WIP - The Lakelands

[MapMappingMapped]

I've started this one maybe a month and a half ago, and between its birth and its current WIP I've started a few other maps... The Lakelands is the location for my novel, a high fantasy (very roughly) based on Native American culture. It's a melting pot of tribes and peoples with different customs and traditions, languages and mythology. I've taken a rough photo (again), but I'll be sure to scan it properly when the linework's all done. Might even take a clearer WIP photo for once... because this is blurry as heck...
I haven't taken so long on a map ever before. But then, I haven't spend half enough time on this one - and I need to get serious. I really need this map as a writing aide to guide my story.
Oh, and the mountains were inspired b Ilanthar's phenomenal Batikshal Empire map - though I make them slightly shorter

Warning - This Will Be Slow.
### Latest WIP ###

[Ilanthar]

Thanks for a reference, MMM !
And well, that picture is indeed not high quality... but for what I'm able to see, I'm eager to see it at a better resolution.

[nopkin]

As Ilanthar said, I'd love to see a better picture or a proper scan, it looks very promising.

[Ignis-fatuus]

It looks really interesting. I too hope to see it scanned. I am especially interested in it's ties to Native American culture(s). I my self am an archaeologist, and while my focus is on the historical past c.a. 18-19th c., research and literature on Native People's placemaking is not entirely unfamiliar to me. Many Native American cultures engage in their landscapes in ways quite different a tradition Western perspectives. This is to say that landscapes themselves can have very important storied elements to them and various features can and are understood as both narrative and the living history of cultural worldviews. In a longwinded manner, do you find yourself engaging with such a tradion in you map making, and if so, I would love to know how.

Thanks,
-I-F-

[MapMappingMapped]

Thanks for a reference, MMM !
And well, that picture is indeed not high quality... but for what I'm able to see, I'm eager to see it at a better resolution.

Thank you Ilanthar! I've included the scanend version now, sort of anyway .

As Ilanthar said, I'd love to see a better picture or a proper scan, it looks very promising.

Thanks nopkin!

It looks really interesting. I too hope to see it scanned. I am especially interested in it's ties to Native American culture(s). I my self am an archaeologist, and while my focus is on the historical past c.a. 18-19th c., research and literature on Native People's placemaking is not entirely unfamiliar to me. Many Native American cultures engage in their landscapes in ways quite different a tradition Western perspectives. This is to say that landscapes themselves can have very important storied elements to them and various features can and are understood as both narrative and the living history of cultural worldviews. In a longwinded manner, do you find yourself engaging with such a tradion in you map making, and if so, I would love to know how.

Thanks,
-I-F-

Thank you!
I'm not sure if I've understood this correctly, could you maybe explain more?

So here's the scanned WIP. It's very cheeky I've made a little mess trying to stitch it together in Gimp, but, hey, I'll do that when it's time. I even blurred parts of the images whilst scanning. I have a third middle piece, but, since I gave up on the scanning, I'll leave these two together...

[Ignis-fatuus]

Sorry for my somewhat befuddled question. All I am asking I guess is how you represent the storied aspect of your world into the topographic landscape of your map, or if that is something you are interested in doing? Right off the bat I started thinking about an great read titled Wisdom Sits in Places by Keith Baso. He finds that the native perspective of landscape is ontologically different from Western views of how landscape is understood. This is to say that while the Western tradition of spatial undstanding is traditionally bound into top-down cartpgraphic views, Baso finds that indigenous perspective of landscape are often reproduced in the storried features of the landscape. Here mountains, vallies, trees, &c. are imbued with a long history of narrative tradion and are recounted both in the context of visitation and reproduced metaphorically in everyday speach.

Whereas Baso works in the SW, another interesting read in Margaret Bruchacs's book chapter titled, "Earthshapers and placemakers: Algonkian Indian stories and the landscape," where she explores the narrative ties to understanding landscape in the American NE and the ways that Western naming traditions are largely incompatable with indigenous understandings of landscape. If you are at all intersted I can send you pdf's of either or both of the texts mentioned above.

[Greason Wolfe]

Looking good MMM, though I think they posted in reverse order. Didn't read all the way through, but are you planning to color this or leave it black and white?

[Ilanthar]

Looking good indeed! It's curious you did the hatching of the hills the opposite of the mountains. Not that much of a problem, but a bit strange, though.

[MapMappingMapped]

Sorry for my somewhat befuddled question. All I am asking I guess is how you represent the storied aspect of your world into the topographic landscape of your map, or if that is something you are interested in doing? Right off the bat I started thinking about an great read titled Wisdom Sits in Places by Keith Baso. He finds that the native perspective of landscape is ontologically different from Western views of how landscape is understood. This is to say that while the Western tradition of spatial undstanding is traditionally bound into top-down cartpgraphic views, Baso finds that indigenous perspective of landscape are often reproduced in the storried features of the landscape. Here mountains, vallies, trees, &c. are imbued with a long history of narrative tradion and are recounted both in the context of visitation and reproduced metaphorically in everyday speach.

Whereas Baso works in the SW, another interesting read in Margaret Bruchacs's book chapter titled, "Earthshapers and placemakers: Algonkian Indian stories and the landscape," where she explores the narrative ties to understanding landscape in the American NE and the ways that Western naming traditions are largely incompatable with indigenous understandings of landscape. If you are at all intersted I can send you pdf's of either or both of the texts mentioned above.

No problem!
I do my best to give a feeling of place and time in this map, but I think the labels will finish that up. I do feel it's easier to represent this in a novel than in a map.
This world does not only get its inspiration from Native Americans, though this vast mix of cultures is its greatest, but also from similar cultures throughout the world. Still, this is a world of fantasy, with non existing shrubbery and animals...
These books sound like good research, I might check them out soon!

Looking good MMM, though I think they posted in reverse order. Didn't read all the way through, but are you planning to color this or leave it black and white?

Thanks Wolfe! I never said it anywhere, but, yes, I'll colour it in Gimp

Looking good indeed! It's curious you did the hatching of the hills the opposite of the mountains. Not that much of a problem, but a bit strange, though.

I noticed this too. Somehow I don't see this as shadow/hatching, but rather... Lines to build up the hills☺ which is why I'm considering to add the same lines to the left slopes too...

[nopkin]

Thanks for sharing the scans! It looks great so far. Your patience and consistence with the trees is absolutely remarkable.