A convention in Atlanta completely changed how I think about scale on my maps

I was at the Dragon Con mapmaking panel last year, and a pro cartographer showed a map of a whole continent next to a zoomed-in section of a single valley. The valley had more detail than the entire continent. It made me realize I was drawing everything at the same detail level, which made my world feel small and fake. Now I'm torn between making super detailed local maps first or sketching the whole world to get the scale right. How do you guys usually handle the scale and detail problem?

2 comments

2 Comments

finley_lopez9826d ago

Feel like my maps are just zoomed in pictures of dirt.

elizabeth_gonzalez26d agoMost Upvoted

Ever tried adding a few clear landmarks, @finley_lopez98? It helps break up the ground and gives the eye something to follow. A simple road or river can totally change how a map feels.