Over the years I’ve begun the habit of drawing the map of whatever story I’m reading. It’s a tactile way for me to engage the world of a story that goes beyond simply reading words on a page. When you draw it, you have to slow down. You have to ask where things are, how far apart features might be, what the terrain would look like, and how the characters may interact with the landscape.

When it came to Homer’s Odyssey, I knew it would be a perfect candidate for this kind of treatment. The entire epic is an adventure through storms, mysterious islands, treacherous straits, and of course, all while encountering monsters along the way. If any story begs to be mapped, it’s this one. And if I’m honest, part of the reason I wanted to draw it was personal and came from a desire to become better acquainted with one of the pillars of literature in Western Civilization. I remember reading sections of The Odyssey in school, but knew I’d never read it cover to cover. I chose Robert Fagles’ translation because it felt like a good balance between poetic readability and scholarly accuracy, without making it feel so archaic that I would struggle to make it through the book.

As I read, pencil in hand, I began sketching.

The first real problem I ran into was the route itself. Very quickly I discovered that there is no clear scholarly consensus on where Odysseus actually traveled and how much of it is pure myth while still being grounded in a historical time and place. Is Scylla and Charybdis best identified with the Strait of Messina? Where should Aeaea, the island of Circe, be placed…along the Italian coast, or farther west? And what about Ogygia, Calypso’s island…should it be in Malta or the distant western sea? Some reconstructions keep the journey largely within the eastern and central Mediterranean, while others push key episodes nearly to the Pillars of Hercules in the west. The debate stretches back centuries, and I quickly realized that while I love history, I’m not primarily a scholar, and I wasn’t going to be the one who cracks the code sitting in my yurt with my cup of coffee. Besides, that wasn’t my goal. At some point, I had to accept that I would just have to choose a route that aligned best in my mind with the internal details of the story and start drawing.

I know not everyone will agree, and that’s okay. I don’t think Homer’s goal was to create a navigational document that future readers could overlay precisely onto modern coordinates. Trying to force a one-to-one match between myth and modern geography would miss the point. I recognize there is irony in saying that while actively creating a map of the journey, but what I found myself building was less a strict reconstruction and more a geographical story timeline. A way to give the imagination structure without pretending to eliminate mystery.

When it comes to drawing maps, the first step is a rough coastline. Before icons, labels, or even mountains, I wanted to just see land and sea. I needed to see where this was all taking place. While I drew mountain ranges and interior terrain later to give the map depth and a sense of place, I kept reminding myself that this is primarily an island and coastal story. Odysseus isn’t marching deep into forests or crossing vast inland plains. He’s sailing, drifting, being blown off course, hopping from island to island like moving between episodes in a narrative timeline. The sea is the connective tissue of the epic. That realization shaped the composition. The spacing between islands the straits, and the open water all mattered. The interior landscape exists, but it does not dominate, because the story itself lives along the edges.

Once I had the basic geography and an idea for the route, I knew I wanted the icons to drive the visual story of the map. I wanted the icons to echo classical black-figure pottery found in Ancient Greek culture, something graphic but not overly cartoonish. Each location needed to visually capture the essence of the event; the Cyclops had to be instantly recognizable while the design for the Chimmerians needed to feel mysterious. The goal was that someone could glance at an icon and immediately recall what happened there. They function as narrative anchors and a timeline. This step is definitely what took the longest and I sketched multiple versions of all of them before settling on designs that felt balanced. Too much detail and they looked visually muddy, while too little felt simplistic.

As I mapped the journey, I also began listening to some podcasts talking about Homer’s epics. One thing I found fascinating is that different eras seem to gravitate toward either the Iliad or the Odyssey depending on the cultural moment. The Iliad is a story of battlefield glory and the pursuit of honor. During the Victorian period, when there was cultural optimism about progress and expansion, it was the Iliad that captured the imagination. But in recent decades, if you look at scholarly and student engagement, there has been significant emphasis on the Odyssey, which feels telling. The Odyssey is not a story of conquest but of wandering. Of being blown off course. Of longing for rootedness while being tossed around the wine-dark sea, wondering if you will ever see your wife and son again. That resonates in a world that often feels chaotic.

There are easier subjects to draw. But the Odyssey has endured for nearly three thousand years for a reason. It shaped education, literature, and imagination. Drawing this map was my way of engaging one of those foundations and adding my creative voice to a long line of artists who have been inspired by this epic. If this map causes someone to reopen Homer, to think introspectively about the journey, or simply to trace the route with their finger and feel inspired b the road home, then it has done what I hoped.

When you’re creating a map for a city or town, one thing you’ll need to decide is whether your settlement should have walls or not. Answering this depends a lot on where the city is built, the available resources to build a wall and the cultural climate of the times. Not every city needs a wall, especially if the city is not immediately under threat or is centrally located within a larger kingdom.

But when people live somewhere that demands constant protection from an invading force, it becomes much more likely that the residents will be motivated to take action to keep their families and possessions safe. Walls have been a staple throughout history because they add a very effective layer of defense. Just beware of orcs with explosives!

As I said before though, not every settlement absolutely needs walls. So before you begin drawing out a map, what should you take into consideration to decide if yours does? Here are a few questions to think through for your city.

 A Few Quick Questions to Consider

- How large is the settlement?
If it's less than 7,000 people it is less likely to have a wall. There needs to be enough labor available to construct the fortification. The exception to this could be a wooden palisade.

- Is the settlement in danger of attack?
Do the people who live in your settlement feel their lives are threatened? Or are they more protected because their residence is centrally located in the kingdom?

- What resources are readily available?
Can stone be sourced locally? What about wood or mud brick? If the resources to build a wall are not readily available then it is increasingly unlikely to find one there.

- Is the entire city fortified or just a keep?
Rather than a wall being around the entire town, you could have a fortified castle or keep where people can fall back on in case of attack.

What to Use to Build a Wall?

Walls have been a feature of cities and fortresses throughout human history because even though they are time-consuming to construct they are an effective layer of defense. But when you examine history for examples of how the walls were built, you’ll begin to see variations in the building materials, depending on the climate and availability of resources. Here are several you can consider!

Stone

Stone is perhaps the most likely material we think of when it comes to constructing a city wall. Part of the reason for this is the durability, which is why there are countless examples of stone fortifications still standing today after centuries. What we usually don’t realize is there were likely far more fortifications built from wood during the medieval period, but they decayed and were lost to time. This can give the false impression that all of the castles were simply made of stone because that’s all we see today.

Stone was used though throughout the world for its strength, which in itself offers a level of protection simply through intimidation. However, constructing a stone wall requires a great deal of resources that need to be locally available, not to mention skilled masons who understand the construction techniques of the day. Stone fortifications are also very susceptible to earthquakes…which may also cause you to choose another option. More on that in a moment!

Mud Brick

Another option I would argue that we in the fantasy community seem to overlook is mud brick. The ancient Egyptians, the Hittites, and cities in the Levant frequently employed mud brick to build some of the most impressive fortifications of the ancient world. They're cheaper and easier to produce than stone walls, but still provide a sturdy defense against intruders as it’s resistant to fire. As long as you have access to mud and straw (which acts as a binding agent), then you can quickly produce bricks in a fraction of the time it would take if you were using stone.

This is why the use of mud brick has been common throughout the world, even down to this day. In areas that are devoid of an abundance of trees, your best option is likely to look to the ground beneath you!

Wood

One option that was very common in the medieval period was to use wood. While wood is a far less effective form of protection, especially against fire, it takes a lot less labor, or expert knowledge required to build a simple fortification. If your settlement is located in or around an abundant forest, it only makes sense to consider using wood for your defenses. Just watch out for termites!

