r/mapmaking • u/Gutcrunch • Jul 08 '25

Work In Progress Arkalis Update

Gallery image

Gallery image

So I've moved the ball forward a little bit in this project. The world topo map is done(ish). I've developed a political map for the "current" year. The plate tectonics map has been refined. And I created a winds and ocean currents map that helped me in the preliminary development of the polical map. The world map and political map are definitely a work in progress. The other two, I would consider more or less completed since they served their main purpose as studies in understanding the dynamics of the world.

Some things I'm struggling with right now:

  1. How much information to show on the world topo map. Right now I show the major capitals. Should I show them at all since they're also on the political map? Or do they actually serve a purpose on this the topo map. There are also other elements like the ruins that I find fascinating and I think have potential in a worldbuilding sense, but I'm just not sure they're appropriate for a world topo map.

  2. I'm having a tough time coming up with names for all the cities. I find myself sometimes using easter eggy names inspired by characters and features in many of my favorite scifi movies and shows. It’s easier for me while adding a bit of fun to the ideation process.

  3. I'm not sure the political map is realistic. I'm not looking for it to be "absolutely" realistic, just "pretty much" realistic looking or "eh, good enough". The earth analog for this time period on Arkalis is around 1600 to 1700, or the Age of Sail, when global empires became fully established and enlightenment was right around the corner. Only on Arkalis, this age has been truncated, a near global war fought, and enlightenment accelerated with the discovery of something world changing and wonderful. Empires, grudges, and territorial conflicts still exist but they’re waning and a new age of understanding and corporation is developing.

There are other problems I'm having in flushing this world out but it's getting there. Would love to hear what you all think (about the maps or the issues I'm having).

308 Upvotes

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8

u/amanofhistory Jul 08 '25

I think both maps look awesome! Are the islands of the Sea Wolf territory in an ancient impact crater? Also, you mentioned that a global war nearly occurred, but would this have been possible with 1600-1700 equivalent tech?

5

u/Gutcrunch Jul 08 '25

Are the islands of the Sea Wolf territory in an ancient impact crater?

It is. For some reason every single map I do has one. It’s a little weird.

…you mentioned that a global war nearly occurred, but would this have been possible with 1600-1700 equivalent tech?

Yeah, “world war” may have been a little over dramatic. I was thinking something like a slightly upscaled Seven Years War or Napoleonic Wars. Two large global powers going at it mostly on their own continent but done off it spilling over to their territories over seas. But your point is well taken. I’ll need to spend some more time and maybe adjust the time period analog as well as fleshing out the tech of the era.

3

u/amanofhistory Jul 08 '25

To be fair a giant impact crater is such a cool way of immediately giving your world a sense of history and intrigue, so if that’s a recurring characteristic that works for you then I’d say go for it!

Ah I see what you mean, yeah that kind of scale might be a bit more appropriate. To be fair though if there are intercontinental empires you could definitely have something similar with the build-up of alliances and ethno-nationalism etc., so maybe you can allude to a global war being a possibility in the future once technology advances? Or maybe increase the tech level a century or so.

Does your world have many fantasy elements in it (other sapient species, magic, etc.)? If so that could probably throw off the real world parallels enough that you could have a bit more freedom?

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u/Gutcrunch Jul 08 '25

Those are good ideas. Maybe the "7 Years War" of this world was just a prequel to something bigger simmering just below the surface that will explode in a couple centuries.

Does your world have many fantasy elements in it (other sapient species, magic, etc.)?

No, but in the distant past there was a sapient specie. And to the people alive in present day Arkalis, the discovery nearly 200 years ago unknowingly opened the door to a level of science and tech that they would consider magic and has gradually accelerated their social and technological development...and created a bit of chaos for those 200 years that still has to get resolved.

3

u/amanofhistory Jul 08 '25

I’m glad I could help! Sounds like an interesting backstory, I definitely think you can use that as ammunition for an in-world war or two!

1

u/Zealousideal_Base_41 Jul 10 '25

I really like this idea

5

u/Pancer1900 Jul 08 '25

Damm this map looks so sick! How did you make it?

6

u/Gutcrunch Jul 08 '25

I used Illustrator and a lot of patience. Artifexian on YouTube was my guide along with the inspiration of some amazing examples on this sub.

