World Map for TTRPG

[WholesomeOgre]

Hello, Guildfolk,

I'm writing today because I hope to find a talented, experienced fantasy mapmaker among you for a game I intend to crowdfund in 2025. The map would involve a broad geographic depiction of several island continent/kingdoms and the surrounding waters. This map request is accordingly a commercial one, but the artist will of course be paid no matter the outcome of this fundraising effort.

In terms of style I'm admittedly inclined to the olde skool treasure map aesthetic, but I've seen enough brilliant maps round these parts to keep an open mind. The map I hope to commission will be broadly topographical, with some sites of interest identified on each island.

The map will ultimately appear in the crowdfunding promotion, and the game itself will involve a PDF version, a softcover, and a hardcover, so the map will need to be of a quality that translates nicely to those three contexts. I'm also leaning toward making a tabletop map as a stretch goal or an add on.

The time constraints are loose, but I'd love to have the map sooner rather than later. I'm concurrently searching for cover and interior artists as well, so I'm sending out queries in every direction. As far as rights go, I'd like to hold the right to use the image for commercial purposes, the artist will have the right to exhibit the image as part of their portfolio but not to exploit it for commercial gain.

Interested folks can find the landing page over at Backerkit under the name of Chancers; I'll likely import the project to Kickstarter when all is said and done. While I'm not an especially famous writer/designer, I've backed some projects over there and might be able to parlay familiarity with my writing into some extra pledges.

For maximum transparency, Chancers is a hopepunk game in its bones and marrow. It's the opposite of grimdark, and I'm building on the supposition that people who find themselves in a reasonably good place might aspire to make it even better rather than hoarding all the available resources for themselves and murdering and looting their way across the fantasy landscape. I'd accordingly be especially keen to work with an artist who has that same sensibility, and to support LGBTQIA+ and disabled or neurodivergent artists. The game milieu will be canonically as friendly and accepting to folks of all stripes as I can make it.

I hope that covers the needful bases! I'll try to add a few sensible responses to existing forum posts so that I can accept private messages here before long!

[hyn_works]

Hi, congratulations on your project. Try taking a look at my work on my channels, if you like my style I would be happy to help you. I worked already in similar contexts for Kickstarter and ttrpg campaigns. Feel free to send me and email

[WholesomeOgre]

Hi, congratulations on your project. Try taking a look at my work on my channels, if you like my style I would be happy to help you. I worked already in similar contexts for Kickstarter and ttrpg campaigns. Feel free to send me and email

Thank you for giving this call a look! I think your Aelanti Archipelago is in the neighborhood of what I'm after, but I might be looking for a peculiar balance of geographic/topographic detail and situated local detail. I'll have to sketch out my notions a bit more fully and run them past a mapmaker friend who is currently overbooked with his own game projects.

[Strigunart]

Hello!

I'd love to work with you on your project! You can find my portfolio and my contact info at:

www.strigunart.com

I already worked on some TTRPGs and Boardgames and you can find my former client's reviews on the page as well.

Hope to hear from you

CHEERS!

[WholesomeOgre]

Hello!

I'd love to work with you on your project! You can find my portfolio and my contact info at:

www.strigunart.com

I already worked on some TTRPGs and Boardgames and you can find my former client's reviews on the page as well.

Hope to hear from you

CHEERS!

Thank you! I quite like the feel of your work, especially the Epic of Egaisha pieces. In my addled brain I'm looking for a somewhat different balance in terms of topographic and cultural detail, but it's a style I'll run past my fiancee, who has a far better aesthetic eye than mine!

[Naima]

Hello ,here is my portfolio, in case you can contact me directly there on the site although I think my style is not what you should be looking for.

[WholesomeOgre]

Hello ,here is my portfolio, in case you can contact me directly there on the site although I think my style is not what you should be looking for.

Thank you! You have some beautiful topographical work in your portfolio. I think I'm leaning toward something a little bit rougher, however, something that captures the perspective of an explorer trying to make sense of lands and peoples and to approximate their experience of these seven islands. Your maps capture a gorgeously realized modern sensibility that might not catch that vibe.

[hyn_works]

Thank you for your reply! I deal a lot with fantasy maps, I had the opportunity to make some regional maps as you have seen on my channels. I don't use generators, not even to do the basics. so everything I draw obviously suffers from the "inaccuracy" of a hand-made drawing. However, I remain available, just let me know!

Inviato dal mio 23049PCD8G utilizzando Tapatalk

[Tiana]

Remember that what you're seeing in people's portfolios reflects the balance of geography/topography requested by their previous clients, not their limitations. Any of these fine artists can adapt to your requested detail level if you happen to like their style. I am quite sure that Hyn could draw a map suited to your geographical/topographical balance of choice, especially if you can come up with an example or two that represents what you need, as they do unique hand drawn art to spec.

As should be no surprise, I have many maps in my portfolio as well, although my work is decidedly different from all three who've posted so far and definitely less "treasure map" than Strigun and Hyn. Feel free to check it out at your leisure and if any of my maps capture your attention, reach out. My work is much more commonly found in novels though. Cheers!

[WholesomeOgre]

Thank you for the advice and for reaching out, Tiana. As with most novices in art, my responses are fairly impressionistic; it's tough for me to articulate what has the right look and feel, and (as a writer who's sometimes been encouraged to write differently than I customarily do, often to reach an imagined audience) I struggle to point people toward art/artists I'd like them to recapture in their own work. I've seen a great deal to admire in all the folks who've posted here; just hunting for that elusive vibe.