.

@Naima : thanks! You're probably right. I'm leaving this question aside for now. Something more realistic is indeed a good idea.

So. I deleted my scale by mistake.... So I redid it. I also did a new version of the icons that I like better.
Not much, just a small update... And I'm still not certain about the colors...
### Latest WIP ###

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## Ilanthar

OK, I'm sort of resurrecting this thread.

Not completely sold about those new coastlines, so I redid them once again.
This is the result about new land shapes (of course similar yet way more to my liking).

And my first tests about mountains & colors.

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## Chashio

I like those colors  :Smile:  they work well with the terrain styling.

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## delgondahntelius

Very subtle coloring, I like it!

Del

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## jshoer

When you do those mountains...  :Surprised:

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## Ilanthar

Thanks a lot guys!

Some more work, mainly on Tianàng.
### Latest WIP ###

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## Veldrin

Impressive  :Cool:  it's already a very interesting piece.
I particularly like how you design the terrain even in the plains, only through a nice color palette. 

By the way it seems like a terribly long project considering the map size, so keep bravery ! :p I'm looking forward to see the rest of it fully colorized.

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## Ilanthar

Thanks Veldrin!

Some more. Labels are not final (at all).
### Latest WIP ###

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## Kellerica

I love the texture the colored land has already!

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## Ilanthar

Thanks a lot, Kell  :Smile: !

Just a bit more on Norumbega. And I see I've quite a lot to adjust on colors/topography on this one...
### Latest WIP ###

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## Eilathen

As always, really awesome continental-shapes, Ilanthar!
I'm not the biggest fan of those more modern map styles (especially for fantasy worlds), I prefer painterly variants by far. But as far as that style goes, this looks pretty good! It will be interesting to see how it will look when it's finished.

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## Ilanthar

Thanks Eilathen! Well, it's a 19th century equivalent, but I did not see myself doing caterpillar mountains for this...

Not a surprise... I wasn't liking how the mountains would look alone for a political map. So I end by doing what I was trying to avoid : doing the topography in detail. As It appear, I'll probably correct the colors too for this physical map.
So the new Tianàng. I hop you'll see the difference...
### Latest WIP ###

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## MistyBeee

Wonderful colors and style, as per usual, Ilanthar ! ^^

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## ThomasR

Always beautiful Julien but you gotta settle for a style and deliver this beauty upon us  :Wink:

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## Ilanthar

Un grand merci à vous deux  :Smile: !

Thank you both!

@Thomas : yup... I'm gonna go for the detailed version and this color scheme for the physical map.
Just because now, without colors, the topography is enough for a political map. Am I right  :Wink: ?

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## Ilanthar

This version/method should be the good one! I'm finally getting somewhere I like with this.

In two parts, due to the weight.
### Latest WIP ###


And an ortographic view of Tianàng, the first continent to be finished.

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## Ilanthar

The Norumbega continent is mostly done for the physical part (probably a few corrections and a bit more snow on the summits). Time to spin the globe to the West .

Eingana is gonna be a long run!

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## Broadhead

I really like the color palette you're moving forward with here. It's very legible and easy to look at. In conjunction with the quality of shading it's tremendously impressive/pleasing. in short, this rocks

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## Harrg

Tres bien mon amie!
I agree with Broadhead. I like the pastel watercolor color. Little things always delight me, like the coral sea(?) in the southeast.

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## Ilanthar

> I really like the color palette you're moving forward with here. It's very legible and easy to look at. In conjunction with the quality of shading it's tremendously impressive/pleasing. in short, this rocks


Thanks Broadhead  :Smile: !




> Tres bien mon amie!
> I agree with Broadhead. I like the pastel watercolor color. Little things always delight me, like the coral sea(?) in the southeast.


Thanks my friend  :Smile: ! If you talk about the Jade Sea (in the middle of islands), its a sea with giant trees or mangroves on the fringe and sort of a gigantic kelp forest in the middle.
There are some coral reefs near Tianàng, but I didn't showed them. Maybe I should, indeed.

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## Ilanthar

Still doing topography of the biggest (and central) continent of Eingana. The eastern part of is more or less done.
I placed Earth for comparison (with the same orientation : 15°E, 21°N - the axial inclination of Eldoran is 21°).
### Latest WIP ###

Oh! And it's not really visible here, but I added some brighter blue where coral reefs are present.

