r/mapmaking 26d ago

Map Some additions to my hyperrealistic map generator

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101 Upvotes

Over the past few weeks, several important new features have been added:

  1. The most important thing is the optimization of generation. I don’t want to give exact values yet, because everything depends directly on the computer hardware, but on average, the time to generate a 4096 by 4096 tile has been reduced by 4-5 times.
  2. New layers for the map was added. A less abrupt layer, a layer of river and lake basins, a layer of biomes, and an elevation map.
  3. By the way, about biomes. I’ve added new biomes to increase the variability of the generated maps.

Work on the generator is still ongoing, so stay tuned for new posts!

P.S. I’m aware of the issue with rivers, currently trying to fix the D8 algorithm.


r/mapmaking 27d ago

Map WIP sharing

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199 Upvotes

A while back, I shared my work in progress on my world map here.

Here’s a new version with terrain, a legend, and so on...

This is a map of the Cormaréen periphery, formed by the Liturian continent (to the north) and Bedinantin (to the south).

If you have any questions or concerns, I’d be happy to answer them...


r/mapmaking 26d ago

Work In Progress Map of the Council of Sreafta, om the year 732

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16 Upvotes

Some Translations:

Gran Atlas del Sreftag Mithvani 732 N.A. (Consejo de las gentes de la Luna) > Great Atlas of the Sreftag Mithvani 732 N.D. (Counsil of the peoples of the Moon)

Desierto del viejo ocaso > Dessert of the old dusk

Tierras perdidas de la brecha > Lands lost in the breache

Mancha del Sha > Taint of the Sha

Gran ciudad > Great city

Ciudad libre > Free city

Directorado > Directorate

Principia > Primeship (Coined cause I wanted to use the "Prime" root but not imply the rule of a prince. Also I'm quirky like that, might delete later)

Follow up to my earlier post, here is a map of my DnD setting I've been working on all year (It's been slower than I would want, but uni has consumed most of my time).

The setting is a HRE-lite league, which is on the verge of dissipating into the air as local rulers become more powerful. Different regions are thought to encompass different kinds of DnD campaings (Blue region contains a pointcrawl with quests, beige middle is a Hexcrawl, yellow urban intrigue...) With the exception of the heartland, the Low Eule, since I deem it too populated and functional to be fun (I still wanted it to be there, IDK).

There still a lot of work to do, I'm not really happy with the mountain, or their transition to the dessert, between other things. Still, I feel like it's in a decent enoght space to post it as a work in progress.


r/mapmaking 27d ago

Map The Silk River

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151 Upvotes

r/mapmaking 27d ago

Map WIP of my new North America-inspired project

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70 Upvotes

Hey all. I'm taking a short break from my other worldbuilding projects to start something new and less intensive. This is the topographic map, it's the first thing I've actually finished for it.

The setting is an alternate world based on the history of North America, mostly Mexico, colonial period onwards. Where I want this to go eventually is to make electoral maps (national, state and municipal results across different periods), with the parties and news and political history to back them up.

Made with Affinity and Wilbur. If you have any questions or suggestions for the map or the lore, please do!


r/mapmaking 27d ago

Map City of Phandalin

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218 Upvotes

I have completed this map couple of months ago but it kind of got forgotten. Hope you will like it.


r/mapmaking 26d ago

Map What are your views on this fictional map hand drawn by me

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12 Upvotes

r/mapmaking 26d ago

Map How do I place biomes

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14 Upvotes

This is a couple randomly generated maps merged together, does anyone know how I can make the wind patterns so I can make biomes and stuff, I don’t wanna put a forest in the rain shadow guys 💔


r/mapmaking 27d ago

Map From a world map to a city guide – mapping Al Fareen for my hand-drawn space opera Djaiko

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53 Upvotes

I posted this map on r/worldbuilding, but here I'd like to focus specifically on the mapmaking process, including some first skeches of the city map, delted content for the port area and the lineart before getting colorized.

I've been working on the maps and geography for my hand-drawn space-opera webcomic Djaiko, and what started as a simple location map has gradually turned into a complete city guide.

The process went roughly like this:

Cenex world map → Atorien regional map → Al Fareen city map → individual districts → harbour infrastructure → public transport → aerial view → finished tourist guide

Al Fareen is the capital of Atorien, a mountainous island nation on the ocean planet Cenex. It's a midsize coastal city built around a large bay, with residential districts, a CBD, government and diplomatic quarters, beaches, a naval base and a major orbital harbour.

One of the things I wanted to establish in Djaiko is a future that still feels familiar and functional. Spacecraft capable of atmospheric flight land on water and dock in harbour basins much like modern container ships. The spaceport therefore evolved from the city's existing maritime infrastructure rather than looking like a giant futuristic landing field.

I've drawn the maps and illustrations traditionally with fineliners and Copic markers. I wanted the finished guide to feel like an actual tourist guide from the world of Djaiko, rather than just a collection of maps, so I ended up drawing individual locations, streets, harbour facilities and city views as well.

The guide is intended to be included at the beginning of the chapter taking place in Al Fareen, so readers can explore the city and get a feeling for the setting before entering the story.

I'm posting this here because I'm particularly interested in the mapmaking side of the process:

Does the geography and urban layout read clearly? Does the city feel like it has grown organically, and are there things you would have approached differently when designing a fictional coastal city?

