Crestaria and Dorlund

Imaginitively named after the two most prominent cities of the two land masses, this map shows some experimentation with a more simplistic and illustrative style than the more representational style I've come to use more often. See what adventures await by supporting MicroDwarf on Patreon!

I do like how the desert iconography is clear and legible. Using labels to denote swamps seems a bit uninspired, but I've still yet to find a really good way to convey wetlands well.

This style of drawing trees has its upsides and downsides. On one hand, drawing a bunch of individual trees is more time-consuming than drawing my normal cloud of treetops. On the other, I think this method is much more communicative with the type of forest in question. Those are clearly deciduous forests in the middle band there, and evergreens up north.

Mountains! What can I say about the mountains. Well, it's obviously much easier to draw them this way, and it has a certain kind of charm. I imagine this would be something an adventurer or cartographer-on-the-go would draw up, not having the time to do the fancy ridgelines and shading. I'm not going to put it away entirely, but my eye will always prefer the busier and more realistic style.

I'm still experimenting with oceans. It's clear that they can be a dangerous amount of whitespace if not utilized properly, hence the preponderance of wave lines. I want to try adding more character to my maps, though, and adding clouds, serpents, ships, and the like seem like the perfect way to do that. Speaking of, get used to that googly-eyed fellow up in the top there, he'll be a permanent fixture in the terrain maps. But who could say no to him?!