Designing the Map - Stage 1

 Firstly we wanted to come up with many of different ideas. Stuarts designs can be seen on his blog, as we did this at the same time, coming up with separate ideas and choosing the best to go forward with between us.

Stage 1: Map 1

I started by experimenting with many basic, quick ideas, we knew we needed a North, East South and West, with a 'Center' land that would be a prison. My first design was more Middle Earth inspired, but I wanted to break up the land more. 

Stage 1: Map 2

This map was a little more spread out, giving more sea and space between the lands, which would explain why some areas where more developed than others. This I took from the real world as we have many further and less developed countries like it, and Lord of the Rings does not. However it still seemed very cramped, and close.

Stage 1: Map 3

With this map I was getting closer to the design I wanted, the more spaced out it got the more I liked it, the areas of water broke up the land nicely so I decided to keep pushing this idea. 

Stage 1: Map 4

In this one I started considering how the land looked, and what it said. the North being big and daunting (as it is the most powerful continent, with intent to capture more land) and the south seeming oppressed by the other continents above it. This was a nice idea and something I wanted to further, however I wanted to start adding more detail. 

Stage 1: Map 5

This was the final stage of my basic ideas. The world was starting to look how I wanted it too. So I decided to start the next stage.