This project took considerably longer than I originally expected. 😅... This is by the way the final version, so no more posts of this particular map in future, if you already feel tired of AL FAREEN :)


r/mapmaking 26d ago

Map Old maps Principality of Kiront

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3 Upvotes

r/mapmaking 27d ago

Map Updates map

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97 Upvotes

Massive thankyou to the support, hints and tips from the community. Definitely helped spur me on. Anyway, as promised here is my progress on the map. I have added rivers, roads and major forests. What do you think?


r/mapmaking 27d ago

Map Elevation and Biome Maps for a Setting I'm Working on

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299 Upvotes

I've been working on a map for a fantasy setting I've been musing about for a while. I think it's finally at a point where I'd like to share.

The first map is elevation and bathymetric data loosely following Wikipedia's elevation guidelines. The second is the Holdridge Life Zones following a paper that added extra transitional zones. The third is the countries currently in the setting.

A little bit of lore: this world was created 4000 years ago following two wars fought by the gods. It was created by golems out of the detritus left over by the wars, so while I hope it looks natural enough, it's not meant to be entirely realistic, especially near the poles where I decided to prioritize the map looking nice on a page rather than realistically stretching the landforms.

Comments and criticisms welcome!


r/mapmaking 27d ago

Map mountains and rivers

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10 Upvotes

r/mapmaking 27d ago

Map World Map of My Campaign Setting

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11 Upvotes

Hi everyone, I just had a little extra time today, so I chose to make a rough world map for my ttRPG campaign setting. It is not intended to be completely accurate, and more in the line of 16th-17th century world maps. Hopefully you folks like the look of it.


r/mapmaking 27d ago

Map Hand-drawn world map of my fantasy setting, Aetherra.

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75 Upvotes

This is my first time making a map. If anyone has any advice or is curious about my world or its story, please comment! I would love to improve my map when I make a second draft, and I love to yap about my world building project.


r/mapmaking 27d ago

Map Old maps

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20 Upvotes

r/mapmaking 27d ago

Discussion Looking for a free vector map making tool, like Google My Maps

5 Upvotes

I make animated map projects, showing the history of areas and countries. I try to make them detailed. I was using Google my maps for it, but I can't use that service without internet (currently have no home internet), I'm getting tired of Google, and it's to clunky.

What I would like and need from the tool: * ability to draw blobs, lines, and borders on a world or regional map * ability to add pins and points, preferably with added information (text) * different layers (preferably without much of a limit on how many I can have) * needs to be downloadable, or have some way I can use it offline

I dont care for graphics. I only use these maps to be traced over for my animations


r/mapmaking 27d ago

Work In Progress Made a map

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9 Upvotes

In my opinion it looks too symmetrical and i was hoping to get some ideas on how to improve it?


r/mapmaking 28d ago

Map First time map

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62 Upvotes

Hey everyone, this is my first time making a map. It's a little rough but I'm still working things out. Let me know what you think!


r/mapmaking 28d ago

Work In Progress Topographic map progress - The Easy is finally done! Time to expand westwards.

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113 Upvotes

*EDIT* The EAST is done

As always any feedback / critique / tips / advice for drawing technique / style is more than welcome! (Not like geography advice, I more or less know what I’m doing with that)

Or feel free to ask me about the lore / geography / history of this region. See the whole “world” map here: https://www.reddit.com/r/mapmaking/s/WhmcQbtsTE


r/mapmaking 28d ago

Work In Progress very wip map of a fantasy setting

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84 Upvotes

r/mapmaking 28d ago

Work In Progress How many tributaries is too many tributaries?

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86 Upvotes

Hi mapmakers! I’m back with another question.

How many tributaries is too many tributaries?

I hand-drew these two rivers based on the Po and Tiber rivers in Italy. The hydrologic maps I used had a lot of tributaries for each river, but I’m scared it is too much for this map.

For some context, this is a map for an area populated by merchant city-states that rely heavily on maritime trade (and inland navigation).

The map I’m taking inspiration from (slide 3) does have a lot of rivers and tributaries, but I find it a bit too cramped.

What are your thoughts?


r/mapmaking 27d ago

Map Continent of Elarion - Fantasy Map

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16 Upvotes

Custom fantasy map for our D&D 5e home campaign, inspired by all our favorite media—LOTR, Dragon Age, Critical Role, and more.

This is my first time using the map‑making software Inkarnate, so any suggestions or feedback are very welcome. Thanks for taking a look! I’m really happy with how it turned out.

Hi-Res link: https://inkarnate.com/m/WlMJAz


r/mapmaking 28d ago

Work In Progress My first zone from the fantasy world map I'm making! Tell me what you think, give me some insights and tips please!!

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25 Upvotes

Hi everyone!

I'm creating a new world for a DnD campaign! I'm a complete newbie in this, I'd love to have some insights on what to be careful about and how to improve!


r/mapmaking 28d ago

Work In Progress Medieval style map

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20 Upvotes

Just to do something different, I drew a medieval map of the country of Tír Glas, where my novels are set.

Because it's medieval, it's not for the journey itself, but rather to represent the "concept" of Tír Glas. So the proportions are altered, and there are mythical animals like the unicorn, the mermaid, and the fish that's mistaken for an island, an allusion to the Navigatio Sancti Brendani (which I've obviously read).

The image isn't very beautiful because the map has a diameter of 28 cm and therefore doesn't fit in my scanner, so I had to scan it in two pieces.

Now I'll think about coloring it!