The Kingdom of Valmadar

[Ilanthar]

My challenge entry for this "commission a guild member" challenge. I had the pleasure to team with - JO - (please, have a look on the wonderful map he did for me!).

He sent me this brief :
"The theme would be a map of a kingdom (or a region of that kingdom) that has the geographic particularity of being the habitat and breeding place of dragons. It could be a kingdom perched at the top of a mountain range (like Nepal) or also a peninsula on the edge of the ocean, or a northern island... it's up to you and your drawing preferences....
In the world in which this country is situated, dragons are intelligent animals, endowed with magic, but without being "superior beings". The kingdom in question has learned, over thousands of years, to live in harmony with the dragons and to tame them, in a way, even though one is never completely in control of one's dragon. This know-how is the first economic resource of the country: the training and export of dragons.
But it also makes this country a target... neighboring kingdoms, and even large distant empires, dream of taking control of the place and its inhabitants, in order to seize this precious resource (military and economic). A covetousness that led the kingdom to build a whole network of fortresses, walls and castles, in order to defend its borders and the accesses to its core : the external accesses of the kingdom (passes, ports, isthmuses, etc.), the main cities, the places where dragons live and breed.
The technological level of the world is comparable to the Middle Ages as we know it. Militarily, no gunpowder yet, but crossbows, trebuchets, etc., are used."

And this is the map I came up with
Valmadar v2.jpg

French version
Valmadar.jpg

Hope you'll like it!

[mapmage]

Awesome! I love the finished product! This must have taken quite a bit of time.

[Adfor]

All you had to say was dragons. This is one of my favorites from the challenge these past couple months. BAM! Right in the inspiration folder.

IR

[Galendae]

"2020, year of the cursed Crown" Epic!

[Ilanthar]

By mapmage
Awesome! I love the finished product! This must have taken quite a bit of time.

Thanks, mapmage ! Like every map, it's a work of patience .

By Adfor
All you had to say was dragons. This is one of my favorites from the challenge these past couple months. BAM! Right in the inspiration folder.

Thanks a lot, Adfor

By Galendae
"2020, year of the cursed Crown" Epic!

it sounded appropriate .

[- JO -]

Hello friend!
A real big THANK YOU for this beautiful map! I really appreciate all the time and passion you put into making it, even though you certainly have a busy schedule and a lot of projects on the go. I appreciate the result even more: it's even better than I imagined and it's really thanks to your talent as a cartographer, but also as an artist and illustrator! It's a really nice end of year gift that you gave me and I hope that this map will have a real nice destiny in your portfolio already so full of beautiful things!

[Eilathen]

Another splendid map from Ilanthar...who's surprised?! Yeah, me neither...

On a more serious note, as always, your maps are full of nice things...continental shapes, mountains, frame-design...overall composition...i could go on. In short: love it! And if i can, i certainly will rep you for this.

[MistyBeee]

We all know you're a fantastic map maker, Ilanthar, but this border is very special among your other works !

[Kellerica]

The border really knocks this one out of the park. The colours are maybe a bit too muted for my tastes, but you know me... Love the dragon illustrations and the little coats of arms!

[Ilanthar]

By - JO -
Hello friend!
A real big THANK YOU for this beautiful map! I really appreciate all the time and passion you put into making it, even though you certainly have a busy schedule and a lot of projects on the go. I appreciate the result even more: it's even better than I imagined and it's really thanks to your talent as a cartographer, but also as an artist and illustrator! It's a really nice end of year gift that you gave me and I hope that this map will have a real nice destiny in your portfolio already so full of beautiful things!

You're so very welcome, my friend ! And well, another good thing with this challenge is that everybody get a gift .

By Eilathen
Another splendid map from Ilanthar...who's surprised?! Yeah, me neither...
On a more serious note, as always, your maps are full of nice things...continental shapes, mountains, frame-design...overall composition...i could go on. In short: love it! And if i can, i certainly will rep you for this.

Héhé, thank you very much, Eilathen! Glad to not disappoint.

By MistyBeee
We all know you're a fantastic map maker, Ilanthar, but this border is very special among your other works !

Well, sometimes I have to convince myself about it . Thanks a lot for the praise.
And you know your work heavily inspired me this frame, don't you ?

By Kellerica
The border really knocks this one out of the park. The colours are maybe a bit too muted for my tastes, but you know me... Love the dragon illustrations and the little coats of arms!

Thanks a lot, Kell ! For once I was hesiting between stronger or more usual colours you know.
And I kinda struggle with that key dragon, so glad you like it.