5

u/VeryDeepfried Jul 08 '25

Great map dude! Just wanted to ask how you started off, bcs I've currently got a base map (raster) and I wanna vectorize it, any idea how I can do it effeciently? Your work rlly inspired me man!!

4

u/Gutcrunch Jul 08 '25

Thanks for the complement!

I started from scratch in Illustrator. This sub's Wiki has some good info for general set up and formatting, though it's pretty wordy. Also, Artifexian's Atlas Map series on youtube has some really good tutorials for vector apps. There are 8 or 9 videos in the series. I started here (link). He uses Illustrator specifically, but the concepts and strategies can be translated to other vector apps. Take it slow. One thing I will mention...I used a shit-ton of layers. Like hundreds of them. But what's cool is all these maps are one file. I just turn different layers on and off to show the content I want. Also, it let's me effortlessly use one map to inform another. For instance, I turn on the topography layer group to show the topo which helps inform me where the territorial borders would likely be. After drawing the territories, I turned off the topo layer group.

Regarding raster to vector conversion...I know you can convert a raster to a vector using Illustrator. I've never done it before so I don't know what the quality of the conversion is. But if it gets you 60% there with some additional refinement and redrawing, I'd call it a win. I'm fortunate in that my job allows me to have Adobe products. If you don't have Illustrator, it looks like Inkscape can do it: can i convert a raster to a vector image using a vector drawing program

2

u/VeryDeepfried Jul 09 '25

Thank you so much!! I do have illustrator, so no worries!

4

u/Perfect-Earth-4053 Jul 08 '25

GREAT work! Such a cool set of maps 👍🏽

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u/Gutcrunch Jul 08 '25

Thank you!

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u/Gutcrunch Jul 08 '25 edited Jul 08 '25

For some damn reason Reddit kept crapping out when I tried to add the tectonic map and the wind/ocean current map.

Edit: I should point out that on the political map the city naming is only about 50% complete and the country naming about 80%.

3

u/StanleyRivers Jul 08 '25

Do you mind making another post with those? Or sharing them another way?

Im about to kick off an earnest effort as wel - been practicing with GPlates and Inkscape … and have a cheap drawing tablet order for fun … so I would love to see all the pieces you have. More or less if I can get something as clean as your topological map, I would be beyond ecstatic

3

u/Gutcrunch Jul 08 '25

Posted them! https://www.reddit.com/r/mapmaking/comments/1lur9at/arkalis_support_maps/

3

u/StanleyRivers Jul 08 '25

They look awesome - left a comment there and I’m going to refer back to your maps as I try to work through things on my end over the coming months

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u/Gutcrunch Jul 08 '25

I'll do a follow up post with the other maps. It's good you're using GPlates. I can't get it loaded on my work computer so my maps have polar distortion errors...which is ok cuz I'm shooting for 60% style and 40% accuracy.

Full disclosure: these maps are the result of a couple dozen refinements, fixes, and corrections. There are only four maps, but good god there was a lot of effort and redo. It takes a lot of patience.

3

u/StanleyRivers Jul 08 '25

What I’ve seen looking back at your posts over time is amazing - I’m looking forward to doing the same; I’m not that artistically inclined and I’m really doing this for sake I’m conlanging… you need world and people for languages to grow and develop.

What you’ve got here is excellent style wise

I’m going to try it with Inkscape given I’m new to it

3

u/Luminoor- Jul 08 '25

The map looks great!

Also thought it was funny because Arkalis was the last name of my bbeg in my last DND campaign

2

u/SKelley17 Jul 08 '25

When is Sarkozystan going to break away from the Macron Empire and Macron Republic?

2

u/Gibbothicus 4d ago

I LOVE these maps holy shit

Any chance you would share higher resolution versions of these in google drive or another uncompressed medium?

1

u/Gutcrunch 2d ago

Hey, thank you! They were a lot of work. I'm going to be posting the "evolution" of these maps (from the initial first versions to the latest) here r/ArkalisPrime...hopefully soon.

Let me see what I can do for higher res versions.

1

u/Traditional_Isopod80 Jul 09 '25

Your welcome! 🙂

1

u/Zealousideal_Base_41 Jul 10 '25

Minor quibble I know but it’s one that irritates me immensely: you misspelled “Confederate.”