An interesting example of wood being utilized in something more advanced than a palisade was in Japan. There are many examples of castles you can still see today, which have an iconic sloping stone base with a wood fortification on top. The advantage of the interlocking wood construction utilized by the Japanese relates to the problem of earthquakes. As this area of the world is much more susceptible to earthquakes, wood construction is an effective solution to this problem. But what about fire you may ask? Well, there is an interesting solution to that problem as well in the use of plaster or lacquer.

You may have caught however that I mentioned Japanese castles have a stone base…so how is that able to hold up to earthquakes? It has to do with a few things including the sloping shape and the fact that no mortar was used to bind the stones together. None of the stones are uniform and they must be all carefully fit together with nothing to hold them in place beside gravity. The advantage to this though is it allows for enough flex in the foundation to make them resistant to earthquakes.

Magic

Since we’re talking about a fantasy setting, another viable option you cannot overlook is walls constructed by a form of magic. This could be a visible or invisible barrier depending on your needs. A good example of an invisible wall that you may not immediately think about is incorporated into the setting of Hogwarts in Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling made it so there was an invisible barrier that hid the castle from the prying eyes of the muggles, but it also prevented wizards from being able to apparate on or off the grounds. Both of these elements played well into the plot and it was something that became an intriguing part of the worldbuilding.

You can also create a magical wall that acts as a physical barrier. One thing to consider though is if there is some type of cost to the wall beyond a wizard saying, “Instant Wall!”. If a magic user then simply creates a wall at the snap of his fingers, your readers or players may find that a bit flat. But, if the wizard has to pull from the life force of all the plants within a 10-mile radius to instantly construct a wall…you then have to weigh if it’s worth it to destroy the surrounding landscape to protect a city. My point is not what the cost is, but just to get you to consider how you can build those types of things into a magic wall to add depth to your world-building.

The City Map Builder

$34 | For Procreate, Photoshop, Clip Studio Paint, & Affinity

Quickly create hand-drawn city & village maps for your next role-playing campaign or novel with a few clicks and a bit of imagination. Best of all, you don’t need to invest hundreds of hours learning to draw!

In the end, if your city should have walls or not is ultimately up to you. But, I would encourage you to think through some of the questions above and consider what building materials would make more sense in your setting. While the story you’re writing may be a fantasy, it’s little details that reflect our own experience with reality that add up to creating a more believable world.

Since the release of The City Map Builder, it's been great to see a lot more questions about cities and towns coming in. If you have a question yourself don’t hesitate to EMAIL ME and I’ll do my best to answer your questions!

Happy Mapping!
- Josh

More Mapping Tips

In this video walkthrough I will show you some of the features included in the Map Builder, and how you can use it in the Procreate app. I hope you find this helpful and look forward to seeing the maps you create for your story!

Want to Learn More?

The Fantasy Map Builder

Anyone who has created a full map from start to finish knows it can easily take 40+ hours to draw each individual mountain, tree, and tuft of grass. But now you can create hand-illustrated maps in a fraction of the time; which means more time with your friends campaigning or writing your next novel.

Click the Button Below to Learn More

Forests are often a core feature of many fantasy maps. After all, what would Middle Earth be without Mirkwood, Lothlorien, or Fangorn? But, knowing where a forest should go on your own map is one of those things that has a simple answer with layers of complexity. Can a forest go anywhere? What actually causes a forest to form in the first place?

The simple answer to where to place forests is…pretty much anywhere you want. But you may be thinking, don’t you need a certain climate to have a forest? While it’s true that a particular species of tree cannot grow just anywhere, remember there are thousands of different species of tree that have been designed to live in a wide variety of conditions.

For instance, a mesquite tree is extremely drought tolerant and has a taproot that can reach over 200 feet below the surface to find water! So while water is obviously a requirement if you want a forest to grow, it’s not as limited as you may initially think. The Hawaiian Islands after all were formed from volcanic eruptions depositing solid rock, and yet they were covered in lush jungle. But, if you want to know more about why that is, then let’s get into the more complicated reasons. Stick with me, because it’s actually pretty cool.

How Does a Forest Form?

Really what we’re talking about is something called forest succession. After a natural disaster like a forest fire, you’d be surprised how quickly some plants start springing up, sometimes in just a matter of weeks. There are some seeds that actually require fire in order to germinate.

Plants that grow on the bare ground like this are typically small but fast-growing like grasses or small flowering plants. As time goes on and these plants build the soil, shrubs will begin to grow and cover the landscape. Seedlings of tall forest trees will then have more protection under the shelter of the shrubs and begin to grow and eventually grow above the shrubs to take in more light; in the process forming a young-growth forest. Often these pioneer trees are fast-growing but short-lived; which allows slower-growing but hardier species to move in until you eventually have an old-growth forest.

This is an extremely simplified explanation, but it gives you an idea of how you can end up with a forest almost anywhere. Assuming of course you don’t have large roaming herds of bison or aurochs coming through to keep the tree seedlings in check so that it remains grassland.

Why Aren’t Forests Everywhere?

Large ruminants were designed to be an important part of the ecosystem, and part of their job is to help keep a balance between forests and prairie. It’s pretty hard for a forest to form when any tree seedlings that sprouts gets trampled by a herd of bison or eaten by a deer. If you’ve ever tried to plant a tree of your own you’ve probably experienced just how much you have to protect it from getting chomped by wildlife. So while a forest can form just about anywhere that isn’t tundra or a dune desert, a lot of what keeps them in check is the wildlife that keeps things in balance.

Hopefully, this helps you have a little better grasp on how forests can form and frees you up to know where you can put them on your fantasy maps. If you want to learn how to draw forests, be sure to check out my tutorial!

Happy Mapping!
- Josh

More Map Mapping Blogs

If you love fantasy maps then you probably have an appreciation for hand-drawn illustrations that look like they were made on an expedition into an unknown land. There’s just something about a map that was made with traditional tools that makes it feel like it has a richer history. Because of this, many cartographers choose to draw all their maps with pen and paper rather than digital tools; some even opt to use a traditional dip pen.

But, have you considered going further down the rabbit hole of map-making by creating your own ink from scratch? Sure, you can buy it at the store, but there’s just something more satisfying about knowing you created your own ink, and no one else in the world has an ink exactly like yours.

There are a lot of different traditional methods to create your own ink, but I want to share with you one I recently discovered and tried for myself. Here I’ll walk you through my process and let you see over my shoulder as I attempted to create my own ink using black walnuts!

Finding a Black Walnut Tree

While black walnuts are native to the eastern United States, they have been naturalized throughout much of the lower 48 and much of the world. I am in Oregon, well outside of the traditional range for black walnuts, but there are a lot of these trees growing in neighborhoods and parks in the area. If you or a friend don’t have one of these trees, you can likely find someone in your area who has one in their yard. It doesn’t hurt to knock on their door and ask if you can gather a few. Most of the time people will be happy to share, especially if you tell them a little bit about what you plan to do with them.

What about other types of walnuts? It is my understanding that this process should also work with other varieties of walnuts such as the English walnut (Juglans regia). If you give it a try I would love to hear your results!

Collecting the Walnuts

Black walnuts usually begin dropping from the tree sometime in early Autumn. Once you’ve identified a tree, you can gather the fallen walnuts from the ground. You’ll notice that some of them are more of a yellow-green color, while others are almost black. For the purpose of making ink, either will work but I would tend to favor the darker ones.

Be sure to wear some kind of gloves while you’ll gather unless you want a brown stain on your hands for the next couple of weeks that absolutely won’t wash off! The number you gather depends on the amount of ink you want to make. For this tutorial, I used around 25.

