Inrucko my old friend....mapping may seem like a simple task, that anyone can achieve. Well in a sense yes, but if you want a good job done, you need some sense of the environment and probably some nice icons as well as edges for certain turfs when you are switching from one to the other...this always gives a nicer flow and effect to it. As for iconning, there are two ways. Either A, born with a natural gift and feel for it or B, develop your skills through practice. If you want to look for some tutorials on pixel art, google search it or look on the Byond Pixel Art Society:

http://members.byond.com/PixelArt