I use a combination of tools when making maps, I've always been a fan of Inkarnate, but recently it was suggested to me make use of more traditional drawing software, and so I downloaded Krita. This map is a combination of both, I made the rough draft on Inkarnate, but I went back and redid the outlines, making adjustments as and when necessary. In all honesty, I have no idea how I did the border effect, and I probably couldn't replicate it with a gun to my head.

Something about 'Select Opaque', I think. Somebody who knows Krita better than I do could probably do it, but it's all sorcery (and not the kind I'm familiar with) to me.

With the draft in place, I already have ideas about what I want and where. If it wasn't already obvious, I plan for the central continent to be the core location of the story, though most likely broken up into many, many nations. I'm feeling a political drama element, à la Game of Thrones, though perhaps not to the same depth.