Removing the Hulls

Now that you’ve gathered the walnuts, you can begin removing the husk from around the pit in the middle. This is a messy process so I opted to do it outside where I didn’t mind if anything got stained in the process. Get as much of the husk off as you can and place it in a large pot. Be aware, on the particularly rotten black walnuts you’ll likely find some small worms that have taken up residence. Just ignore them and throw everything into the pot; it will be thoroughly cooked and it’s not like you’re eating it anyway!

Simmering Over Medium Heat

Add some water to the pot with the hulls; just enough to fully cover them. The outer hulls of Black Walnuts have a unique, almost pine-like smell. I personally don’t find it unpleasant, but I’m not sure I want my house to smell like it for the day. For this reason, I opted to make my ink using my grill as a heat source. The goal here is to just let it simmer, not boil, for several hours over medium heat.

Testing the Ink As it Cooks Down

As your concoction cooks, you’ll want to stir it periodically to ensure it doesn’t burn. Have a piece of paper on hand to test the color of the ink as everything cooks down. As it cooks and the water evaporates you should end up with a rich brown color. Have fun and experiment to see how dark you want the final ink.

Cooling & Preparing to Remove Hulls

After about six hours of cooking, I removed the pot from the heat and set it in my garage to cool overnight. The next day I grabbed an old t-shirt and some twine, and a glass bowl so I could strain out all the hulls.

Removing the inky goodness

You can then pour your black walnut slurry through whatever fabric you’re using as a filter. Once it’s in the t-shirt you can use the twine to tie off the top so you don’t end up with a huge mess as you squeeze out the remaining liquid. I spent around 15 minutes squeezing most of the liquid out of the shirt. If you really wanted to be thorough and save every drop, you could also find a place to hang the hull bundle over the bowl and leave it overnight. I determined I had more than enough ink so I just did my best by hand.

Preparing for Storage

You can now pour your ink into a jar to store for later use. Since this is an organic material, I don’t know what the shelf life would be on its own. But if you want your ink to last a long time then I recommend adding something like rubbing alcohol to make it more shelf-stable. For this batch, my ratio of ink to alcohol was about 15 to 1.

Drawing a Quick Map

Now that the ink was done I was excited to try it out for myself on a map. Admittedly, using dip pens is outside my comfort zone so there was a bit of a learning curve at first. But it was all part of the journey of trying something new and I’m pretty happy with the results. I like the rich brown color of the ink, and the little variations you get from using a material like this. It has a little bit more character and personality than a typical black in you’d buy in the store. It all comes down to your style, and what you enjoy using to map your story!

More Map Making Tutorials You May Enjoy

CLICK HERE to learn more about the Map Effects Fantasy Map Builder

Installing Your Brushes

I. Download and unzip your Fantasy Map Builder folder on your Ipad or computer.

II. Open the file and navigate to the folder named “Brushes”.

III. Select either Photoshop, Procreate, Clip Studio Paint, or Affinity, depending on the app you will use.

Photoshop

Simply double-click on the .ABR file, and this will import all the brushes which you can find in it’s own folder in your brush panel.

Procreate

Open each of the .BRUSHSET files which will automatically import into Procreate, each in its own separate folder in your brush library.

Clip Studio Paint

Open CSP and select the Brush tool. On the Sub Tool panel select the three stacked horizontal lines in the upper left corner. In the drop-down menu navigate to Import Sub Tool which will open up your files. Find where you saved your Fantasy Map Builder file and open each of the .ABR brush files included in the Fantasy Builder to import all of your brushes.

Affinity Photo

Double click and open each of the .AFBRUSHES files and this will open and import them automatically into Affinity Photo. You will find each set in its own folder in your brush panel.

More Mapping Content You May Enjoy

Whenever I tell someone I make an income drawing fantasy maps, they tend to look at me a bit sideways. Most people don’t realize how many maps are around them every day. Whether it’s books, board games, magazines, wall art, or one of the other numerous forms of marketing, maps are everywhere. And behind every map is a cartographer; an artist who has been compensated for their work.

Besides, who doesn’t want to earn an income doing something they love? This doesn’t mean you have to do it full time. But, even if you could earn a little on the side to pay for your daily coffee, to buy the Christmas presents for your kids, or even covering that unexpected car repair it would certainly be worth pursuing. Just achieving a little financial freedom to provide for your family can make the time investment worth it. But, where do you begin?

While there is much that could be said, here are two key things to keep in mind if you want to start earning an income drawing maps.

Honing Your Craft

The first thing you need to do is make sure you invest the time to hone your drawing skills. Don’t get hung up trying to “find your style”, especially early in your journey. Spend time learning how to draw and challenge yourself to be a lifelong student. Your unique style will come as a natural overflow of everything you’ve learned and the things you love. Learning the fundamentals of fantasy cartography is why I began creating map drawing tutorials; so you could have a place to go to learn how to do this yourself.

CLICK HERE if you would like to check out all the map drawing tutorials

It may seem obvious to say, but you need to actually be able to draw well if you want someone to pay you for your work. The map drawing tutorials are a good place to begin learning how to draw certain features in the fantasy map style. But, don’t stop there! Learn more about composition, perspective, color theory, and absorb different techniques from a variety of people. This is how you learn and begin to develop a style that’s unique to you.

Show Your Work Before It’s Perfect!

I have always been interested in drawing, but when I was younger I would often go weeks without drawing anything because I was so afraid of it not being “good enough.” Not surprisingly, when I would finally pick up a pen to draw something I was always disappointed by the result. It wasn’t until I forced myself to start posting consistently on Instagram that I really started to see my skills dramatically improve.

Many artists struggle with perfectionism, and are hesitant to show their work until it’s “flawless.” The problem of course is you’re setting an impossible goal for yourself, which means you’ll never arrive and will always be disappointed. Rather than waiting for your work to be good enough by your standards, don’t be afraid to show your work right away and document your learning process. Forcing yourself to post your work on social media can be a great way to motivate yourself to stay consistent, and start building some initial connections with people.

But…How Do You Know When You’re “Ready?”

But, how do you know when are ready to start taking on clients? If you want someone to pay you to create a map, then you need to deliver enough value to the client that they are willing to exchange money for your services. You will spend the rest of your life honing your craft but there is a certain point when you should feel confident that you can deliver enough value to a client.

One way to know you’ve arrived at this level is when people begin organically approaching you for commissions and saying they really love your work. This shouldn’t be confused with someone showing you a picture of someone else’s work and asking if you can do a map in that style. When someone wants you to draw a map for them because they want you as the artist, then you know you can start thinking about commissions. But, if people are approaching you about your work, that assumes they are able to see it; this leads to the next point.

Marketing Your Work

You can be the best cartographer in the world but if nobody can find your work, then you'll never get clients. “Build it and they will come” is not a viable strategy and it’s this mentality that leads to the “starving artist” stereotype. Most artists fail to turn their passion into a career because they don't know how to market themselves, they don’t like to market themselves, or they are not interested in the process since they just want to create.

Meanwhile, there are plenty of people who are technically less skilled but do just fine because they come to enjoy the process of marketing and building relationships with people. The good news is you already own one of the best tools to market your work and build relationships with potential clients, and it’s the phone in your pocket.

Go Where Your Ideal Client Hangs Out

One issue you may have in marketing your work is actually fishing in the wrong pond. If you want to work with authors to start getting your maps in books, why are you only sharing your work in groups with other cartographers? Chances are…they aren’t going to pay you for anything since they will just draw it themselves. The key thing to remember here, is that while it’s good to be part of the map making community and interact with your peers to grow your skills, they are generally not going to turn into clients.