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## Ilanthar

Eingana still. The North-west is partly done (it lacks shading and additional details). I tried to get some more "old mountains" in this part, near the pole.
### Latest WIP ###

The general view.

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## Ilanthar

Phew! Eingana is mostly done. Moving south to Trinacrine.
### Latest WIP ###

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## Ilanthar

Trinacrine is globally done. Next is Asylon!
### Latest WIP ###

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## Ilanthar

Asylon is almost done. Doing a break and having fun  :Wink:  :

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## Ilanthar

Asylon is more or less done, so time to finish with the continent of Thuvar!
### Latest WIP ###

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## Ilanthar

Thuvar is done. So, the "base map" is more or less finished. Time to prepare for the additional elements, I guess.
### Latest WIP ###

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## Harrg

Looks great. Can we see deployed map?

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## Ilanthar

Thanks Harrg!
Well, soon. I still have a few things to do & most importantly, to determine what exactly to indicate on the physical map.
I did a little animation test about the current globe.

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## ThomasR

Long time no see, Julien  :Smile:  Your work on that setting is really humbling, I'm constantly amazed by your posts about it. I really love the rotating globe and, if I had one tiny critic, it would be that your ocean seems to show a seam in the middle of the Océan Palléatique. If it is the case, I might give some insight as I encountered this kind of trouble on my World of Anonyma II map. I kind of fixed by mirroring the background to make it seamless when I turned the equirectangular map into a rotating globe.

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## Diamond

Fanboy No.51541815 checking in, sir!  And your maps are freaking fantastic as usual.   :Very Happy:

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## Ilanthar

> Fanboy No.51541815 checking in, sir!  And your maps are freaking fantastic as usual.


Thanks a lot, Mr D  :Very Happy: ! It has to be better than the previous one, right?




> Long time no see, Julien  Your work on that setting is really humbling, I'm constantly amazed by your posts about it. I really love the rotating globe and, if I had one tiny critic, it would be that your ocean seems to show a seam in the middle of the Océan Palléatique. If it is the case, I might give some insight as I encountered this kind of trouble on my World of Anonyma II map. I kind of fixed by mirroring the background to make it seamless when I turned the equirectangular map into a rotating globe.


héhé, I know you've been and still are a busy man ! Thanks, sometimes I fear to get lost in useless details.
I know about the seam, I erased it a bit, but the globes are more the result of a sudden silly idea than a real project. Hence the sloppy work on some points (including the choice of labels, too much or not enough, depending). I could have done much better to make them, but hell, I just spent too much time on it, already.

So, I first wanted to make the physical map with a lot of stuff under, like a climatic/biomes map, etc... 
Here's a start about a precipitation map.

But I don't have so many stuff to place, and I suppose that the main map is already showing a lot of things. So, I reduced it and I'll probably just add some stuffs about highest mountains, longest rivers and such things. Plus a proper frame, for sure.
### Latest WIP ###


The political map will be surrounded by more things (flags, religions, species...).

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## ChickPea

Incredible work, Ilanthar. It looks amazing.

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## Ilanthar

> Incredible work, Ilanthar. It looks amazing.


Thanks a lot, Lady Pea!
I decided to place Eldoran moons on the left, the planetary system on the right. Or at least, I'll try. I reworked the polar views and a new Mappemonde logo.
Here's some more work on the highest mountains :

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## Naima

Very nice and belieaveable.

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## Ilanthar

> *By Naima*
> Very nice and belieaveable.


Thanks a lot, Naima!

Changing my mind (again) and wondering again about that frame ( :Question: )... My current idea is to place 6 landscapes (3 on each side). But, it might be just too heavy and distracting in the end...
I'm also wondering if i should not add some more white on the big mountainous areas.

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## Ilanthar

Some more to have a better idea. I added more snow on the map in the polar regions and over the highest mountains (and I think it works better).
### Latest WIP ###

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## Ilanthar

Some more. I changed things a bit, trying to make it fit a bit better. And most of the second landscape is done.
### Latest WIP ###

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## MistyBeee

I'm too discreet here, but be sure I'm just here, lurking and enjoying. Those creatures sketches look absolutely amazing !

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## Ilanthar

> I'm too discreet here, but be sure I'm just here, lurking and enjoying. Those creatures sketches look absolutely amazing !


