This tutorial assumes you already have a basic knowledge of the graphics program you are using (Layers, etc)
In the tutorial, I am using Inkscape (which I would recommend) but there are lots of other good graphic programs which would work just as well. (Paint.NET and GIMP are two other free ones that I have used in the past).
Also remember, this should be taken as a rough guide and you don't have to stick with everything I say. After all, it's your own map!
1. Set Up Your Canvas
I started by adding a background layer of blue and locking the layer. (It's always good to get into the habit of locking layers that you're not using in order to prevent accidental damage to other parts of the map)
Create a new layer, named "Land" or something similar. There are two ways you can go with this. You can either draw the proper outline of the country and leave it at that or you can draw a more basic outline and fractalize (or apply some other sort of filter) it if you wish. Because I am making a very random country that has no specific shape right now, I'm just going to draw a random circular shape. You can then change the border colour to whatever you like and fill it in which whatever colour you like.
If you used the method of drawing the outline of the country as it is then you can most likely skip this step, but if you chose the option of a basic outline then this is what you are probably going to want to do. Making sure that your land is selected, go into "Extensions > Modify Path > Fractalize". (The fractalize or similar functions may be located somewhere else depending on which program you are using) A dialogue should appear. In here you can fiddle with the different options. Press OK to apply it and, if you don't like it then you can Undo it (Ctrl+Z on Windows or just Edit > Undo) and try again with different settings.
Now you can lock the land layer and make a new layer called "Higher Land". On here you can draw some areas where the land will be higher such as hills, general higher land, or areas around mountains. You can then apply a border and background to these - it is probably best if it is the same general colour as the background but darker.
You can now lock the "Higher Land" layer and make "Highest Land" layer. On here you can draw the highest areas, which will generally be inside the higher areas. You can apply a border and background like before but darker than the areas in the "Higher" layer.
You can now, if you want to, add rivers. If you're going for something realistic then try to remember the rules of river placement. This step is not necessary as you may not want rivers. If you do add them then you can do it in a new layer called "Rivers" and in a light blue colour.
On a new layer named "Cities" or something similar, you can now place small circles onto the map where some of the main cities are. Remember that cities will mainly be around the coast and, a lot of the time, on rivers. If there is a really big city then you can get clusters of cities close to each other. There are usually also lots of areas where there are much fewer cities than other places. Also avoid mountainous areas as there are not likely any cities around the base, and especially on, mountains.
This step is entirely optional as your concountry may not have roads at all! But if it does then you can now mark roads of a new layer named "Roads". Remember that the roads shouldn't just be straight lines (unless they were specifically build that way which would be a bit ... miraculous) Also there are more likely to be roads around major cities than smaller towns etc. I'm going to do two types of roads: bigger roads and smaller roads and I'll do them on two different layers. Also, try to make sure that the layer(s) with the roads on are below the layer with the city plots on them.
You can now add a new layer called "Labels" and go over labelling everything that needs labelling. The cities, oceans/seas, mountains, anything that you feel needs labelling. You can vary sizes and colours of labels to show what is bigger, smaller or more important than other things if you want.
If you'd like you can add a scale on a new layer called "Scale".
You can always go back and easily change things due to the layers being clearly laid out.
Please remember this is just a rough guide and you can change it up as much as you wish.
Here are some other ideas for things you could add to the map:
- Different counties/regions within the country
- Different water routes for boats, ferries, etc
- Locations of specific services (e.g airports if your concountry/conworld has them)
- You could name & label some of the main roads
And happy mapping.