If you want to work with authors, then go where the authors hang out and start building relationships. It can be Facebook groups, Discord channels, or even a good old fashion forum. Find the authors, and then start engaging with them in a way that provides value. If someone asks a question about maps or world building and you know the answer, reach out to them. Don’t spam them or come across as merely self-promotional…because frankly, nobody likes that guy. The key thing here is that you need to build genuine relationships because people want to work with someone they like and trust.

Create a Central Location For People to See Your Work

While my mapping journey started by posting maps on Instagram, it isn’t the ideal place to set up a portfolio. Social media is extremely valuable for making connections, but you really should set up a basic website where you can curate your work. Fortunately, website builders and templates have come a long way in the last several years. So you won’t have to spend a fortune to get started, or need to know a lick of coding to setup something clean and professional. Having a website adds an element of credibility and professionalism to your work. It’s also a good central place to funnel people regardless of which platforms you are using. Then, you can think about building an email list which will give you the ability to communicate directly with your audience rather than being enslaved to an algorithm. But, that’s a whole other topic for another time!

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How Many Pieces Should Be in Your Portfolio?

When it comes to what to include in your website portfolio, I suggest setting a goal of having at least 3 examples of your work. Your portfolio doesn’t need to be filled with dozens of pieces; if anything that can be too overwhelming for a potential client. Instead, focus on picking your best 3 maps that reflect your skill, and the type of commissions you want to do. If you want to draw maps for people, don’t include your amazing Baby Yoda illustration…no matter how good it might be. People want to know that you can draw their map, not how skilled you are at rendering little Grogu.

But, what if you have more than 3 pieces that you are proud of and reflect the type of work you want to do? As I said before, people generally prefer simplicity and can become easily overwhelmed with too much information. This is part of the reason why I don’t actually think Instagram is the optimal place to host your portfolio. If you have a large body of work that you would still like to show though, you can still do that with a little creativity. My suggestion would be to still show 3-5 primary pieces, and then link to a separate page where someone could see the rest of your work. This helps give focus to your portfolio, while still giving the opportunity for the people who want to see more to click through.

The First Step is to Begin

These things will take time, especially if you’re just getting started. But if you’re consistent and begin taking steps toward your goal then it’s only a matter of time before you reach it. One of the biggest things success comes down to is consistency and not giving up when you don’t “feel” creative. Creativity is a skill, and one that can be honed with practice. This should be encouraging if you are like me and don’t believe you are as naturally creative as some people. Part of being a professional artist though is you need to “show up” to work regardless of how you feel. A plumber cannot skip work just because he isn’t feeling it. Sometimes you just need to be consistent and get the job done.

But, please don’t hear me saying that you should just run yourself into the ground and give yourself a panic attack. It’s important to understand what refills your proverbial tank and to take time to rest. It may be spending time with your family, reading a book, or digging in the garden. Whatever it may be, make sure you schedule time regularly to ensure you have the energy to grow your business. Either way, you need to develop a system to not only work hard but rest well.

But, if I’m being honest, I think we as artists are more prone to resting too much and waiting for the mythical creative bug to bite us rather than digging deep and getting to work.

I created Map Effects to help people like you not only learn to draw maps of your own, but to begin providing financially for yourself and your family through art. There’s so much more that could be said on this topic, but I hope this is enough to whet your appetite to believe you could actually earn an income doing something you’re passionate about.

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The word “desert” conjures images of a desolate climate where nothing can survive. But, the reality is some of the most interesting animals, plants, and cultures live in these hostile environments. Deserts in our world make up roughly 1/3 of the landmasses, which means you will likely have them in the fantasy world you’re creating.

Deserts don’t form randomly, so where should you place them in a way that is realistic and adds a layer of depth to your worldbuilding? We’ll look at a few basic ways that deserts form in our world so you can easily apply these principles to the maps you create.

5 Types of Deserts

If you had to define what a desert is, you would probably image a hot environment. But, the definition of a desert has less to do with temperature and more to do with levels of rainfall. A desert is classified as an area that receives less than 10 inches (25 centimetres) of annual rainfall or precipitation. Or, an area that has a higher rate of evaporation than precipitation. Which results in an extremely dry environment that makes it difficult for life to thrive. This means you can have deserts that are extremely hot or cold. But, how do they normally form in the first place?

Subtropical Deserts

While the equator tends to be tropical and humid, go about 2,000 mi (3218 km) north or south and you may encounter a large desert. The reason for this has to do with the circulation of air currents and the effect they have on rainfall.

The equator of the Earth is generally warmer because of how directly the light from the sun hits the surface. The warmer temperatures causes the water in the oceans to evaporate, producing humidity. When the warm, humid air rises above the equator the temperature of the air decreases, resulting in heavy rainfall because cooler air cannot hold as much water.

How it Works

Once the air rises about 6-10 mi (10-15 km) above the earth, it hits an invisible ceiling and will begin to move north and south away from the equator. When this happens, the temperature continues to decrease; the air losing more moisture as it goes. At about 30 degrees north and south, the air starts to descend back to the Earth. Since it contains very little moisture at this point it causes deserts to form in those areas.

The air then circulates back toward the equator, forming the trade winds, to begin the cycle again. This natural phenomenon is known as the Hadley cell and it produces some of the largest deserts in the world, including the Sahara in Northern Africa

Interior Deserts

Generally, the closer you are to the ocean, the more rain a region receives (See “coastal deserts” below for the exception) because of the increased chances of moisture being in the atmosphere. So, by the time the air currents make it to the interior of the continent, it has likely lost most of the precipitation it was carrying. This results in what are sometimes called, inland deserts.

Proximity to the ocean or a large body of water is the primary contributing factor to forming interior deserts, but it is often not the only thing. As we continue to look at different types of deserts, you’ll begin to see that there is crossover and a combination of things that cause the truest deserts to form.

Rain Shadow Deserts

One of the reasons interior deserts form is because of something called, rain shadow. Oregon, in the United States, is a good example of this as you see lush green forests on the western side of the Cascade Mountain range, closer to the Pacific Ocean. While the terrain on the eastern side of the mountains is much drier and arid.

How it Works

When humid air travels from the coast and encounters a range of mountains, it is forced to rise higher in the atmosphere. The decrease in temperature causes it to rain as the cooler air cannot hold the same amount of moisture. Once the air currents reach the other side of the mountains, the air has very little moisture left, causing a desert to form on the side of the mountains facing away from the prevailing winds.

One important thing to note is that a mountain range will always have some impact on the weather, but it needs to have mountains tall enough with a consistent weather pattern moving from one direction to cause a rain shadow effect. Mountains like the Appalachians don’t cause a desert to form because they have weather systems coming from both sides and they aren’t particularly tall.

Coastal Deserts

Amazingly, the location considered to be the driest place on earth is actually a desert next to an ocean, the Atacama desert in Chile. This desert in particular has several things contributing to it being the most arid place on earth. The first one is that it falls directly within the subtropical 30° latitude range discussed earlier. On top of that, the driest parts of this desert is situated between the Andes and the Chilean Coastal Range, forming a two-sided rain shadow.

But, the defining characteristic of coastal deserts are the cold ocean currents which cools the air and produces a layer of fog as it reaches the shore. When cold water currents flow near land at the surface, they cool the air above them. This results in most rainfall occurring over water, before that air reaches land, and again very little rainfall on land. But, even though the humidity is high, the changes in the atmosphere that cause it to rain do not take place. Even though there are some areas of the Atacama that are frequently covered by fog, the region can go many decades without a drop of rain.

Polar Deserts

Even though the Arctic and Antarctic contain vast quantities of water, they are classified as deserts due to their lack of precipitation. There may be water present throughout a polar desert, but it is trapped in the ice year round which means very little can survive this cold, dry environment.

