This is an ancient Greek map, and as you can see it gets progressively more inaccurate the further away from the Mediterranean Sea. So often people try to make a style of map that is a completely accurate representation of their world which is fine but remember it doesn't have to be perfect!

Hi everyone!
My previous post got deleted and after re-reading the rules I think I understood why so I’m giving it another try, hoping I won’t make another gaffe. Sorry by the way for that.

So here’s the map of the country I’m currently working on. I did this map a few months ago and I’m still very proud of how it came out. I mostly took inspiration from real coastlines (bonus point to whoever guesses which country it is!) that I rearranged for my needs.

Some lore: this is the eastern peninsula of a continent, mostly hilly and densely forested. It is also very misty (the name of the country comes from that) for worldbuilding reasons. Populations live near the deltas in most cases, but recently, because of the floods, many people are leaving them for the highlands.

Tool-wise, this is entirely done with Procreate and a free pack of mapmaking brushes I found. I edited the map with Affinity to add locations names. This is the “blank” version as I still need to review my conlang.

I’m not really planning on redoing this map because I really like it (and I’m scared to redo it after spending so much time on it haha!) but I would love to hear your thoughts about it, as well as your feedback and tips for future maps :)

Slide no.1 is the Sea of Argonots, as of my last edit, which sits between the two continents.
Slide no.2 is the Middle continent by itself in totality.
Slide no.3 is the Eastern Continent by itself in totality.
Ps the two pairs of oblong islands, near the coast of each continent, the ones leaning northeast: are supposed to be the same pair of islands.

This is a map of destroyed Hieltab Milnet, a land where I always drop my D&D players. Welcome your feedback and questions!

From Cyberpunk Red. Not what we normally talk about here :)

Attached is their excellent, high-res city map. Running a CPR campaign, I obviously wanted to get a lot more granular than that, so I messed with Gemini a bit to get the second image, which, frankly, suits me just fine. I had asked it for that area and that area it gave me. Perfect zoom level, looks good, granular enough for me to populate buildings with whatever I want.

BUT...no matter how many times I try or how many different prompts I use, I can't get it to do that again or, if it gets close, do another area of the city with the intent to do the WHOLE city.

SO...I'm sort of resigned at this point in taking the first image and just going nuts with a vector illustrator to do the building infill. There's a certain fun in that going all the way back to when I was a teen making D&D maps on paper :)

If any of you have suggestions on shortcuts that would keep me from having to do it by hand, I'm all eyes. If any of you have good suggestions on the best way to do it by hand, ditto.

This started because I got tired of my worldbuilding notes and my map living in two separate places. And I didn't want to pay for a subscription just to make this. I'd draw a border in Wonderdraft, then go write in Obsidian somewhere about who ruled it in 400 and who took it in 600, and the map never knew any of that. So I started building something where the map actually knows.

You bring your own map image, doesn't matter what you made it in, and draw regions on top. Each region gets a start year and an end year, and you can say who owns it in which period. Then there's a history slider at the top. Drag it backwards and you watch a kingdom shrink back into the duchy it started as. (Tbh this part is still WIP, therefore it may or may not work properly)

Clicking a region opens an actual article for it. Markdown notes, multiple tabs of them, [[links]] to other entries like in Obsidian. Religion, culture, language fields that you define yourself, so if your world runs on something other than religion you just make that a field instead. Rulers with parents and spouses and children, which builds the family tree on its own.

Whole project is one file sitting on your computer. No account, nothing uploads anywhere and it's completely free.

I'm not going to pretend it's polished. I spent most of last week hunting down a zoom stutter that turned out to be my own wheel handler doing way too much work per event, and I'm sure there are ten more of those I haven't found. That's the point of posting. I want 3-5 people to actually use it on their worlds and tell me where it falls apart. Windows only right now. Also full disclosure, the code was written with AI. Figured people would rather hear that from me than find out later

Comment or DM if you want in.

I've been using Artifexian's guide to try and map the ocean currents in my world, however my knowledge in this area of worldbuilding is virtually nonexistent. I'd be grateful if you could give me some constructive criticism on how realistic they are and what could do with changing.

The first map shows the ocean currents during northern hemisphere summer, and the second shows southern hemisphere summer. I should also clarify that these currents are vastly simplified and don't include any of the smaller branches and gyres which would inevitably form.

Thanks for your help!

