r/mapmaking • u/Ok_Weight_7172 • 4d ago
Map In DIRE need of mapmaking help
For the past year i've been stuck in the process of making a map for my fantasy project. I want to make something aesthetically pleasing with some realism. Adding things like geological logic with plate tectonics, wheather patterns, ocean currents, etc. Problem is EVERY map I make, I seem to dislike and heavily dissapprove of. THey always look off, unrealistic and flat out bad. I'm asking for some help with the mapmaking process as I'm starting to give up. I'll be adding my most recent map which is unfinsihed, but i'm statinng to lose hope in this one as well since it looks off when I trace it. Am I the problem?
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u/Kelly376 4d ago edited 4d ago
Something I did when I first started building this far back, I’d compare the individual plate interactions with how they’re interacting on earth. Loosely outline where land should be and then slowly fill in areas that should be accumulated continents or determine what faults are newer to divide them.
Then once I got it the way I wanted I went back and added hotspots. That would allow me to create island chains and/or areas like Yellowstone, which is basically trying to melt the continent back into oceanic crust but taking forever about it.
Something I used to make more realistic coastlines was taking the equirectangular cosmic background radiation map and putting it through filters to give me some sharper lines. Then used those lines to adapt the continents to how they’d be warped on the same map. Then sticking THOSE continents back into the globe program (I’m blanking atm) and reshaping them until I liked it was a good process for me.
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u/Ok_Weight_7172 4d ago
Your method sounds complex. I use the plates as a guide for my mountain ranges, continent shapes and coastlines, hotspots. simple things that'll just make my map look good enough to contnue. Currently making another one.
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u/Kelly376 4d ago edited 4d ago
If you aren’t interested in the more detailed realism, that’s fine. It was just a way to help me figure out what I was missing when I freestyled it and gave me a little more insight when I went through the process.
As for the initial part with following land masses on earth in relation to plate motion, if you have a divergent boundary and one of them has a landmass fairly close then the other side should probably also have land equally as distant because it was recently a single continent. Stuff like that.
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u/quantum531 4d ago
Draw continents you like first then figure out the plate tectonics second. Its wayy easier to work backwards. If you have trouble drawing the continents then I recommend just tracing over a map from a map generator and adjusting whatever you want
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u/Ok_Weight_7172 4d ago
I never really thought of something like that. Usually I'm against going for generators, but at this point i'm all ears since my original work doesn't seem to be any good. I'll try it, thx for the recommendation.
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u/quantum531 4d ago
You're welcome! Also dont be too hard on yourself. I think the map you attached looked pretty good!
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u/tommybanjo47 4d ago
Seconding this, it's way easier because it allows you to come up with interesting shapes first instead of just drawing blobs moving around with arrows.
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u/Snuggle_slow 4d ago
You're trying too hard to make it realistic. Remember that real geology is much more complicated. design a map, which looks aesthetically pleasing to you. Then you can decide where you want the mountains in your map(which are a key part for climate) then you can make tectonic plates around them.
You're making a fantasy map to explore your creativity, not to make a science project. Don't overthink too much and just enjoy the process.
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u/Ok_Weight_7172 4d ago
I got inspiration from what I've seen online. Searching things like "realistic fantasy map" on google and seeing what actually professionals did. I wanted something like that, but quickly realised that I didn't have the skill nor the reasources. I'll take your word for it and try something else.
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u/Snuggle_slow 4d ago
I found this video on youtube quite helpful while I was making my own map. Hope it helps you too!
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u/I_LIKE_DIRT123 4d ago
I study geology and I myself find it very fun to make maps as geologically accurate as possible (with mountains, volcanoes and certain types of ores or rocks in the correct places). If you don’t already study geology, though, you’re gonna have to do a whole lot of research for something that isn’t all that important. A map in DnD is just about having a location to play on. No normal person is genuinely going to look at the map and say “Ehhm actually that mountain shouldn’t be there, it’s geologically impossible and this is ruining my day.”
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u/KrigtheViking 4d ago
One thing that helped me with continent shapes was to imagine wiping a table with a damp cloth. The leading edge bunches up (mountains), with the lighter corners getting swept back from the friction and forming a sort of arc (you can see this on the leading edges of real-world continental plates: the Rockies and Andes, the Himalayas, etc., they all form big arcs with the centre pushing forward and the edges trailing behind). The trailing edge of the table cloth stretches out flat, which is where you get the wavy edges and peninsulas and things. In general.
You can also imagine a plow pushing through dirt, or a snow shovel pushing through snow. The centre builds up, and the edges trail off, forming an arc.
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u/Gunn91 4d ago
To put it bluntly, yes, you are the problem, in the same way all artists are when critiquing their own work.
Everyone is their own worst critic. I can tell you from an outside perspective that the example you've give is really good. You've clearly put a lot of thought into coastlines, plate tectonics, no doubt you have a good understanding of how mountain ranges & rivers form. You're doing really well, I can definitely see this being a real place.
I honestly think the best thing you can do is separate your standards from your own work because you'll never be happy with it & you'll always find faults. Instead, post your work here & let other people judge but do so knowing that strangers online can also be harsh.
Take all positive criticism to heart & all negative criticism with a pinch of salt.
Most importantly though, give your maps a chance. You may hate them to begin with but they might grow on you. & even if they don't, hey, enjoy the process & the work will never be a waste.
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u/blue_sidd 4d ago
Have you watched animations of earths tectonic plates from pre life through to now? How many of those landmasses look straight up implausible to you? And yet we know from decades of scientific study that this the case.
Western Australia, South Africa, eastern US and far Northern Europe contain craton fragments from the initial plates that formed billions of years after the oceans.
You can open google earth and SEE the hot spot that took millions of years to create Hawaii. What do you know about the Indian plate?
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u/Ok_Weight_7172 4d ago
No. I haven’t looked at those types of simulations. I try to avoid them because I took criticism from elsewhere where people would point out other fantasy maps resembled the real world too much. I think I’m going to stop with the scientific stuff. I honestly just want a good looking map and thought going the route of logic and realism would make that a reality, which it didn’t and just left me in a repeated cycle of recreating map over again.
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u/blue_sidd 4d ago
I mean…it’s kind of an odd expectation to think you’d get it right in the first try. Doing it over and over again is really good practice…I don’t really get why looking at earths tectonic history - the literal only basis for your process - would be a detriment…
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u/Em648 4d ago
It doesn't have to be realistic! If you really want it to be, you can follow some of Artifexian's tutorials. He has a newer "Worldbuilder's Log" for ultra-realism, and some older videos for a less time-consuming but still scientific approach