Continuing our series of interviews with cartographers, this month we're talking to Steffen Brand.
He's known for the unique style and character he brings to his work.
We asked him 7 questions, as we will in each interview.
He's known for the unique style and character he brings to his work.
We asked him 7 questions, as we will in each interview.
1.) Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background...
My name is Steffen Brand - I’m sure you could have guessed it if you read the title . Born 1988 in Germany, I first learned to be an electronics engineer at Siemens in Karlsruhe. After I was forced to pause my studies to advance as a communication engineer at university to do mandatory substitutional service, I refocused and created a portfolio.
This was a big leap since I had no alternatives to the school I send this to. But I also knew that I couldn’t do what I learned for the rest of my life. Everything depended on this - and it worked! It was good enough, I got accepted and I studied communication design at the HTK Hamburg with a focus on illustration. During this time, I got paid the first time for actually drawing something.
2.)How did you get into mapping?
Mapping was born out of necessity. I was - and still am - heavily interested in tabletop RPGs, game mechanics, world-building, etc. I always needed something I didn’t find, which meant I needed to create it on my own. As my skills improved, my urge to do something even more high-end grew alike and kind of drove my process.
To say >I’m striving for perfection< is probably the douchiest and worn-out sentence I could imagine, but it’s kind-of close to the truth. Except there is no perfection. And striving forward means exploring the paths you already left behind you, too. Constantly think about what you are doing, think about for whom you are doing it and how you would like it to be if someone else would do it for you.
3.)Do you create maps professionally, or for fun? If you've sold your work, how did you get started? Any fun/horror stories to share about commissioned work?
Professionally. Even though I have some private projects I love to work on, this is my source of income now. I was a freelancer for some years, but as of February 2016 I’m working full-time as an illustrator. Since I started to do this while I was still studying, it was a soft transition for me from university to commissioned work and I’m still glad I wasn’t thrown into cold water there.
Horror-stories - Yes, where should I even begin? There are always some clients who can’t accept that you are maybe doing it because you like it, but ultimately to also pay your bills. There have been people who seem to have so little confidence in their own product that they decided they wanted me to work for free and we'd figure out payment later (didn’t take it). And there are people out there who would like you to redesign everything a hundred times as you go along for minimal payment.
4.)What kind of computer setup/equipment/software do you have? Any advice or tips for learners?
I predominantly work with a large Wacom Intuos 4 on a MacBook Pro and with an Epson Perfection V33 Scanner if needed. Well, I started out while studying with the Wacom Intuos 4, but nowadays I think the medium-sized one is enough, especially with transportability / storage and pricing in mind. Most of the time I work fully digitally with Photoshop CS6 just because every conversion usually worsens the quality (side-note: but it also forces me to create some of the hand-made randomness / uniqueness manually).
For beginners I would recommend this site. Not just because it is a great resource of inspiration and tutorials, but because of its helpful people. There is nothing better than having a community with the same interests being as supportive, critical and creative as you are. Keep being great! =)
5.)What are your favourite kind of maps or favourite map makers from history?
You just have to look at historic maps and think about what dedication it took to create them. While I have no particularly favored historical cartographer, I have to admit that I particularly like when a personal touch is visible or at least shines though. The dedication I mentioned required cartographers to go out, explore the world, probably criticize all they thought to know about the world and often times this must have led to them standing in awe before the vastness and beauty of the world. With ancient and modern cartographers alike - I have no favorites and just admire the people who translate their view well in something I visually like.
If I would have to decide on a single cartographer it would probably be Claudius Ptolomaeus, especially because of the influence and impact his work had.
6.)What do you consider your best piece of work? How about your favourite, if different?
I really have to differentiate here. My best piece of work is probably the continent map of Aventurien, in which several trains of thoughts all came together to create a rich visual statement of something a person in this world would see the world he lives in. To enrich it with all cultures, landmarks, clues and subtleties was just the icing on the cake - even though it took ages of research and drawing.
My favourite piece of work is a personal project I worked on for about six years now. I created everything for this world: Tectonics, climate, circulation, cultures, etc. and while this is still a WIP I learned so much from this. Nevermind the 200 pages and enormous visual library I created for this world.
7.)Where can we find you on the web?
Now that I think about it I really should put up some more channels. You can find me here on the Guild and on DeviantArt, of course. But feel free to message me with questions you might have =)