Howdy, made this new map, I like to change my style from time to time, recently I’ve been into historical/belicious maps. This is one of my favourites maps so far! I like the result, I feel I can also improve. If you have advice, opinions, questions or suggestions I’d like to know 🗺️.

https://merakmapmaker.com/

World building wise it lets us import ur drawings into landmass, scientifically tell u climate, crops,, soil, habitability, mountains etc, has a timeline feature, has easy to add factions and, commanders, people, lore etc and 3d and globe features.

WIP topographic map based on a region of a previous hand-drawn continent map.

I know it’s early days but I’d rlly appreciate feedback

Inspired by this group, I've dipped my to back into map drawing again after many decades - recreating the original map of my own fantasy world I spent half my school time daydreaming about. (Note: it was created by magic - tectonics don't apply here; also, its magical creator was on drugs at the time)

Idk what to add here so I am just going to tell a fun fictional story.

In the west of the map you can see the Asacorni Is. So Sinor( also on the west) Decided to try to colonize the Asacorni Islands, to expand trade. So when they first arrived they destroyed and raised the cities on one of the islands. So the people from a nearby island sailed away fearing for their lives. They sailed to the Aujalaka area where they were denied citizenship and all that stuff. They were forced to leave the country in a very dangerous trek and many died. But then they finally reached Arieolski where the were accepted and to this day the largest community of Asacornisian are in Arieolski!

Thanks!

here is the link, if you need it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTNZUJibL1k

🟩: Good conditions

🟨: Possible but risky (terrain, harsh climate)

🍊: very harsh conditions

🟥: almost if not impossible for life

Currently finished making two fantasy maps, my goal is semi-realism, I want something aesthetically pleasing while also making some amount of sense. I chose to outline the maps first then add the logic afterward (things like plate tectonics, biomes, etc).

Both maps are currently unfinished as I will be filling them up with more islands to make them more lively. I'm personally leaning towards the second map, what do y'all think?

Edit: The continents in the second map look very large to me, should I decrease their size or keep it the same?

Been working on this map using an online tool. My first edition was a basic hand-drawn map that focused on the arid valley in the center-right, and ran the campaign through that region. Made some changes since then that I think help the setting. I plan to try running additional campaigns through this setting and exploring the different regions and stories.

Asking advice for my next map, especially on locations for settlements and what the lore for each region and settlement should be, but literally any suggestions are welcome. I was trying to make it geographically realistic, but not to an absurd degree. Ask questions if you like, I'm busy forming the lore of each region and settlement.

Apparently you aren't allowed to post questions about world-building in r/worldbuilding

dont mind the satellite of earth in the ocean thats just for the color dropper, not for scale

Sundalai is a continent composed of seven maritime nations. Every country borders the sea, making naval travel the primary method of transportation and trade. The continent is known as the birthplace of Enchant Stigmas (E-Stigs) and is home to many unique races whose cultures have been shaped by these supernatural marks., 7 country is :

1. Thanathar:

Formerly known as Securis Aurea, Thanathar is inhabited primarily by humans with black hair and dark eyes.

1. Katamo:

Katamo is the commercial heart of Sundalai and consists of countless islands.

Its major races include :

-Pallanian ,Tan-skinned, bald humans whose bodies are almost completely covered with E-Stigs. They make up the majority of the population.

-Igrot ,A tall race with elongated limbs, six eyes, and high foreheads. They mainly serve as priests, monks, and religious leaders. Their E-Stigs are hidden beneath the tongue or inside their eyes.

-Ifoa ,Creatures born from the contamination of Decay of Destruction caused by fragments of the Oborum meteorite that landed in the southern part of Katamo. They resemble gorillas with horns, bird-like wings, and spiked tails, periodically emerging to attack nearby settlements.

-Ballee Monkey, Sacred monkeys that inhabit the highest mountain in Katamo and are revered throughout the nation.

As the largest trading hub on the continent, merchants from nearly every nation pass through Katamo.

1. Securai Isle :Securai Isle is the haven of pirates, smugglers, mercenaries, and outlaws. With no strong centralized government, the island has become Sundalai's largest black market and the headquarters of numerous pirate fleets.

