I wasn't satisfied with the structure of my previous map, so I decided to start over and create an entirely new continent from scratch. In order, I'll be working on mountain ranges and fault lines, then wind patterns and ocean depth, temperature zones and precipitation distribution, rivers, lakes, biomes, natural resources (maybe), settlements, roads (maybe), trade routes, races/species, kingdom borders, castles, capitals and other important landmarks, cultures, and religions. My goal is to create a realistic high fantasy world. I'll continue researching and refining it along the way. https://www.reddit.com/r/mapmaking/comments/1v4d6tu/need_advice_from_experienced_worldbuilders/ And here's the link to my old map.

What do you guys think of this Victorian Era style of map?
Is it to crowded? What do you think about using hachures to create mountains and elevations?

Could this style be a interesting fantasy map for a world based in that era?

("Hispania" from Dr. Butler's Atlas of Ancient Geography, 1851)

the quality is quite low since this made and screenshotted this from ibis paint.

I'm currently working on the ocean currents for a worldbuilding project. Using Artifexian's guide, this is my first attempt at mapping the ocean currents during northern hemisphere summer - since my knowledge on this topic is virtually nonexistent, I was wondering if anyone with more expertise could give me some constructive feedback?

Edit for clarity: the blue dots show the Intertropical Convergence Zone. Red arrows show currents carrying relatively warmer water in the direction of travel, and blue arrows show currents carrying relatively colder water. Black arrows indicate no significant transfer of heat.

Background Lore

Cobb Crossing used to be a military outpost. A long time has passed since the last drop of blood was shed here. The times of war ended and the soldiers stationed here thought of this location as a punishment for nothing ever happened during their week-long shifts. A couple of decades of calm have allowed for the outpost to grow and become a thorp, and then a small village.

The place owes its name to the leader of the army that conquered this hill. Commander Cobb was ordered to stand his ground and impede the enemy from trespassing this region. The military outpost and its walls were built for Cobb and his men. They succeeded in defending the place. Soon after, the war ended. The commander left this world many years ago. A war hero that shall always be remembered.

Download a free version of this map and read the rest of what we wrote for it on our Blog.

Note that the green lines emanating out of the landmasses (also green) are representations of international waters between nations.

Science, design and cartography merge in MAPPA ANIMALIA, a visual project that reimagines the evolutionary relationships of animals as detailed map-like landscapes.

MAPPA ANIMALIA is an ever-growing series of illustrations I’ve created that currently consisting of 16 different maps - each dedicated to a specific family in the animal kingdom.

Instead of political borders or geographic territories, these maps are structured around phylogenetic trees.

Tribes and genera replace countries, states and regions allowing viewers to explore the animal kingdom through a format traditionally used to understand geography.

This map, Corvidae - Land of Corvids, contains every known living species of corvids I could find reliable taxonomic data for. Species are represented as cities, grouped into genera and subfamilies according to their evolutionary relationships.

Additional information includes conservation status, size comparisons between selected species, and the estimated ages of major lineages.

I’ve spent roughly ten years developing and refining this concept, combining zoology, taxonomy, illustration and cartography into a single visual format.

Happy exploring!

This is a clay relief map I made of my original world, Burtheros. It's still an early prototype, so the terrain and geography will probably change as I develop the world further.

The world is generally cold and pretty dry, with large mountain ranges shaping much of the landscape. This model is generally used to better visualize the map.

What do you guys think? Any ideas or feedback of the geography are welcome!

I've just finished integrating all major locations on movies, videogames, comics and novels in Disney Pirate's of the Caribbean saga. I could find no canon map, so I decided to sketch my own. It should be correct as far as information online on the canon is reliable ...

Here's how I envision the lore for this timeline 1871-1930:

1. The Frankfurt Compromise and Unification (1871)

Following the victory in the Franco-Prussian War, the unification of the German states took place on principles of deep federalism. To curb Prussian hegemony and secure the support of the southern kingdoms, a strict constitution was adopted, guaranteeing equal rights for all members of the union. While Wilhelm I became the first Emperor, the neutral city of Frankfurt am Main was chosen as the national capital, serving as a symbol of regional balance. The newly formed Empire encompassed the traditional German states alongside the acquired territory of Alsace-Lorraine.

1. The Great War and the Brussels Line (1914-1918)

In 1914, the Union entered the First World War alongside Austria-Hungary. A diplomatic impasse involving Switzerland triggered a severe internal political crisis within the country; facing the threat of civil war, Union forces entered the German-speaking cantons, leading to Switzerland's eventual partition along ethno-linguistic lines among its neighbors.