The key thing to keep in mind with polar deserts, is they stay extremely cold year round. While animal life can be supported in the summer months in the tundra when it thaws, you do not see the same phenomenon in these frigid deserts.

Adding Deserts to Your Maps

All of this may feel a bit overwhelming once it comes down to adding deserts to your own maps. But, knowing this principles and spending some time imagining the weather patterns of your world will go a long way in helping you place realistic deserts. Just keep in mind, if moisture-rich air that produces rain is being prevented from reaching a particular region, then it is probably going to be a desert. If you keep that in mind, it’ll go a long way in making better maps and worlds for your stories.

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Creating names for the locations on your fantasy map can feel intimidating. Should you randomly string letters together to make words that just sound cool; or do you need to pull a Tolkien and create your own language from scratch? How do you strike a balance between names that sound generic and predictable, and so over the top that nobody can pronounce them?

If you’ve ever looked up how a particular place got its name, you might realize that the study of place names (toponymy) is often complicated. Fortunately, there are some basic principles you can follow to create unique names on your map that hint at a rich history.

1: Set A Foundation

Natural Descriptions

Many names are rooted in physical descriptions of the landscape. Ask yourself what grows there, what animals live there, or if there are notable features like cliffs or waterfalls. Try to think about the color of the earth, if a village is situated on a hill, or even what the weather is like in the area. You can use these to come up with a list of words like "quarry", "pine", or "meadow". Anything that describes something about the physical location.

Cultural Values

Another way to come up with names is to think more about what the culture itself values. Locations are often named after important figures from history, are connected to religious beliefs, or may hint at the origins of the people. Consider why a city would want to name itself after a person or deity. Think of different ways the name can give a nod to reveal something about their culture.

Important Events

Some locations get their name from a significant moment in history. Perhaps it was a particular battle that was fought along a river or even a betrayal that took place between friends. It may be where a valuable resource was discovered or where an explorer first arrived in a new land. Think about important moments in time that would cause people to assign a name to that place to remember that event.

Example:
Let’s create a name that combines two of the suggestions above. Imagine there is a homestead in the middle of a forest where a young man named Kalin lives with his family. This man grows up to become an important general and a hero of war. In his latter years, he retires to his boyhood home where he clears more of the forest and he settles with his family. This place comes to be known as “Kalin’s Glade” (glade meaning: an open space in the forest). Pretty straightforward, but we’re not done.

The Larger the Region the Broader the Name

In general, the more geographic area a name covers and the more people it impacts, the less specific a name should be. For instance, you probably wouldn’t want to name an entire country “Oakshade” when it would only be relevant to a small percentage of the population. This is why a lot of European countries have pretty straightforward names when you break them down. France roughly translates to mean Land of the Franks, England means Land of the Angles, and perhaps the most obvious is Poland, the Land of the Poles.

But, the astute observer may ask, “but what do Franks, Angles, and Poles mean?”. The short answer is…there isn’t a clear answer. There’s speculation for each name but not surprisingly the experts don’t agree. Suffice it to say they may have broad meanings that would be applicable to a culture such as a favorite weapon that was used during war, a prominent occupation, or the presence of a great deal of farmland. Some of these names though hint that they’re rooted in an outside perspective of these people groups rather than what they would have called themselves, which leads to the next point.

2: Changes Over Time

Most names are pretty logical if you can determine how they originated. But if you look at history you'll quickly realize that names frequently change and morph to the point that the original meaning may be completely lost.

There are a variety of things that cause this to happen. As people say names they may get lazy and not pronounce it clearly so letters may get dropped over time. Or someone's accent may be so thick that another person misunderstands how to pronounce a name and it gets distorted. Or a nation that speaks a different language may come in and conquer a city and alter the spelling of the name to match their own language.

The list could go on and on, but the point is you should think about how some of these things could happen which would alter the spellings of the names you generated in the first step. This will really cause you to think through some more of your worldbuilding which will give a rich layer of history to your map.

Example:
In the previous step we came up with the name, Kalin’s Glade to describe a clearing in the forest where Kalin and his family settled. But, now some time has passed and it turns out the region is rich farmland, so almost all of the forest has been cleared. Which means the name is no longer accurate since it’s now open land, not a glade. Not only that, but as time went on it became much easier to blend the words together so that it became known as “Kalinglad”…because who needs the “e” on the end anyway?

As more time passes, a new people group begins to move in to take advantage of the iron ore discovered in the nearby hills. Unfortunately, they don’t speak the same language as the local farmers, and they don’t hear the subtle “k” at the beginning of the word. The more prominent this people group becomes with their iron exports, the more their own language influences the name of the town. Eventually, the mining town situated in the valley becomes known as “Alnad”.

The shifting of the name “Kalin’s Glade” to “Kalinglad”, and finally “Alnad” is an example of what can happen if a name loses it’s original meaning and the pronunciation shifts. Try saying a name over and over, with emphasis on different letters or parts of the word and see what happens.

3: use of Languages

Tolkien's influence on the fantasy community cannot be understated. So there is a tendency to feel like you have to create your own languages just because that's what Tolkien did. But unless you have an interest in doing so, it probably isn’t worth your time, especially if it is going to stop all of your creative momentum. Instead, you can use real languages as a launching point to produce names that are unique and sound cohesive with one another.

Even Tolkien used real-world languages as a base for the Elven languages he created. An easy way to do this is to get on Google Earth and spend some time looking at the name of different locations in a particular country. You can then spend some time looking at dictionaries of the language you want to base your naming upon. You'll begin to recognize patterns in how things are named, and what letters are combined to produce certain sounds.

You can use Finnish, Iroquois, or Burmese...it really doesn't matter. The point is to pick up some of these patterns from other languages and incorporate them into the spelling of your place names. You might even want to use words from these languages and shift around the spelling a bit like in the previous step. It all depends on how clear you want the meaning of the place names to be. Using a real language as a base though will bring a sense of consistency in your place names without having to flesh out an entire language.

Your Friend: Google Translate

There have been times I have created a map and used a model like this to create all my place names. But, the one thing I didn’t do was check to see if the words I semi-randomly created were actual words in another language. So far I haven’t put anything too embarrassing on a map I made public, but I did accidentally name a world after the Polish word for “cheesecake” (sernik). Needless to say, I always run the names I come up with through Google Translate first to make sure they either don’t mean anything, or they have a meaning I don’t mind applying to a location on my map.

Names can truly bring a richness to your worldbuilding. Whether the art of toponomy comes easily to you or you wrestle to get started, setting foundations of a culture and events, conceptualizing names as they’re influence by outside people groups, and using pre-existing languages as a jumping off point will help add that extra dimension to your maps.

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Many of us are familiar with the stress that comes when staring at a blank page. But, the decision of how large to make the canvas you are going to draw your masterpiece on can feel equally intimidating. After all, there’s nothing worse than finishing a project and realizing you need to make major modifications so it will print the right size.

When it comes to picking the best canvas size for your map though, there isn’t a one size fits all answer. There are several factors to consider and much of it depends on how the final map will be used. All of this can feel a bit overwhelming, but with a few simple principles you can pick the best size canvas for your map. Here are three things to keep in mind when you begin a new project.

1: Determine the Dimensions of the Map

Whether it is for a personal project or a client, the first thing you need to figure out is how big the final map will need to be. If it is going to be printed you want to determine if it will be a standard paper size like A2 (16.53 x 23.39 inches), A4 (8.27 x 11.69 inches), or something else. You don’t want to have to make modifications to fit a different size document down the road, so make sure you are working on the right size document before you begin.

Figuring out the scale of your map and how many miles it is from one point to another is another important element to determine before you begin a project. You can learn more about determining the scale of your map HERE.

