r/mapmaking

I wanted to work on fine lines and small detail. It was a lot of fun and a good way of practising especially with this great color of post its

This is a map I commissioned from an artist (Indira) for a historical Mediterranean project set in 1400. I could have used standard digital tools or 3D assets, but I really wanted to capture that organic, imperfect, hand-painted aesthetic of the Renaissance era. The watercolor style gives it a warm, tactile feel that digital renders just can't replicate perfectly. We intentionally kept some of the geographic proportions slightly stylized to fit the "old portolan" vibe. What do you think of the color palette and the hand-painted approach?

lowkirkenuinely that is a crazy good outline too like it feels like it tells a story already with the 'pasta lake' in the middle and the 2 pieces of foam sticking out on the sides

Saw the love in this Reddit and wanted you guys’s feedback! I made this map for my fantasy world, there’s lore so feel free to ask! Also feel free to leave your ideas for the top right section of the map!

1. Tectonic Plates

I started by drawing some semi-random shapes of different sizes. I decided which ones were going to be continental and which ones were oceanic, and I assigned each of them a direction and a force (size of the arrow).

Based on this, I went through the borders and calculated which ones were colliding, separating, or sliding. I then placed different types of mountain ranges along them.

2. Continents

Based on the continental plates and the zones where the mountains were, I connected them in interesting ways, forming the continents of my world.

I added some islands and archipelagos around the edges to add variety to the coastlines.

3. Relief

Based on the type of plate interaction they were formed by, I decided what kind of mountain range each one was: yellow = fold mountains, red = volcanic mountains, green = block mountains, and purple = dome mountains.

Then I made them more detailed and interesting, defining their shapes through topographic contours.

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Hope you like my process and find it interesting!

The intent of this post is to show my progress in my first ever attempt at drawing a map. This is only one continent out of four I've made. The first map was made by drawing a height map and running it through Wilbur then raising the sea level until I got a coastline that looked really decent. After putting down some borders and names on paper I realized something that bugged me; it reminded me too much of North America, so I decided it needed to be redesigned.

I got rid of pseudo Alaska and stretched out the landmass to the west. Somehow I think I subconsciously made Canada and Alaska along with Greenland again but I can't really think of anything to replace it with anymore.

I generally don't like thinking too much about tectonics as I am a firm believer of "Rule of Cool" so if you think something could be changed I am open to reading your advices.

As for lore there really isn't much of anything besides my daydreaming. The name for the continent I came up with is Farund. Verazond and Marinndor are two rivaled empires in an eternal feud for supremacy over the south. Verazond is an arid kingdom inspired by the chariot kingdoms of the bronze age. Marinndor is a naval force inspired by Phoenicians and Carthage. All the names are Wip and nothing is set in stone, to come up with them used the site feldarknames.com or Fake Word Generator and reshaped hundreds of words for the names.

To create the map I used Wilbur, Krita and Map to globe.

This (I believe) paint spill has been here for well over a decade and I’ve always wondered if it could be a fantasy map with 3 islands.

Ignore the region north of the Scarlands, I’m just focusing on this southern country at the moment.

I don’t want to go crazy overboard with ‘features’ here, the country is largely quite flat and with lots of open plains. I’ll add forests and such once I’ve got the primary features all worked out.

Settlements and Forests will be going in once I’ve got the full shape of the land and its features and structures out so they can inform the settlement placement.

I really liked the idea of one big long river spanning the width of the country and I had a rough reference for where I wanted the capital (marked with the star symbol) to go but beyond that this country is a bit of a blank state and I’m struggling to find ways to add detail and interest to the map without just clogging it with *stuff*.

I’m aiming for a ‘realistic at first glance’ kind of vibe with this area - nothing that immediately stands out as artificial or unrealistic, but also not so beholden to realism that I’ll sacrifice the elements I *do* want for it.

I wanted to ask if it is a bad thing for a map to look so alike the real world ?

I'm not trying to be especially original with this continent map especially but I wanted to know if this could impact a story or believability in a negative way ?
Nothing is definitive just yet, especially the rest of the world.

