Well there's nothing wrong with islands for me. What I was trying to say; more important is that not everything is on the map. make a bigger island cut off by the edges of the map and give that world some continuity instead of assuming that the rest is just one big ocean.

This is just my opinion of course ...

Oh, you're on the right track, both of you. I am NOT looking for my world to resemble earth. However, there are other islands and landmasses, I just haven't created them yet. They are all in my mind. I've just trying to take each map one at a time, so i don't confuse myself.

He's creating the -world- though, not the story. So he draws everything, then decides what the characters in one place knows about... you don't leave out part of your world when your making the entire thing, besides for continuities sake, it wouldn't be endless oceam stretching out, it'd be a ball... so one end of the map connects to the other... except up and down... those are just confusing.

Ok map design: a couple of hints (see the first link I posted too).

To get something realistic look at the real world. Look for interesting features etc. A trick I often use is to zoom in on a small section of land then blow it up so its actually the world (a few changes are needed to make small islands look like continents but it's remarkably simple). Use google maps ( http://maps.google.co.uk ) then have a look for cool bits. Some good areas to start are the Lofoten islands (north Norway), west Scotland and south Japan: all these areas have wild coasts well suited to enlargment which will produce interesting maps.

Once you have a few bits you like mix and match a bit.

Now features: in any world like ours (same physics, situation etc) there will tend to be rainforest round the equator (think congo) with deserts to the north (sahara in this example) and south (kalahari) then a temperate zone (europe) going to tundra in the polar extrmities. It is worth noting that in fantasy it is common to try to imitate the 'old world' (ie. euraisa) so it often is cold in the north and warm in the south and ignores the spherical nature of the world, this is also a lot easier to draw.

As for individual features, inland seas are very rare and look a bit odd, lochs are more common. Both will always have rivers into them and almost always one river out too (more is rare as there will tend to be a single lowest point which thus erodes fastest giving rise to a single river). Smaller rivers tend to meet to form one but one river almost never splits into two without human intervention. Rivers tend to run from hills to the sea.

Mountain placement is more subtle and is due to plate tectonics. Find something which looks right. As a rought rule they tend to run in long straight lines (the andes/ rockies is an extreme example). Older ranges are more rounded, newer ones higher and pointier. Rangles tend not it intersect on another at large angles (though there are pleanty of exception to this). But honestly just do what you want, tolkeins middle earth had wild mountains and he got away with it.

Forests crop up everywhere where there is sufficent water, its not too cold and there's not to much wind.

People destroy forests. Settlements tend to appear by bridges over rivers, especially where they meet. They also appear at good harbour sites on the coast. In farming area it depends on the history, if it has been peaceful the land will be dotted with tiny hamlet with only a few towns to serivce them, if it is troubled people will gather in towns for protecton. In mountains settlements are in the lower sections of passes and where major routes go. There tend to be small villages along most low valleys and in any farmable land. Sometimes settlement appear for no reason, they also appear whereever any resource is abundant, sometimes these resources run out but the people will stay.

Well thats more than I intended to write. Hopefully it wasn't too much like a geography lesson but if you normally follow these rules your map should avoid having anything wierd on it. Breaking them at the right times gives rise to interesting features.

Hope that helps and didn't put you to sleep.

No, it definitely didn't put me to sleep. *sigh* I have a lot of work to do though. I think I know what I'm going to do. I am going to recreate the world. I'll make one huge continent, and then split it up into different provinces, like Tamriel. We'll see how that goes... Thanks a lot.

[You're right, sorry] Good map(s) by the way. Have you thought of doing it with just pencil and paper?

This post has been edited by 0rimus: May 30 2008, 02:42 AM

Edited for a "rushed judgement".

Yeah, I think that's what I might do now. I don't know...this whole "create a world" thing is getting bleeping annoying. It's so damn hard...

This post has been edited by redsrock: May 30 2008, 02:48 AM

Ok, I'll go ahead and post the map in hopes that the thing won't change in the next five mintues... <_< Keep in mind that this is still slightly in progress, and in "small" changes will occur just whenever. the blue is obviously rivers and "large" lakes. One brown triangle is one mountain. Three triangles are a range of mountains.

Mancia

Well, I can see where the Tamriel influence is! lol

Isn't there something else with the name Mancia?
or is it some sort of Spanish?

Maybe, not too sure...I haven't really thought of that.

Thanks everyone, you ALL have been a wonderful help, and for that I am very grateful. However.......I have a problem that needs to be extinguished, and unfortunately I'm just going to stop trying to create a whole world, for right now at least.

Looking back at my "unnamed short story" thread, it just sounds way too much like TES. And the way I have my landmasses set up and described....there's just nothing unique about my world at all, save for a couple of races, but even a few of them are rip-offs as well. I mean, someone has already pointed out that my map looks dead-up like TES. At first I just said "oh well, it's not a big deal", but I couldn't have been further from the truth. It IS a big deal, hence why it called "CREATING" a new world, not copying another game/movie/fantasy world/etc. So, this is what I think I am going to do...

I am going implement some of my landmasses and races into TES itself. That way I can work with what I already know and love, PLUS I can add a bit of freshness for my personal self and taste. I don't know, I think it'll work it out well enough. We'll see what the readers think...

Thanks again for your help, and don't think I am just going to dismiss what you've all said. I'll remember and then maybe pull them out on a rainy day. Right now creating my own world is just too daunting of a task. I got too excited and immediatly jumped into something I essentially had no idea about. Perhaps in the future I will be able to take on the colossal challenge.