2: Make the Map Bigger than it Needs to be

Once you determine what dimensions you need the final map to be, then you can scale it up to have the best quality possible when it’s finished. Even if the final map will only be on an A4 piece of paper, you will still want to make it at least double that size just in case you need to make a larger print down the line. You can always scale your work down, but you cannot scale it up without losing quality. This only deals with dimensions though, and I will touch on what resolution or dpi to use a little later.

If you are working on traditional paper it is still advisable to draw the map bigger than it needs to be just in case you want a large print to adorn the wall. This may mean purchasing larger sheets at a craft store and getting your map scanned by a professional printer. Or drawing on multiple standard sheets of paper, scanning them yourself, and stitching them together on your computer.

But...if you do work at a larger scale like this then there is a danger to keep in mind, which leads to #3.

3: Print Samples!

A very real danger of working on a high resolution document is when it's scaled down, certain parts of your map like the titles may no longer be readable. The perfect example of where this can happen is when you create a map for a book. Your map may look awesome when printed on a 16”x23” piece of paper...but once it is scaled down to fit inside a paperback, everything can become muddy and unreadable. This is why it is extremely important to do test prints as you work and save yourself from having to do major revisions down the line.

If you know that your map is going in a book and will only be 8”x 4.5” on a page, then make sure you do a test print on your home printer in those dimensions. Or if your final map will be printed on some larger like a 20”x30” sheet, you can just print sections of the map at full scale to see how it looks. Every printer is a little different, but this will go a long way in taking a lot of the guess work out so you aren’t disappointed when you get your final print.

What if it Prints Too Dark?

Another common problem is a map may look bright and clear on your tablet or computer, but once you print on a regular piece of paper it often looks much darker. The reason for this is your screen is by default set brighter than it should be so that everything looks light and vibrant. Unfortunately this causes problems if you are trying to create art for print. A map will look much different on a bright, back lit screen than it will as ink printed on top of a sheet of paper.

One thing you can do to overcome this problem is to turn the overall brightness of your screen way down, probably by half. It will feel weird at first but trust me, your eyes will adjust. But if your map is already done and you’re ready to print, then it will just be a matter of playing with some adjustment settings in Photoshop, Procreate, or whatever app you may be using. Usually, for me it is a matter of increasing the brightness, lowering the contrast, and lowering the saturation. Your experience may very and you will likely have to do several prints before you are happy with the result.

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What About Resolution or DPI?

Resolution or dpi (dots per inch) is one of those things that is important, but feels complicated when you try to get a simple answer. Essentially, dpi is a somewhat archaic term used for printing as it determined the number of dots a printer would make within a square inch. Obviously, the more dots meant the more detail.

The industry standard for printing is 300 dpi, which should generally be the target when creating a map. But, if your tablet can’t handle a large document at 300 dpi, you generally can get away with 200 dpi and still get a satisfactory print.

A Good Target

A good target document size is usually somewhere around A2 at 300dpi, and then you can modify the actual proportions based on the project. Anything larger than that if you’re working on an Ipad and you may have to break it up into several documents and stitch them together later on a computer. But, most maps won't need to be any larger than this so it's a good size to keep in mind.

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One of the things I love to do when I begin reading a new fantasy book or series is to redraw the map in my style. It’s one thing to look at the map initially and skim it once in a while when I want to find the location of something. But, when I take the time to draw the map as I read, it helps cement the world in my mind. Plus, there are always details to uncover in the story that often do not appear on the original map. Including those elements are a great way to create something unique.

The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan is one of the best-known fantasy series ever published. It’s actually a series I tried reading over a decade ago when I was first really getting into the fantasy genre. At the time, I remember enjoying it, but not feeling compelled to continue. Fast forward to 2019, and I had become a huge fan of the work of Brandon Sanderson, and his respect for Robert Jordan paired with the fact he finished the series was enough to drive me to pick it up again.

Download The Full Resolution Map

This map is not officially licensed by Robert Jordan or The Wheel of Time and is merely the work of a fan of the series.

A GLIMPSE AT MY PROCESS

Why the Two Rivers Map?

I decided to draw the map of The Two Rivers rather than the main Wheel of Time map for a couple of reasons. One being that I had been doing a lot of continent maps at the time and I wanted to work on a regional map. The other reason was I am one of those people who absolutely hates stumbling across spoilers. In order to do the main Wheel of Time map, the way I wanted to with icons for the cities would have required me to hunt for descriptions and inevitably have important plot points spoiled. On the other hand, the Two Rivers gives enough description in the first few chapters to provide me with much of what I needed.

Starting With the Sketch

The first thing I do when I begin a map is to start with a very rough sketch. At this stage, I am not concerned with making things look good, but making sure they are the right scale and in the right location. It’s much easier to adjust things in a simplified form, which saves you time down the road, so you don’t need to make significant revisions.

The mountains and hills are simple triangles or half-circles, and the main thing I’m looking at now is scale. Sometimes I scribble a cloud-like shape for the forests, but I wanted to indicate where some forests could be scattered, so I went with individual trees.

Uncovering Bonus Features
As I read, I look for little features mentioned in the story that I can include on the map. I will usually write a quick note on my sketch and may reference the page if I feel I need to come back to the full description. It feels a bit like a treasure hunt. In this case, one of the features I found was that The Winespring Water has willows growing along the banks. This was a fun opportunity to incorporate a different tree shape.

Adding the Line Art

Once my sketch is complete, I create a new layer above and begin to define the final line art. I often start with the mountains as it feels like you are building the map from the ground up. Other features like rivers or roads naturally arise based on the mountains and surrounding terrain.

I also make sure I do everything in stages. It is challenging to stay consistent if you fully render a mountain before moving on to the next one. You’ll often find a drift in your style, which you’ll have to go back and fix later.

The Ideal Place to Grow Up

One of the things I liked about the description of The Two Rivers is how Robert Jordan paints it as the ideal rural place to grow up. Even down to describing how Rand learned to swim in The Waterwood or the way he grew up exploring the area surrounding the Westwood with Mat and Perrin. This imagery really connected with my childhood and growing up in the country with the deciduous forests and lakes in Northern Michigan.

As I continued to add in the details, this was something I wanted to keep in mind. I wanted to make sure the map looked like a place that felt like home…one you would have a hard time leaving. So I made sure the trees in The Waterwood felt full and leafy rather than ominous or dark like you often see when you illustrate a swamp.

Drawing Some Final Details

With all the main features complete, I like to go through and add some extra details. In this case, I opted to add some stippling to the shady side of The Sand Hills to give more of the sandy texture. I also drew in some stones coming above the ground, particularly along The Quarry Road.

The Software I’m Using
Up to this point, everything has been drawing using the Procreate App on my Ipad. The one shortcoming of Procreate though, is the ability to add text and titles to a map. While you now can add text (A fairly recent update), there isn’t a great way to bend or alter the path of the titles to curve along mountain ranges and such. So once all the illustrations are complete, I move my project over to Photoshop for labeling.

Creating Icons for the Towns

The final thing I wanted to add was some icons for the towns. I wanted them to appear from a ground-level perspective, so it felt like you were getting a small glimpse into each town.

I spent some time researching the descriptions Robert Jordan provides of each town to figure out what I could incorporate and how I could differentiate them. For Emond’s Field, this meant the focus was on The Winespring Inn and the large tree planted beside it. For Taren Ferry, there were interesting descriptions of the construction of the buildings and the dock beside the river. Deven Ride was the most challenging as there wasn’t as much for description, so I made it reminiscent of Emond’s Field while trying to make the silhouette unique. Finally, the description for Watch Hill is that it sits on top of a hill, which allows it to take in the surrounding landscape.

