Battlemap Commission - Traditional Fantasy Setting

[Raic]

Introduction/background:
I have been a regular visitor but infrequent contributor to this site since I joined. The reason being, short of following a detailed step by step tutorial to create relatively decent looking world maps, (Using Ascensions most excellent tutorial for example), I am not very good at creating the more detailed maps. So with that, I decided to offer up what I can afford in the hopes that one of the far more talented cartographers on this forum would be gracious enough to create some maps that I need for an ongoing table top role playing campaign that I am running.

Project Scope:
Two battle maps for personal use in a Middle Earth RP setting. I am assuming the creation of these maps falls under artistic interpretation and if not reproduced for commercial gain do not fall under any copyright infringement to the Tolkien Estate. As I am not very clear on such laws if the request does infringe on any copyright laws then please let me know and I will withdraw the request post haste.

Description of Maps:

Setting 1 –

A small keep/donjon built atop a hill in the open lands between the kingdoms of Arthedain and Rhudaur similar in style that would be commonly found in Medieval England, Ireland, or Scotland. The original keep would have been constructed at a time of peace with a connecting crenelated wall and towers added to the property over the centuries. The inner yard would contain additional structures commiserate with such a setting. A water source is present such as a well or retention area to capture seasonal rains. There is no source of running water, natural pond or lake in the region. A roadway winds and snakes up the hillside to a gatehouse built into the outer wall.

At the bottom of the hill the roadway dissects a small settlement. This settlement arose due to the protection afforded by the castle as well as providing shelter for persons carving out a livelihood in service to said castle. It should be rustic in nature and contain no more than a half dozen buildings including homes. One building serves as an inn for people traveling to and fro between the more populous cities and settlements scattered throughout the realms of Arthedain, Cardolan, and Rhudaur.

Setting 2 –

The Tower and Fortress of Amul Sul. A detailed description of the layout and features can be found in the attached supporting material.

Technical:

Final Print Size – 3’ by 4’ – the maps can be designed at half size 18” by 24” and I will enlarge by 200% upon imaging.

Scale: 1” = 5’ at 3’ by 4’ and ½” = 10’ at 18” by 24” – after reading the attached layout of Amon Sul you will note that the entire area of the fortress will not fit on an 18” by 24” page. I recommended 18” by 24” thinking it would help to keep the file sizes more manageable and honestly I am not sure what the largest available canvass size is in the various design programs. Now that I think of it the remote castle and small settlement may not fit on in a single 18” by 24” area. My initial thought was that the layouts would need to be split over two 18” by 24” sheets. As you can see, I will need guidance on how to tackle this problem should a person take on this commission.

Resolution: 300 dpi at 18” by 24”

Format: Jpeg, Tiff, or EPS. I leave it to your expertise on which format to use. Basically, whichever one retains the highest image quality upon saving.

Transfer of files: Via an FTP upload to a server that I will provide

Number of Maps and Style:

Setting 1 – Frontier Castle

I envision this map as needing to be nothing more than grayscale. I am looking for a generic style so to speak with elevation lines and fairly realistic features, though I do not need it cluttered with a lot of objects beyond the walls, buildings, road, well etc… I would like for it to be an everyday map that can be used in multiple settings as needed depending on who I am gaming with and where events are transpiring.

Two versions needed - One grayscale version with gridlines and one without.

Setting 2 – Amon Sul

This one is far more challenging as I would like this map to be in color and contain a greater level of detail.

4 versions

One color version without slate roofs and with gridlines and without – see attached descriptive material
One color version with slate roofs and with and without gridlines – see attached descriptive material

Copyright:
Remains with cartographer
These maps will not be published or reproduced for commercial gain by me. Thusly they will be for my personal use only. However, I do require written permission to reproduce the maps as needed for my personal use. Also, I would like permission to add in a name and building key as needed.

Deadline:

Setting 1 – by Thursday March 1st or by Wednesday March 21st

Setting 2 – By Monday April 30th

Design Process:

Stage 1 – initial concept sketch – once approved
Stage 2 – A 50% design development submittal for review – once approved
Stage 3 – A 90% design development submittal for review – once approved
Stage 4 – Final Maps

Payment:
$400.00, payable via Paypal upon delivery and acceptance of the final files. A $100.00 earnest payment will be made via Paypal to start if needed with the balance paid upon delivery and acceptance of the final files.

Contact:
For now via this thread and the Cartographer’s Guild messenger
Additional contact information will be provided should the project move forward