Magic: The Gathering maps

[Glamdring804]

Hello everyone.

I'm a fan of the MtG trading card game, but one thing the company never does is publish maps of their worlds. I really like maps, and I really like having maps of worlds I like, so I decided to make my own maps. I just recently finished my first one, depicting the world of Zendikar. It is hand drawn, using nothing more than a pencil, a 10" x15" graph paper, and geographical descriptions from a world guide. The only thing I did digital is the lettering, after i decided my handwriting was too sloppy and didn't contrast well with the rest of the map.

I'm hoping for critiques, but I'm also looking for advice and help. A friend of mine is currently tracing it as a vector image, so I can more easily color it, etc. I was wondering if someone would be willing to point me to the best crash-course, and/or give me some advice on the best tools and techniques to use.

Thanks very much!

[vorropohaiah]

yeah i love the magic lore (I've bought the first two art of magic books (so far Zendikar and Innistrad - if you don't have them i suggest getting them as they're invaluable tools to anyone wanting to do more with the planes/worlds like set a roleplaying game in them or map them, for instance) and the one thing i think they're lacking, particularly in the case of Innistrad which is meant to be quite a small plane, are maps.

since WotC hasn't really given any insight into exact dimensions and locations, there's little i can say, though the main thing that springs to mind is the continents all seem too similar in size. I think you have some leeway to make the shapes more interesting and different, as well as perhaps making some of them part of the same landmass - is it specifically implied by the lore that each location is separate from the others?

[Glamdring804]

yeah i love the magic lore (I've bought the first two art of magic books (so far Zendikar and Innistrad - if you don't have them i suggest getting them as they're invaluable tools to anyone wanting to do more with the planes/worlds like set a roleplaying game in them or map them, for instance) and the one thing i think they're lacking, particularly in the case of Innistrad which is meant to be quite a small plane, are maps.

Receiving my Art of Zendikar book in the mail is actually what inspired me to make this map in the first place. My Art of Innistrad book arrives tomorrow. I've made a rough sketch of the plane, based on the descriptions found in the Planeswalker's Guide, but I'm waiting for the art book before I continue.

since WotC hasn't really given any insight into exact dimensions and locations, there's little i can say, though the main thing that springs to mind is the continents all seem too similar in size. I think you have some leeway to make the shapes more interesting and different, as well as perhaps making some of them part of the same landmass - is it specifically implied by the lore that each location is separate from the others?

Yeah, by the time I realized my mistake, I was too far along to change it. The one disadvantage of pencil and paper. Individually, the continents are quite good, but they don't really mesh together. Tazeem is too large. Ondu isn't quite right in shape. As far as I can tell, all of the continents except Bala Ged and Guul Draz are separate landmasses. I should have done a better job of integrating the four in the southwest together, though. They are too discombobulated. Anyways, my Innistrad map should come along better. It's a lot easier to do, Espicially since it only covers an area roughly the size of France or Germany.

[Josiah VE]

That looks fabulous! I'll try to make a proper comment when I get back from camping in a week.