Thanks you  :Smile: ! I thought it would be nice to place like gargoyles the creatures whose names are given to the tropics  :Wink: .

And third landscape mostly done, a coastal one for a change. Now thinking about the corners & the bottom part.
### Latest WIP ###

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## Simkin

this is a really wonderful work Ilanthar, I'm really  excited to see the final version.

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## Diamond

This is next-level work, Ilanthar.  When it all comes together it'll be beyond amazing...

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## Ilanthar

> *By Simkin*
> this is a really wonderful work Ilanthar, I'm really excited to see the final version.


Thanks  :Smile: ! It's gonna take some more time, for sure... 




> *By Diamond*
> This is next-level work, Ilanthar. When it all comes together it'll be beyond amazing...


Thanks a lot! I do hope it's gonna be fine  :Very Happy: .

Lineart of the frame on the left side, done. Séléné on the sunset side, Helios on the sunrise, and 3 more landscapes to draw under him.
I've redone my little Mappemonde logo too.
### Latest WIP ###



I think I'm not gonna color the frame more than that, just shading... And well, I need to think what to do with the labels, too.

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## Ilanthar

Landscapes on the right side mostly done. I hope they are recognizable enough.
### Latest WIP ###

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## weatherhills

These floral flourishes on the side are just gorgeous and I love the creature sketches. I've been putting off drawing any sort of frame to my map because I'm not sure how to go about it and what kind of pattern would look good with my more.. cartoony style(?), for lack of a better word but oh man, these fit yours perfectly. Can't wait to see it finished.

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## Ilanthar

> These floral flourishes on the side are just gorgeous and I love the creature sketches. I've been putting off drawing any sort of frame to my map because I'm not sure how to go about it and what kind of pattern would look good with my more.. cartoony style(?), for lack of a better word but oh man, these fit yours perfectly. Can't wait to see it finished.


Thank you very much! Sometimes, it's more a matter of "how to draw it" than "what to draw" that makes it fit the style of the map.

So, still wondering about the labels. Maybe this font and kind of labels work better for the lands? Also hesitating about placing or not the big continent labels on the main map, what do you think?
### Latest WIP ###

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## -K2-

An absolutely magnificent map that I can't wait to see the finished product. I particularly like the mountain peak graphic. Great work on all of it!

K2

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## Simkin

I like the fonts Ilanthar. For the others labels, is difficult to say if it is better or not to put them without a visual comparison.

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## weatherhills

I like that you have two different fonts for the land and the sea. I think having labels for the names of the continents would make it easier to find information on the map maybe?

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## Ilanthar

> I like that you have two different fonts for the land and the sea. I think having labels for the names of the continents would make it easier to find information on the map maybe?





> I like the fonts Ilanthar. For the others labels, is difficult to say if it is better or not to put them without a visual comparison.


Thank you both. Here's a part with the continent names. Better?




> An absolutely magnificent map that I can't wait to see the finished product. I particularly like the mountain peak graphic. Great work on all of it!
> K2


Thank you very much! I'm working on a graphic for rivers to place on the other side. Hope you'll like it too.

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## Simkin

For the continents names... I like more the version without them, is more readable.

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## Ilanthar

Yeah, I would like to indicate them, but that might be better on a mini map...

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## Ilanthar

I should finish this today or tomorrow.
### Latest WIP ###

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## Ilanthar

And this is done. Back on labels for the map!

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## Harrg

I love it. It reminds me of 19th century atlases and botanical watercolors. Maybe if you add light watercolor-pastel colors, many elements will sparkle in a new way? For example, in a diagram with mountains, they could be highlighted in red / blue to indicate heights or different mountains. Maybe I'm just rushing things and you already planned it

* *

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## Ilanthar

Thanks  :Smile: !
I wasn't going to colour elements & frame. But maybe...
I'm still on the labelling part. Yet, I did start some shading & colouring tests on the top left corner.
### Latest WIP ###

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## Adfor

Wanted to pop in again and say how intricately lovely your illustrations are. The woman bust is incredibly inspiring, as I lack in the human anatomy department. You get it just right.

The world map couldn't be more pleasing to behold, such a beauty this is turning out to be!

IR

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## Ilanthar

Thanks a lot, Adfor  :Smile: !