Bringing it All Together

I love a map that feels like it was stuffed in a satchel as it traveled around the world. So for this map I decided to use one of my Ancient Paper Borders that I created to give that final touch. Adding some wear to your map is a great way to make it feel like a relic from history.

The whole map took me around 40-45 hours to complete. I actually finished reading The Eye of the World and The Great Hunt before it was done. It was a really enjoyable project and I definitely hope to do more maps from The Wheel of Time in the future.

Download the Full Resolution Map

After creating this map, I was honored to receive frequent requests for a way to get prints. But, as I do not have a commercial license for this map, that is unfortunately not an option. So I decided to make it a free gift to you and the amazing fandom surrounding The Wheel of Time.

Once you click the button below, be sure to click on the download arrow in the upper right corner to download the full resolution file and not just the preview. Enjoy! The Wheel Weaves as the Wheel Wills - Josh Stolarz

This map is not officially licensed by Robert Jordan or The Wheel of Time and is merely the creation of a fan of the series.

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Placing cities and villages is one of my favorite steps in the map making process. It’s the moment a map goes from being just a landscape to having a history with a story to tell. The placement of cities and their relationship to one another is the backbone to a world with a sense of depth and realism.

Cities and towns don’t pop up by accident; which means some thought needs to go into where you place them so your map doesn’t appear unrealistic. The good news is there are a few simple principles to keep in mind which will not only help with the placement, but will cause the story to begin to emerge organically from the map. Let’s start with some questions you can keep in mind.

7 Questions to Ask When Placing a City

1: Is there a source of water for drinking and sanitation?

2: How will the city generate enough food to sustain the population? Does it rely more heavily on farming, hunting, or fishing?

3: What natural resource would provide trade and commerce?

4: Is the city in a strategic location which prevents somebody else from obtaining resources?

5: Is the city thriving, declining, or just maintaining? Why?

6: How does the city deal with sanitation to keep the population healthy?

7: What is the relationship between this city and the surrounding settlements?

Now, if it feels intimidating to have to ask all of these questions before you place a city, don’t get overwhelmed. Not every city on your map is equally important to the story you’re telling so you don’t necessarily need to go into this level of detail for every one. But, these kind of questions should be running in the back of your mind to ensure your city placement is on the right track.

What are the Natural Resources?

A great deal of resources are required to build and maintain a city, so there needs to be a good reason for people to invest to have one in that location. Even if that good reason has since dried up and the city is now in decline (An interesting plot point to keep in mind). Either way, every city needs a variety of resources in order to thrive. Otherwise people will move on to the proverbial “greener pastures”.

No Water? No City

It may seem obvious, because we all understand that people need to drink water to survive. But, water is also vital for sanitation, agriculture, and even trade. The amount of water available in a region often determines how large a city can grow before it becomes unsustainable. We live in a day where most of us can simply turn on a faucet to get access to clean water, but this was not the case for most of human history.

More often, people would build around a primary water source in order to have access to this precious commodity. This allowed cities to survive and even thrive in seemingly arid conditions where water was at a premium.

What We Learn From History

Perhaps the best example to illustrate the significance of water for a civilization is the relationship between Egypt and the Nile. Without the regular flooding of the Nile to distribute rich organic material over the fields, one of the greatest ancient civilizations would never have existed. This was so significant to the Egyptians that they in essence worshiped it through the god Hapi, who they believed was responsible for the annual flooding.

Not all the fresh water has to come from large snaking rivers like the Nile though. Wells and natural springs are also a common source of water for different settlements. Besides it’s impressive fortifications, part of what made the ancient city of Jericho so formidable was the presence of a natural spring located at the southeastern corner of the city. This meant it could sustain itself much longer during an enemy siege as they always had access to fresh water. Of course this wasn’t their only source of water for agriculture and trade, but it certainly was vital to the survival of the city.

What Drives the Economy?

Cities obviously need food and water to survive. But, simply having food and water is not enough to cause a village to grow into a city. There needs to be some kind of export or trade to bring wealth and build a sustainable economy. It can be anything from a valuable mineral, dye, cloth, or even a particular food or beverage.

As you look over your map, consider what valuable resources could be found in the area. What would be valuable enough to cause not just one person, but multiple families to move there to take advantage of that commodity? Because once that happens and money starts flowing, other people will then come to provide services for those original people. Most of the people who got rich during the California gold rush were not the miners, but the people who sold the shovels, food, and haircuts to the miners.

This is an oversimplification of how an economy works and how a city comes to be. But, the main point is there needs to be at least one main thing that is driving the economy. Likely, there are several that are connected and building upon each other. Consider what those things might be, and how it would shape the city and surrounding area.

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Make it a Game

Think of this as a game like Civilization or Settlers of Catan where you have a finite amount of resources and you needed to be strategic where you build your next settlement. If you build somewhere with an abundance of natural resources then more people will flock to the city and it will grow. Build in the wrong place and your city will be stagnant and struggle to even survive.

While this whole process could get extremely complex, ultimately what placing cities comes down to is asking yourself two questions:

• How does the city survive?

• How does the city thrive?

Once you figure those things out you are well on your way to creating more realistic maps. Plus, by thinking through some of the questions raised here you will likely see several compelling stories that seemingly emerge from the world itself. Stories that are intertwined with the setting are far more compelling because it connects the setting, plot, and characters in a way that feels logical and gives everything greater depth.

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You've drawn the mountains, forests, rivers, and placed the cities on your map…but then you realize there is still a lot of blank space left on the page. But, what can you add to fill those areas without the map feeling cluttered? This is a common issue when drawing maps but with a little creativity you can come up with some ways to fill those spaces and tie everything together.

If you think about the real world, there is no such thing as a landscape truly devoid of texture. Even a barren desert is made up of sandy dunes or weathered stone. A wide expanse of grassland will still be broken up by rocks that come above the surface, rolling hills, or a cluster of shrubs over a hidden water source. Drawing little things like this can go a long way in filling those blank spaces and even giving them an element of visual interest.

Here is a little list of some elements you could include:

- Tufts of grass
- Boulders & stones
- Small cliffs & ridges
- Scattered trees
- Stumps & fallen trees
- Bushes & desert scrub
- Subtle rolling hills
- Farm fields
- Roads & Paths
- Regional names to fill the space

GET YOUR FREE MAP FEATURE CHEAT SHEET

Stuck on what to draw next on your map? This cheat sheet provides 30 prompts with hand-illustrated examples to help you overcome creative block and get back to mapping! Conveniently formatted so you can easily print it out at home to keep handy while you map your world.

There are of course many other things you could draw depending on if it’s a desert, plains, or a tundra. But hopefully this list will help get your mind going so you can come up with some ideas of your own. Just determine what type of terrain you want in a particular area and think about what type of things you would find there. Then you can decide how you could represent some of those things on your map.

Honestly, have fun with it and ask yourself what you could draw in those blank areas to cause your viewer to want to go there and learn more. Those are the maps that capture our imagination and cause us to want to go on an adventure and learn the story behind the map.

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When you scale down a continent to fit on a piece of paper, it is impossible to retain all the nuances of the terrain. A map is an artist’s interpretation of a landscape, which means you need to decide what to show and what to leave out. Even the most detailed landscape painter has to make creative decisions to give the sense of a landscape without painting every single pine needle.

I am a bit of an obsessive perfectionist, so when I first began drawing maps, I wanted everything to be “accurate.” But it didn’t take long to become so overwhelmed in the details that it caused me to walked away from cartography for awhile. I didn’t understand that the “perfection” I was striving after was an impossible goal, which meant no matter how much effort I put toward it, I was disappointed.

But the goal of a fantasy map should not be “perfection” or even mere “accuracy”, but telling a visual story. When you know the story you want to tell, and who it is for, then you can decide what is essential to show on your map and what to omit. A map that tells a story will not only be more memorable but will cause people to just want more.