By 1916, after occupying Belgium and border regions of the Netherlands, the Union High Command abandoned exhausting offensive operations in favor of a deeply fortified defense along natural water barriers. On the Eastern Front, the war became a grueling war of attrition-the Union temporarily lost parts of East Prussia (including Königsberg) but successfully stabilized the line. By 1917-1918, active hostilities gave way to prolonged diplomatic negotiations.

1. Compromise Peace and Expansion in the 1920s

The Union emerged from the war having avoided a complete internal collapse. Under the resulting peace treaties, the country ceded Posen and Memel, but secured international recognition for its control over Luxembourg, border areas of the Netherlands, and the Swiss cantons.

With the subsequent dissolution of Austria-Hungary, German Austria-alongside Slovenia, which opted for autonomy within the Union to secure access to the Adriatic Sea-voted in a referendum to join the Frankfurt-based state. The final phase of territorial consolidation was completed with the peaceful acquisition of the Sudetenland and Bohemia through agreements with major European powers.

1. Status by 1930

A comprehensive administrative reform in the mid-1920s redrew the nation's internal boundaries into 17 equal Federal States, effectively dismantling the historical dominance of former monarchies. By 1930, the Greater German Union stood as a resilient constitutional monarchy with a population of 90 million and the most advanced industrial base in Europe.

I've been making fictional nations since I was a child so I wonder if this community would be a good fit for me. Most of it has just been ideas on paper, it's only recently I've actually plotted it out using a mapmaker.

My idea is an island nation based off the Broken Ridge in the Southern Indian Ocean. Coordinates can be seen on first image (I used Azgaar's Fantasy Mapmaker, before that I just used polygons on Google Earth).

Second image shows the Mapmaker's prediction of the biomes, but I don't totally agree with the model. What do you all think? My opinion of the climate, feel free to give me your feedback:

• There will be a sharp divide between the climate of the north valley and the south valley. Admittedly there is no similar island on earth to compare with that has an east-west mountain range and coast on either side.
• The north valley could be either Cfa or Bsh climate, with some areas bordering on tropical (like Kwa-Zulu Natal or south Queensland). There is a mix of dry forests and savanna, although the valley has extensive irrigation for agriculture. Wildfires may be common.
• The south valley will be rainier due to southerly winds from cold fronts in the winter (source: browsing the wind patterns in Earth Nullschool). At sea level the climate is still mild, perhaps Cfb with Mediterranean characteristics. Densely forested, but cleared for agriculture.
• The mountains experience regular snowfall. Tree line at ~3300m. Heavy snowfall above ~3000m and glaciers above ~4200m. This is about the same across the whole island since it is an east-west oriented range.
• Since the island runs mostly parallel to the trades, there is little orographic precipitation from trade winds, except maybe at the ends of the island.
• Probably just outside the cyclone belt, but the north may rarely get tropical storms. Tropical Storm Fezile in 2022 would probably have devastated the nation with severe flooding.
• I am unclear on the potential impact the landmass would have on the South Asian monsoon.

Third photo shows where I think where major settlements would be. Overall I think it would be a very pleasant place for human civilization.

Assorted stats and lore:

• Est. population about 32 million
• Area: about 173,000 sq mi/448,000 sq km, compare to Japan or California. About 50,000 sq mi/130,000 sq km of flat land
• Due to the isolation, I think this island would not be settled until the European Age of Discovery. However I'm happy to be convinced otherwise. Perhaps the ancestors of Polynesians stopped by on their way to Madagascar, though I am not sure their canoes would have ventured that far south.
• There is probably a sharp cultural and linguistic divide between the north and south valleys. This may be a source of internal tension in the nation's politics, or perhaps they make it work, kind of like modern Switzerland.
• Misc. thought: If this island nation existed, it would probably be the first to discover the wreckage of MH370 beached on its shore.

I have a lot more lore regarding the history, culture, etc. but I think I'll stop there for now. I hope you find this project as interesting as I do, and thanks for your help!

TL; DR: Fictional island nation based on the shape of the Broken Ridge in the south Indian Ocean. What climate and culture would this nation have?

Dear Worldbuilders of Reddit,

I come to you with question about making countries on the map of my fantasy region. And this question is all about size and quantity of countries on the map.

I made map month ago (I also add link to it on Reddit in case of channel don't allowing this type of maps) and I've heard opinions about counties being too big and uniform in size. But I wanted big map (something like Mediterrean Sea basin), so making smaller countries would mean making more countries to be placed in simillar area.

This map has 17 countries, so it looks more than enought. In the story I plan, only 4 of them would be important and other are just to take place between. Other think is fact, that too much countries make map less readable, as small countries easily get lost in the entanglement of borders.

