Mindfire
Istari
I'm making a new map and I want to have a fairly large archipelago. Any tips for making it look believable? Oddly enough I have an easier time drawing large land masses than small ones.
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Any tips for drawing islands?
- Thread starter Mindfire
- Start date
SomethingToPonder
Mystagogue
Im really no expert mate, and most people around here know im especially not an expert on drawing maps, however try looking at a map of the world.
what do all our islands have in common? They all seem to be different shapes, the majority of them are rather "hilly" or mountainous. look for similarities between them and you may see something there.
You can draw a basic shape outline any way you want your island to be.
Then if it has to have people living on it, they would need fresh water, a food source, perhaps there are caves somewhere?
Who knows, it is your world, and for everything that would not make sense in real life perhaps you could create something in your world to make it make sense. It is a story, and the best ones in my opinion are not about real life
Hope this helps.
what do all our islands have in common? They all seem to be different shapes, the majority of them are rather "hilly" or mountainous. look for similarities between them and you may see something there.
You can draw a basic shape outline any way you want your island to be.
Then if it has to have people living on it, they would need fresh water, a food source, perhaps there are caves somewhere?
Who knows, it is your world, and for everything that would not make sense in real life perhaps you could create something in your world to make it make sense. It is a story, and the best ones in my opinion are not about real life
Hope this helps.
If it's an island off the coast, I usually just rip it off the mainland, rotate it slightly and roughen the edges. It makes the coastline look better, too.
For an archipelago, start with the mountains or volcanoes the island form around. But I think the same trick applies - start with a big land mass, rip it apart.
For an archipelago, start with the mountains or volcanoes the island form around. But I think the same trick applies - start with a big land mass, rip it apart.
Saigonnus
Dark Lord
If I don't use the above technique (when making archipelagos for example) I tend to "shape" them similarly to a land feature from the nearby continents, from where they broke off from who knows how long in the past. That is the origin of many islands on our world so I figured it was a good way to go, though I am not an expert at map-making either.
On earth, anyhow, archepegalo's come in chains, which can extend for thousands of miles. However, the width of these chains tends to be on the narrow side. They often follow arcs, along fault lines, or moving volcanic hot spots (The 'Big Island' in Hawaii is the newest of the bunch, geologically speaking. Tiny, eroded Midway atoll is the most ancient.)
Rhizanthella
Mystagogue
Definitely use examples and know that there are no boundaries. If you need it to stick close to the natural world, just use your middle school science skills. Is it practical to have a river flowing up a volcano? No! Unless you have a special race of people or certain invention which might make it do that. Its hard to determine what is believable and what isn't sometimes when you're making a fantasy world. I'd say make it how you like it and then go back to make sure it makes sense. Show it to your friends and see if they understand it. Or just go with it and hope for the best. If you like it, someone else is bound to also.
SomethingToPonder
Mystagogue
What rhizanthella says really does make a lot of sense to me
Find some real island chains and change the size of individual islands, rotate them, move them around in order, etc.
Or perhaps find some area on earth dense with lakes and invert them where the lakes are islands. EX: https://maps.google.com/maps?q=cana...e=utf-8&client=firefox-a&hnear=Canada&t=h&z=9
Or perhaps find some area on earth dense with lakes and invert them where the lakes are islands. EX: https://maps.google.com/maps?q=cana...e=utf-8&client=firefox-a&hnear=Canada&t=h&z=9
topazfire
Master
Without getting too technical, you should consider how the islands were geologically created, as this will impact what they look like, what grows on them, and how similar they are to other nearby landmasses.
Hawaii (volcanic) was already noted above. Some islands have broken away from continents because they are on a different tectonic plate, so their shape may look like it fits into the continent. Some islands are coral based, usually with minimal topsoil (not great for farming, but lots of fish, bananas, and coconuts!), while other ancient volcanic islands (Jamaica, Cuba) have deep and rich fertile soil, undulating coastlines, and a variety of features.
Considering the direction of tradewinds will also inform the dry and wet sides of your island (windward side and leeward side), which has an effect on vegetation as well as seasonal weather patterns (clouds build up over landmasses). A great place to look for information is in the front section of a good atlas. There are always pictures and cross sections of islands and other geological features of the planet.
That being said - fantasy can be almost anything as long as you can justify it within the world that you have created! Have fun!
Hawaii (volcanic) was already noted above. Some islands have broken away from continents because they are on a different tectonic plate, so their shape may look like it fits into the continent. Some islands are coral based, usually with minimal topsoil (not great for farming, but lots of fish, bananas, and coconuts!), while other ancient volcanic islands (Jamaica, Cuba) have deep and rich fertile soil, undulating coastlines, and a variety of features.
Considering the direction of tradewinds will also inform the dry and wet sides of your island (windward side and leeward side), which has an effect on vegetation as well as seasonal weather patterns (clouds build up over landmasses). A great place to look for information is in the front section of a good atlas. There are always pictures and cross sections of islands and other geological features of the planet.
That being said - fantasy can be almost anything as long as you can justify it within the world that you have created! Have fun!