Edit : I made a mistake calling this a low fantasy world, I would like to apologies. it's more grounded fantasy than low fantasy.

Also thank you everyone for all the comments i'm trying my best to answer everyone but i never had that many people comment before

What I feel is my main hindrance in making my maps feel realistic is how I do topography. I just don't understand how do draw simple elevation. How do you do it?

Suggestions?

What do you think? Where did i go wrong? How can i improve my map? (Note: I only use IBIS PAINT on my phone, i dont use any other apps on my computer)

Hand drawn ink on paper map illustration for “She Who Hunts the Moon” by Jay R Wolf coming out in July 2026

Hover over a clickable building, its light turns on and it gets an outline. I also tested a slight scale-up on the "Antique Shop" building as an example. The other buildings in the video only get the outline for now.

Would you keep the slight scale-up, remove it, or use some other kind of hover feedback?

I’m Jonah Lobe (Skyrim/Fallout/Marvel Anatomy), I’m about to release my debut graphic novel, Quiet: Level One, and today I’m inviting you to help me build my World Map (which will be integral to the next few books in the series!).  I've asked permission from the mods of this channel to INVITE YOU to join me tomorrow, Thursday the 20th, 1 PM EST, on Twitch or YouTube, and let’s come up with some epic landmarks, set-pieces, quests and locations for Quiet: Level Two and beyond!

(Note that this event is meant to be a brainstorming event for creative types and an opportunity to geek out together in a public space; while one of your ideas may end up on the map (with your permission, of course), I cannot guarantee that it will feature in any future storyline, nor am I able to compensate anyone for their suggestion).

Some information on the WORLD MAP:  Quiet: Level One (an homage to DnD, videogames, and fantasy) takes place in the Tree of Worlds, which is like a cross between the Norse Tree of Life and Super Mario Galaxy.  Every Level of the Tree of Worlds is a contained world all its own, with its own geography, flora, fauna, quests and NPCs.  Level One is the Labyrinth (where book one takes place), a winding black-and-white dungeon that requires three keys to escape.  Level Two is the Hunt, an arid prairieland full of animals and treasure and trials of heroism.  Level Three is the Breach, a broken land of mountains and snow ruled over by a pair of crazy twins who have transformed their world into a giant board game.  Level Four is the Citadel, an oppressive castle watched over by a fire-breathing Dragon. And we won’t talk about Level Five… not yet.

While the storyline for Quiet is mapped out, the geography isn’t.  What sorts of quests, puzzles, treasures, boss-fights, lifeforms and landmarks can you picture living in these different levels?  What are your favorite fantasy tropes, or what’s something totally original that you’d love to see featured in a book?

If a discussion like this sounds like fun, please join me tomorrow, and let’s come up with some ideas!  I will write them out, I will sketch them up, and then we’ll integrate our favorites into the World Map (included in the book), which will give readers some sense of what might happen next in the series.

Thanks so much for reading.  I look forward to meeting you!

Jonah

I've been slowly but surely converting my pen and paper map for my ttrpg setting in a digital format using Inkscape and also GIMP. Since is one of my first ever attempts at using digital programmes to make a map I'd really appreciate advice on how to improve it. The top three countries are what I have coloured so far and I just am not satisfied with my work.
As the image of the digital version is still not showing up, here is a link to the image: https://postimg.cc/WtnkvqhY

Note: Sorry if anyone has seen this post pop up several times. I deleted it twice as the digital map wasn't playing nicely with reddit. I have attempted to make a smaller file size version.

Finally got around to putting down the mountains on my first map and was hoping for some feedback.

It's a supercontinent that will later break, though not through tectonics as I'm still learning GPlates and was getting too itchy to start writing so I went the _gods_ route for this world.

If the mountains seem too large it's because I'm trying to visualize the Ten Peaks, evidence that the World Spirit pushed upwards and from the sea came land. They won't be that large in the second draft (or I may leave them since I kind of dig it). I was also trying out different styles from Maps by Owen.

I'll clarify if any more context is needed. Thanks in advance.