Quodlibet

[Dimension Door]

It’s not really a map. More a concept I really love.

Some painters in the 17th and 18th century started painting a “Quodlibet”. I don’t know if you’ve heard of them. It was usually wooden panel with strings attached to it so you could put letters, documents and other things behind them as a reminder or storage. It’s basicly am old variant of a noticeboard. These paintings were meant to be so realisic that at first glance you would not notice it was a painting. The tromp l’œil effect (which I barely know how to write and have no clue how to pronounce..) to trick the viewer into believing something is real is an awesome goal to strive for as a painter.


Cornelis Gijsbrechts
Tromp l’œil with self portrait
oil on canvas 1675

This illusory thing is something we love to do when making maps. Using old paper textures as backgrounds, painting tears and folds to make it look even better. We’re making up worlds with realistic plate tectonics and climate zones. We’re writing pages of histories, adventures and legends that only exsist in our minds.

I think it’s awesome that we have the ability to take these imaginations and make them into something real. To draw a map is such a great feeling. To print out a map must be one of the most rewarding things ever. Imagination made into something real. Something we hold in our hands that has a whole world filled with stories behind it.

Today I wanted to honour all these ideas and I tried to paint my own little quodlibet with a map of a homebrew world Myrn. To challenge myself I did not use paper textures and tried to paint the folds myself. It was painstakingly difficult and I didn’t quite pull it off but it’s a start.



Well, this was my late evening rant. Have loads of fun making maps!