Recent Maps in a Long Journey

[JSP]

Over the years, my wandering efforts at mapmaking have come quite a long way from the humble beginnings as a middleschool fantasy cartographer to whatever I am today. (Older and wiser? Probably just the same old kid at heart...) The first map is one I drew in the style I still use, the original that was tragically stolen amongst other things three years ago. It is simple graphite on a cotton based paper, nothing too special. I thought I would post it to serve as a basis for what I now do.



The second one, the basis for a book I wrote several years back, is the same method above but retouched with india ink. Over the entire thing, I used an amber shellac to age it and seal the paper. For whatever reason, the light reflected differently on the edges and a few spots in the centre giving it the look of a shoddy treatment, but it is actually entirely covered. This map represents one of the three styles I still practise, although I have refined several of my techniques since. I use it primarily for larger scale maps, meaning kingdoms or continents or the like.



Next is a style dedicated to countryside and villages, using a more rustic approach that can accommodate farmlands and buildings. As an afterthought, I added the windmill and wall to the bottom corner, as well as the directional arrow in the top left. This map was the home village to one of the characters introduced later in the same work as used the above map, although this location has no relation (on a separate continent).



Finally, the above depicts the third style, used for cities. With the same technique of india ink and shellac on a cotton paper, this is the first map with which I did not begin with a pencil drawing. It is a prison island that is visible on the second map on the middle left (northern of the pair). I took some liberties with the runes, using the elder futhark set to write the short verse below the title, and I am generally pleased with the result.



I wrote a post on my blog that details the transformation of my style over the years since I first began. Here's a link if anyone is interested.

Thanks for looking, and any feedback would be much appreciated.


JSP