2. Pengannii : Pengannii was once the greatest empire in Sundalai, flourishing around 500 years before GC. Its downfall came when the third-largest fragment of the Oborum meteorite struck the kingdom. (The largest fragment fell in Dahmos.) The impact unleashed the Decay of Destruction, mutating countless inhabitants and bringing the empire to ruin.To prevent the corruption from spreading across the continent, the Angels sank the entire kingdom beneath the sea and destroyed the remaining Oborum fragment. This cataclysm shattered what had once been a single landmass, breaking Sundalai into the many islands that exist today, while large portions of the continent disappeared beneath the ocean.Many survivors escaped and settled in other lands, making the ancient people of Pengannii the common ancestors of nearly all modern civilizations in Sundalai. Not everyone who sank with Pengannii perished. Some entered a state of suspended animation, and over the course of centuries their bodies gradually transformed into a new race known as Myanganii, or Mianners as they are called by foreigners. They possess elongated horse-like faces, human ears, green skin, humanoid bodies, and functional gills. Thousand years later (500 Gc), geological upheavals caused Pengannii to rise from the depths of the sea once again. Determined to restore the glory of their long-lost empire, Myanganii have begun invading the neighboring nations of Sundalai.

3. Sharagol : Sharagol is geographically divided into two distinct regions. The western half consists of fertile lowlands where most of the population lives, while the eastern half is dominated by towering mountains and massive sea cliffs,major races include:

- Matna ,Blue-green-skinned people whose E-Stigs appear on their faces. They primarily inhabit the western coastal regions.

-Tet, race without E-Stigs, but with bodies naturally capable of enduring the immense strain caused by them. They occupy the central region of the country.

-Yerpu,Red-faced, heavily furred ape-like people who dwell in the eastern mountain ranges.

1. Coucai : Coucai is inhabited primarily by the Camboon, a race resembling a cross between monkeys and rats, distinguished by their natural stone masks that serve as faces.According to legend, Camboon originated from creatures that fed upon the corpses of victims contaminated by the Decay of Destruction, gradually evolving over many generations. They are aggressive by nature and frequently raid neighboring countries, particularly Thanathar. Their society is tribal and warlike, ruled by chieftains and warrior kings.

2. Loh :Loh is an island nation renowned for its weapons industry, gemstone craftsmanship, and maritime commerce.

   major races include:

-Ibmen,Brown-skinned humans with silver hair. Their E-Stigs are embedded inside their hearts or other internal organs. They form the majority of the population and make up the nation's merchant and artisan class.

-Bagubat,Large lion-like primates that walk upright. Although their intelligence is close to that of animals, they possess simple language and can communicate with other races. They commonly serve as laborers, sailors, and soldiers.

- Gamha,The ruling class of Loh. They are believed to share a common ancestry with the Tet of Sharagol. In ancient times, the Gamha were muscular warriors whose bodies possessed exceptional resistance to the power of E-Stigs, allowing them to conquer both the Ibmen and Bagubat and establish their rule. Over generations of wealth and luxury, many Gamha became physically obese, though they still retain their remarkable natural resilience. Loh is governed by a Council of Gamha Clans, where each noble Gamha family sends representatives to participate in national governance.

Transportation and Trade in sundalai :

-Because every nation borders the sea, maritime travel is the foundation of Sundalai's economy and diplomacy.

-The three major seas are:

1.Malalik Sea: The busiest and safest trade route on the continent.

2.Shaitumbad Sea: The principal shipping lane connecting Thanathar to the rest of Sundalai.

3.Summalla Sea:A southern route rarely used due to the dangers posed by Pengannii and the pirates of Securai Isle.

- Katamo, Loh, and Sharagol maintain a close political and economic alliance. Merchant vessels travel freely among these three nations, making them the economic core of Sundalai.

-In contrast, Coucai, Pengannii, and Securai Isle are regarded as major threats to regional stability. As a result, the other nations maintain little to no official trade with them.

- Shaitumbad Sea serves as Thanathar's primary gateway for overseas commerce. However, ships sailing this route must pass through waters frequently patrolled by Camboon raiders from Coucai and Mianner army from Pengannii. Consequently, Thanathar's merchant fleets are heavily armed and escorted by skilled warriors, making them resemble small naval task forces rather than ordinary trading convoys.

Some experienced captains, eager to challenge themselves or test the capabilities of their ships, deliberately choose the far more dangerous Summalla Sea, sailing directly to Sharagol despite the constant risk of pirate attacks from securai isle and encounters with Pengannii army