Here are 4 essential things to consider before you begin drawing your map.

Describe Your Ideal Audience

If your map is meant to appeal to somebody who loves dark gothic themes, then a whimsical map that looks like it belongs in a children’s storybook is probably not going to work. This may be an extreme example, but the point is that you need to know your audience. Not everyone is going to like your work, but if you know who you are primarily creating the map for then you can make all of your creative decisions with that person in mind.

Sit down and begin to describe the ideal person for the story you want to tell. Give them a name, age, gender, and list out what they do for work and what they do in their free time. This is a common exercise in the marketing and business world to identify their ideal customer is so that all their decisions can be made with that individual in mind. But this is also extremely valuable when it comes to art and storytelling as well. So, come up with a profile that describes your primary audience in as much detail as possible.

Determine What Information Needs to Be Conveyed

What information is absolutely essential for your audience to know after looking at your map? Do they need to know where a particular swamp is located? Or is it important for them to see the distance between a village and a particular city? Determine what the most important elements are and build your map around those things.

Showing less is often more effective in making a map feel more realistic because it provides clarity to the viewer. If there is too much information to take in and it’s all shouting at them for an equal amount of attention then there’s a strong possibility they will miss your main message altogether. That’s not to say you cannot include some secondary elements to flesh out the surrounding areas of your map. But they should not distract from the primary things you want to communicate to them.

Decide What Emotion to Evoke

A map shouldn’t just convey information, it should trigger some type of emotion in the viewer. Realize as well that even a bored reaction is still an emotion…it’s just not the emotion you probably want to achieve. Either way, people will feel something about your map so don’t just leave it up to chance. If you want them to feel uneasy and that the world has a dystopian feel, then you would likely want to use some desaturated colors, darker values, and draw everything to feel like it has an element of decay. Consider what emotion you want to trigger and aim wholeheartedly at it.

An Example from Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings

In the movie adaptation of Lord of the Rings, consider how the color palettes were used to communicate something about the story and cause you to feel a particular way. In the image of Frodo on the left, warmer and more saturated colors were used to convey that Rivendell is an inviting place of safety and rest. The location itself is meant to be so inviting that only necessity will drive Frodo to leave.

But, Lothlorien on the right utilizes a much cooler color palette. The colors in the skin are far less saturated, and there is a heavy blue cast to make us feel ill at ease. Even though Lothlorien is also a place of rest, part of us wants to leave as soon as possible because we aren’t sure we can trust these elves in the same way we did in Rivendell.

Imagine if the colors in these scenes were reversed, and how dramatically it would change the emotion you feel. Both scenes take place shortly after our protagonists arrive and are meant to give us a first impression of the location. This is a great example of using visuals to drive a story and trigger an emotion in us as the viewer.

Deliver a Sense of Mystery

One of the amazing things about maps is that it often causes us to want to explore and learn more about the world. Sometimes the regions we find most compelling are the areas that seem vague but hint at something to be discovered. Mystery is potentially one of the most compelling storytelling methods as it spawns discussion and a desire to know more.

A way to accomplish this is to supply just enough information to pique somebodies curiosity without telling the whole story. Having a scarred patch of ground in the middle of a forest, a trapdoor on an isolated island, or a large rock formation that looks like it is carved out of a mountain. Whatever it is, the key is that it should be just unusual enough that it will cause somebody to stop and wonder.

PIN FOR LATER

Having Clear Direction

Being able to have clarity in these four areas in the beginning will go a long way in helping you know what story you want to tell. Then you can make decisions on what is most important to your message and what’s just noise. As the artist you are the one in control of the story your map tells. Even if you are creating a map for somebody else, then it’s up to you to understand the story they’re telling so that you can create a map that reflects and honors their world.

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All of us want our worldbuilding to be immersive and to feel like our story has something unique to offer. But where do you even begin when there’s so much to potentially spend time learning? Should you research plate tectonics, weather patterns, politics, biology, or economics? Usually, the answer given to those types of questions is a broad and resounding “yes”. The problem is that nobody has time to master all of those subjects…and frankly, do you even want to?

A basic knowledge on a wide range of subjects is valuable for the sake of creating a believable world, but what will really make your world unique is when you double down on something that you nerd out about. Not only is this goal far more achievable but it makes the process much more enjoyable. You may be passionate about botany, geo-politics, or astronomy...whatever it is, make it the thing that really stands out in your worldbuilding and you will be a big step closer to creating a memorable setting.

Tolkien, Sanderson, and Rothfuss

Think about some of your favorite authors and see if you can determine what their "thing" is which makes their world compelling. Tolkien was known for his love of languages, and his stories were really just a means of applying them. Brandon Sanderson’s reputation was built on his love of magic systems, and they really become the backbone of what drives his worlds. Patrick Rothfuss is a self-proclaimed geek for economics; which you can really sense coming out in his writing with the value of money being brought to the forefront of the story.

All three writers are passionate about different things, and yet each of them is known for the depth of their worldbuilding. What’s cool about this is even though you may not share their particular passion, there’s something compelling about someone who is genuinely enthusiastic about a topic. I may not be as interested in economics as Patrick Rothfuss, but he presents it in a way that reflects his passion and causes me become immersed in the story.

NERD CHALLENGE

CREATE A LIST OF OBSCURE THINGS YOU LOVE

The first thing you need to do is go introspective. The reason I specify that these things should be somewhat obscure is to give you the freedom to think outside the box. We have a tendency to filter our ideas too quickly before we have taken the time to really consider how they could work in our story. So if you have a thing for collecting antique ice cream makers, I want to see it on the list!

Lets go through an example to help you visualize how to do this with your own list. Below is an example of three interests and individual could have. Now lets think about how these could make something unique about the worldbuilding.

- Bee Keeping
- Wood Carving
- Boating

Mashing It All Together

As you look over this list, the goal is not to combine all of them but to think how some of them could make something unique about a setting. For instance, with bee keeping you could create a culture that has an economy that is based heavily on the production and export of a variety of premium honeys. To the extent that the bee is a national symbol or deity, which is why they have carved them into the architecture of the buildings and talismans which adorn the populace (See how I got the wood carving in there?)

Or if you want to take the wood carving in a different direction and combine it with the boating; your story could incorporate the production of wooden sailing vessels and how they are constructed and shaped for different situations. Or how the family sigils are carved into the ships are a means to connect with the ancestors which increases the efficiency of the ships based on the quality of the carving.

Just have fun with it and start thinking about how you can mash some of your interests together to create a setting that is not only unique but stands out. So if you love worldbuilding but are also really into aviation, then make that the defining mark of your world. What's cool about this is that what makes your world unique will inevitably attract others with the same passion.

JUST ENOUGH TO BE DANGEROUS

(Then Find the Experts)

As I said earlier, there is value in having general knowledge on a variety of subjects to make sure your world feels realistic and there aren't any glaring problems. But, if you really aren’t interested in economics then do just enough research to have a basic understanding to get started. Then take it to somebody that really is well-read on the subject and ask for feedback.

This is what the best authors do to give an illusion of realism to their worlds because nobody has the time or willpower to be a master of all subjects. If you only rely on your own expertise then you will quickly bog down and lose interest. This is why it is so valuable to be part of a diverse community of people where your strengths can complement the weaknesses of others.

SET YOUR WORLD APART

There is something compelling about a person that is passionate about something…it’s almost infectious. I would have never said I was passionate for economics, but Patrick Rothfuss causes me to care as I get lost in the story. So while your story about a society that revolves around beekeeping will obviously appeal to those with that passion, it will often still be attractive to a variety of people because it is different and sets your world apart.

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