Hello!

[CoolioTree]

I'm CoolioTree

I've been sketching fantasy maps for a few months now, and only just discovered this website today. Right now, my skills aren't exactly the best, and all of my maps have just been improvised, without any real planning. They're mostly continents, filled with kingdoms, republics, empires, etc.

I love history, and when drawing my maps, I'm mostly focused on creating states that resemble medieval Europe, which happens to be my favorite era in history to study. In fact, I get so consumed with the politics and warfare in a continent that I just draw the basic geographic features, then create the borders, along with placing the major cities, then spend an entire hour or 2 thinking up scenarios in my head of intrigue, dynastic growth and rivalry, warfare, feudalism, etc. But, since this is a Cartography forum, and since I want to change my ways (a bit), I've come here to learn how to properly create maps.

I, however, have a slight disdain towards magic related subjects. I'm only focused on... non-magic things, I guess.

As of right now, I do not have any PC or laptop other than a Chromebook, and I don't think drawing with a stylus on my phone will create quality maps, so I am going to draw maps the old fashioned way until I have enough money saved up to buy a PC.

I'm willing to learn anything about whatever this forum has to offer, and I hope to become a part of your community!

[ChickPea]

Hi Coolio, welcome to the Guild!

There are a few hand-drawers here and I think hand-drawn maps are always well-received. Do you have access to a scanner? Even a photo would allow you to share your work with us. Check out the Tutorials and How Do I sections of the forum if you're looking for tips, or just ask if you have questions. Looking forward to seeing your maps.

[Chick]

Hello CoolioTree, Welcome to the Guild!

To get you started, there is a great tutorial in the sticky section of Tutorials, called
Quickstart Guide to Fantasy Mapping: http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=4276

From there, go to
Hand Drawn Mapping for the Artistically Challenged: http://www.cartographersguild.com/sh...ad.php?t=10655

Most of those are about digital mapping, but the concepts still apply to hand-drawn ones. Once you have completed those two tutorials, you'll be well on your way!!

[J.Edward]

Hey CoolioTree, welcome again.
There's nothing inherently wrong with doing maps that focus more on the history and politics of a region, and less on the geography.
I would say that doing more of the terrain and water features will be of use to you since those things will often affect how things go - resources, boundaries, politics are all affected by these.
Like ChickPea said, even if you don't have a scanner getting a pic with your phone is at least one way to jump in.
It's hard to get a good pic from a phone but it's something.
Anyways, you'll find a lot of well informed and helpful people on the Guild.
Cheers, J.

[CoolioTree]

Thanks!

What tools should I use for hand drawn maps?

I don't know much about markers and stuff like that, so

[J.Edward]

Thanks!

What tools should I use for hand drawn maps?

I don't know much about markers and stuff like that, so

I got pretty far with just pencil/pen and paper. Having a scanner is a huge benefit but in relation to a Chromebook I'm not sure what that would help.
I'm not real familiar with what all you could do on a Chromebook. Even a half decent laptop might be good.

There are a lot of benefits to an image editor, even when doing hand drawn work.
You can scan in a sketch, pull it into an image editor, skew it so it looks like it's in perspective, print it out and then retrace that.
Of course if you have a good eye, you can just draw it in perspective. It's actually better to be able to get in the habit of that anyway, as it will open you up to more potential.

A cheap light board can be super helpful too. There are some really cool LED light boards for sale on amazon that aren't too much.
That would let you do rough maps and then do a trace over for a more finished map.

I did all my work as pencil drawings first, then would ink later.
Starting out, the quality of paper is less relevant. As you get better you may want to invest in better quality paper.

Another great habit for hand drawing is to get used to drawing repeating lines, over and over.
Like drawing them right over top of each other. It's a practice to get your hand-eye coordination and muscle memory going.
I'll try to dig up the link to the vid I found way back. It's to train yourself to be able to draw better steadier lines.
I did it a long time back and it was super helpful.

Well, those are just some thoughts. Got to get back to work.

[CoolioTree]

Thanks. I've managed to get a Chromebook port for Gimp. Don't know if it will work properly, but hopefully it will