Following an atlas example, I've pretty much chosen this density of labels.
What do you think of it? Legible?
### Latest WIP ###

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## Simkin

The font is legible and nice. My only nitpick is the position that sometimes is over a mountainrange and sometimes above.

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## Ilanthar

Did those changes for some labels.
### Latest WIP ###





> *By Simkin*
> The font is legible and nice. My only nitpick is the position that sometimes is over a mountain range and sometimes above.


Thanks. Would you place them over or above, then?

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## Kâ Lys

Just wanted to say that you are among my top 5 favorite cartographers I know of so far. Tes cartes sont simplement magnifiques!  :Shocked:

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## Ilanthar

> *By Kâ Lys*
> Just wanted to say that you are among my top 5 favorite cartographers I know of so far. Tes cartes sont simplement magnifiques!


Wow, thanks a lot for the praise! Y a des gens très doués à la guilde .
I took a break from the task of naming the many places on this map. But I definitely should go working on it soon.

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## Kâ Lys

Is your map a setting for a novel you are working on? Is there somewhere we can read about its lore? I would love to know more about your world. I also have a map I'm working on since forever. I take breaks sometimes but I always come back working on it. For me, it is the setting in which I'd love to write story about. I already have 3 adventure ideas for it, but I suck at writing so...  :Razz:

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## Ilanthar

> *By Kâ Lys*
> Is your map a setting for a novel you are working on? Is there somewhere we can read about its lore? I would love to know more about your world. I also have a map I'm working on since forever. I take breaks sometimes but I always come back working on it. For me, it is the setting in which I'd love to write story about. I already have 3 adventure ideas for it, but I suck at writing so...


Not for a novel but for a homemade rpg and my Patreon/Tipeee. You can learn a bit more on my website.

Since my test on the topography of my martian atlas works well enough. I couldn't wait to try it on my Eldoran map.
And I guess it works too  :Smile: .

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## Darrow

Woahh! Is this all photoshop?

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## Ilanthar

> Woahh! Is this all photoshop?


Thanks Darrow  :Smile: ! I'm using Krita, which is free and quite powerful.

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## Ilanthar

Some more on this. I might finish it before the end of the yea, with a lot of luck (not really believe it's gonna happen).

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## QED42

Looking really awesome! Only thing I would say is I'm not sure the rivers look "right". Maybe they need to be a bit smoother or something? They don't quite fit the rest of the map to my eye.

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## Ilanthar

> Looking really awesome! Only thing I would say is I'm not sure the rivers look "right". Maybe they need to be a bit smoother or something? They don't quite fit the rest of the map to my eye.


Thanks a lot  :Smile: !
 I agree it should surely be improved. But I'm not completely sure to see what you mean. Do you think I should made them a bit less present? Like lower opacity or lighter colour? Or with a more faded end?
I think I'll have to improve the shading and colors of the frame to match the map when it's done.

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## QED42

> Thanks a lot !
>  I agree it should surely be improved. But I'm not completely sure to see what you mean. Do you think I should made them a bit less present? Like lower opacity or lighter colour? Or with a more faded end?
> I think I'll have to improve the shading and colors of the frame to match the map when it's done.


Just because I can see a problem doesn't mean I know how to fix it!  :Razz:  

A more faded end and possibly a thicker but softer brush for the faded lines?

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## Ilanthar

> *By QED42*
> 
> Just because I can see a problem doesn't mean I know how to fix it!
> 
> A more faded end and possibly a thicker but softer brush for the faded lines?


Whaaat  :Surprised: !? But, I'm counting on you!

 :Very Happy:  Joke aside, any comment is always precious. I did a few tests and finally opt for this. Whadaya think?
### Latest WIP ###


Working on the enhanced shading for the rest of the map. And the labels... and the frame...

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## Naima

> Thanks a lot !
>  I agree it should surely be improved. But I'm not completely sure to see what you mean. Do you think I should made them a bit less present? Like lower opacity or lighter colour? Or with a more faded end?
> I think I'll have to improve the shading and colors of the frame to match the map when it's done.


I think all look great! About the rivers I would just make their color lighter.

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## QED42

> Whaaat !? But, I'm counting on you!
> 
>  Joke aside, any comment is always precious. I did a few tests and finally opt for this. Whadaya think?


Definitely looks better!

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