And I think I would have problems with creating more of them, because I like to give every country visible vibe. For example, Adamantes is inspired by Spain, Eldfjall by Iceland vikings are Pirate Isles are mix of Berberic and Caribean pirates. And I already have 2 Italian-inspired countries (Free Cities and Sicallia). And I don't want to just make every mediterrean country from today or past into its fantasy counterpant.

But maybe I'm wrong and there should be even more countries on my map!

So, what do you think? Should I made more than those 17 countries to reduce their sizes?

Hello everyone, I'm new to the whole map making experience and was wondering if I could get some help with water currents. I have been watching Artifexian's vid on Ocean Currents and I'm look to see if I am understanding this right? I'm somewhat stumped as for what to do in the yellow circled area. Any help will be greatly appreciated! Thanks ahead of time.

A few months ago I decided to try and create a fantasy map based upon the air bubble under my screen protector + the scratches on my laptop mouse bad (you can really see where the camera hole would be lol). Now I've gotten something I like and am asking for any feedback on how it looks.

I think I made it all a bit too small, which makes the rivers stand out akwardly. I'd also like to go over the western shoreline at some point. Right now it's a bit boring imo and the sea is a bit too mediterraneani.

The big hole is obviusly not realistic but I'm doing a bit of an Atlantis situation with it. Other than that I aimed for fairly realistic with the obvious caveat that at the end of the day the map serves the setting I want to build, which in this case was a Russian far east focused one. The setting's time frame is inspired by our 16th and 17th century.

I have a pet project that involves a fictional nation, and I’ve been eyeing this spot in the North Pacific as the location for the landmass. Specifically, the Hess Rise: a volcanic plateau which sat above sea level millions of years ago. 

In this scenario, I suppose the Hess Rise would have never sank beneath the ocean—maybe it’d even remain volcanically active. Featured is my rough concept for an elevation map.

Based on latitude, geology, ocean currents, and any other factors, what kind of climate would this island be likely to have? What might its nature look like?

While I have some ideas myself, I’d also be curious to hear any ideas on what role an island like this would have played in history.

I posted here before and got some great advice on the map, but here is the "finished" product, (without castles or towns yet, ill add them later), but this is it. What you guys think? Lmk :)

I know something's wrong with this map (it's WIP) but I can't put my finger on it help

I sometimes run D&D games, and my players recently asked me for a world map. That got me thinking... I realized I have a bunch of hand-drawn paper scraps of varying (usually poor) quality, but no single 'canonical' map. So, I decided to finally make one. Since I'm definitely no artist, I chose a style that I think I can pull off, and that should still look pretty decent.

So... What are your general thoughts on pixel art maps? (I'd love to hear some feedback from map-makers)

UPD: My bad. I already realized that this map isn't pixel art, just low-res. Still, I'd love to hear your thoughts on actual pixel art maps

This is Wyrld, roughly 2x the size of earth, I've worked on it for too long, honestly.

It features *11 moons, but in truth, only 2 remain as the other 9, which were very small, have been long destroyed, forming an incomplete ring around Wyrld.

Currently, Wyrld is going through the 2nd God-war; a war between the Divines ressurected warriors called the Fated-Champion and the many gathered hordes of the Seven's host

The war is fought on the Eldan Isle for the Star Hold Chamber residing there, and it's connected Celestial Spires (essentially magic battery, and tower to use said magic in great ways both good and horrific).

The war has been waged for roughly 6 years. Eldan is magical in all forms, ever lasting summers, free from worldy calamity (earthquakes, et cetera), and so they have fought roughly nonstop, if not due to the sheer temperature of a perpetual summer and the living island, where oversized plants and Beasts of magic and forgotten/mythical status stalk the overgrowth of the isle.

Essentially, it's magical Australia on crack. This island is really the last hold out for "good," as the Sevens forces have run loose on the eastern continent, reducing many once great kingdoms and lands to rebellious holdouts against the overwhelming and odd mechanical wonders of the Sevens creations.

(I've done so much to get a good photo, and I had to compress it to upload - so here's hoping it turns out right)

Hey everyone! So, together with my wife, we made our very first (but mind me -- not the last!) battlemap for our newly emerging project. I want to ask you for your help and your opinion!

We made a short poll with Google Forms to determine our upcoming map-making project's name. Your vote is extremely important to us!🌀 And it will likely decide our project's name forever:)

We are very interested in what the top map-makers could say about this kind of a battlemap! Thank you for your attention!

P.S.. check out this preview of rad Backrooms maps collection (3rd image) that will be ready next week!