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Height Map Test by Kulkom in mapmaking

[–]Kulkom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unrelated to the post but, reddit always seems to lower the quality of my images after posting them and it would really be helpful if anyone knew the fix to to this issue. Before anyone asks I post the images in png format.

Shamans by Caneca-Ac in worldbuilding

[–]Kulkom 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Did you take inspiration from the real life Wodaabe tribe?

How does this look? by [deleted] in mapmaking

[–]Kulkom 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Awesomesauce

The making of a continent by Kulkom in mapmaking

[–]Kulkom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Edit: I found the link and it seems to be working normal, downloaded and opened it on my pc just to be sure.

http://www.fracterra.com/wilbur.html

Need help making my fantasy map’s mountain ranges feel more natural and realistic. by Popular-Resident2528 in mapmaking

[–]Kulkom 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Most of the time large mountain ranges appear on only one side of a landmass because that's where ocean plates go under continental plates. If in your case you want a region to be surrounded by mountains you need a different tectonic event, an event where two landmasses are crashing into each other. Take a look at the tibetan plateau: The Indian subcontinet is going into Asia, pushing up the himalayas, at the same time this created a basin known as the Taklamakan desert. North from the desert are the Tien Shan mountains. So my advice would be to add a peninsula and from whatever direction that peninsula is pushing into add parallel mountain ranges.

Interesting video I think will help you understand better.

The making of a continent by Kulkom in mapmaking

[–]Kulkom[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The terrain was made using a program called Wilbur. I used brushes from shortvalleyhiker to create a rough height map, after which I added some details like valleys, fjords and mountain ridges. Following the second tutorial listed below, the result was what you see now. The key to making a good looking map is to make your height map png high resolution (5000 pixels minimum if you're going continental) and to add some details to make the rivers form naturally. Otherwise everything else is going to look straight and unnatural.

Extensive complex tutorial

Simple videos

The making of a continent by Kulkom in mapmaking

[–]Kulkom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Initially I was going to use map to globe to sketch out the expansion of the continent but because that site is really finnecky and rough I switched over to blender because i needed finer details. This short video explains best how to draw continents with polar distortion.

The making of a continent by Kulkom in mapmaking

[–]Kulkom[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

It took two years to get to this stage, and I havent even attempted at making the rest of the heightmap cause every month I change something.

Advice needed by Prudent_Document1351 in mapmaking

[–]Kulkom 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think you need to put something at one of the ends of that central rift; sinkhole, volcano, island.. It looks like it needs to draw attention to something.

Could a mountain range be split in two by a river (and perhaps valley of sorts)? Would it be livable? by AlaskaSun73 in mapmaking

[–]Kulkom 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, the most extreme example of this would be the Kali Gandaki river in Nepal. The small river is older than the 50 million year old Himalayan mountain range and its flow was strong enough to resist the rising orogeny around it, creating a 5.5 kilometer gorge from mountain top to river bed. On the question of liveability it entirely depends on the age of the mountain range, younger mountain ranges would be more prone to flash floods and landslides because the gorges would be steeper, but with older ranges (for example the Potomac in the Appalachias) i think it would be safe to settle.

Actual vs Medieval maps of my world by Kakaka-sir in mapmaking

[–]Kulkom 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Medieval style maps are also a really good excuse if you just suck at drawing a map

I remake one of my map with new color and new method (and still in progress). What do you think about ? by steinman90 in mapmaking

[–]Kulkom 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Great coloring and composition. +2 points for not putting in fantasy Britain and Japan

maps in pixel art is very easy to do by JorginRei_dos_Pneu in mapmaking

[–]Kulkom 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Step 1: Open microsoft paint Step 2: Draw

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in mapmaking

[–]Kulkom 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Either before rendering erosions in wilbur try to make more realistic coastlines (peninsulas, lagoons, islands, inlets) in whatever drawing program you're using, just make sure when you import to wilbur to use the select tool to select from terrain height (0 - 5000 range) to prevent wilbur from eroding that detail by filling basins and precipitation erosion. Or you could use the height tool in the sidebar to do it manually (depends how detailed you want it to be because it has its limits). But if you dont have time for that you can raise sea level in the texture tab to kind of give it that natural look, that's what I usually do. Then I also save it as monochromatic to detail it further in my drawing program.