A nice surprise

[Roger Mann]

Hi people, I'm new here but not new to maps. City maps are what I do for a living and the wealth of wonderful interpretations out there are a delight; Katherine Baxter is my herione but history flags up so many more. If i don't make a mess of it here's a low res sample of what I do. It would be nice to network with like-minded individuals so feedback please people.

[Greg]

Hi there Roger, That' s really lovely looking map you've got there! We don't get too many contemporary city maps done like this on here, and your linework and colours are excellent.

I'm sure you're going to fit right in, because whether professionals or hobbyists on here, we all just make mas because we want to and the community is so very welcoming and great at providing advice.

I look forwards to seeing more of your work!

Oh, and have some rep!

[Roger Mann]

Thanks GLS, for the last twelve years I've worked alone, almost exclusively on city maps having previously run design units doing almost everything else but that; architectural illustration has always been a passion though. I have plenty more examples to post but would welcome the opportunity to compare notes rather than just display my own stuff. We'll no doubt be in touch.

[DanielHasenbos]

Wow, your work looks stunning, Roger! This is indeed a great place to talk about cartography in every sense of the word. Looking forward to see more of you're work!

-Dan

[Greg]

Yeah, whether or not you choose to show more work or not, it is a great place to discuss ideas, try new things (especially with the challenges), build up skills and just talk about cartography! And of course, it is always great to see how people are getting on with their maps!

[Roger Mann]

Hi Dan, yes it does become a passion after a while. After producing 70+ city maps I'd call it more of an obsession. That's very professional work on your website, beautifully executed. I'll post a couple more examples today although they're megabyt-rich and I'm not sure of the restriction on file size here.

[Roger Mann]

Thanks GLS, I look forward to discourse. It can be a lonely life as a freelancer and this site looks a great place to offset all that.

[Roger Mann]

As promised here are more work examples. These two are sections of my most challenging projects so far and as they are entirely hand-drawn and painted, represent around nine months of on/off attention. The entire Amsterdam printed map covers the main central section of the city which in itself is substantial; the printed Gibraltar map covers the entire island and much of the surrounding sea.

[DanielHasenbos]

Those maps look great, and I really like the style you're using.

Are the buildings you draw suggesting the local architecture or do the buildings you've drawn represent the actual buildings?

-Dan

[Roger Mann]

Hi Dan, every building is accurate in terms of its relative size, complexity and colour; if the garden has a shed that goes in too. It's this level of accuracy that takes the time and unless my reference is recently shot aerial photos I have to cross-refer from Bing to Google Earth to assess the most recent manifestations. I use a limited watercolour palette as many individual colours would add to the production time and further erode my sanity.