Need Maps for Dante's Purgatorio

[Jacob Rabinowitz]

First things first: I am prepared to pay $500 for the right artist. I realize that's just an honorarium, but it's a worthwhile project: it's the first Dante translation with all the footnotes and all the historical apparatus (including the maps!) right in the text. I will be pitching this book (in a PDF sample canto) to every college in the country that teaches Dante in translation, so if this succeeds and it becomes as textbook, it could open a career for you as an illustrator (and me as an author!) I'll offer a share of the royalties as well, although if you think Dante will make money, you don't know publishing.

I have a published translation of Dante's Purgatorio (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1548946788...cob+rabinowitz) and I am looking to improve it by including maps and genealogies to clarify references in the text. I need 8 unique maps, and another eleven which are the same unique maps with difference type dropped on them, four small family trees and two coats of arms, and a zodiac. The map repetitions are Italy or a blowup of the North: typically any one of these maps will require no more detail than three towns two rivers and a ridge of mountains. I attach a few of my own crude sketches and tracings, which have everything that needs to be included. The object is to make it as easy as possible for the reader to find the details the poem refers to. All the research is completed. All that's needed is the talent.

4_GangesMidnight.jpg18_C6Map.jpg9_PinterestPurg.jpg

This could be a job for Inkarnate: it could also work with freehand drawings. France and Italy don't need to be pixel-perfect or precisely to scale. What counts is the mood and the importance of the places mentioned. I'm not picturing precisely traced maps, laboriously masked from their backgrounds, and filled with text twisting on wee little paths around each village.

The new angle of this translation is that Dante's Purgatorio is a 14th century fantasy novel in verse. Fantasy style maps with compass roses and castles and towers would help make this point as visible as it is evident from the text itself.

I need to see a portfolio, you need to see the whole set of sketches. Hopefully we can make some kind of match.

[Tiana]

Either you found an artist exceptionally fast, or you have accidentally posted this in the archive of completed requests instead of active requests.

I, as most people here, have a portfolio. It's full of black and white fantasy map type illustrations for books, especially recently, though many are for other purposes as well. Not included in the portfolio is some ink work to create 'occult' tiles for an escape room (they don't get to be published until the escape room is finished), but that was very much in the Dante's Inferno style.

[Cédric H.]

Hello Jacob
I am really interested in this project but I would like to talk to you about the details of the maps that you need beforehand.
You can see my portfolio of fantasy maps here and you can contact me at TheFantasyMapsForge@gmail.com

[Ralaris]

I would be interested in your project thought I would like to discuss with you more if you like some of my works. You can check them out on my website here. And you can email me at Ralarismaps@gmail.com and we can talk details I can also do styles that I don't have shown if you want something different. But I can also make some custom icons and compasses if you want. Let me know!

Ralaris

[Kate2192]

Hey Jacob,
I'd also be interested in working on this project with you, you can check out my portfolio at https://kate_moody.artstation.com and if you like what you see you can email me at kateam@optonline.net.

Hope to hear from you.

Kate

[Ryan S. Thomason]

Hello Jacob,

I'm a Scottish map-maker and illustrator, and my portfolio is here: http://ryansthomason.com/. I've made historical maps and medieval-style illustrations before - if my style suits, I can be reached at ryan@ryansthomason.com.

[ScottDA]

Am I reading this right? You need 26 pieces done?

[Tiana]

Am I reading this right? You need 26 pieces done?

I'm interpreting this as 8 base pieces, except with different text to point out different locations for different sections of the book. This isn't uncommon for academic books, which require multiple spreads of data that can all use the same underlying artwork.

[Jacob Rabinowitz]

Yes, that is correct, though 11 of these are the same map (the Italy I have sketched) with different features and names placed on them. four are brief genealogies (sample attached) 19_Peter3Gen.jpg. These are not really illustrations, but rather diagrams, with only the few key features given. It's a design problem rather than an artistic interpretation. The ideal candidate would be able to render with facility, as an illustrator, and a program like Inkarnate would greatly streamline the process of adding the type and the few details needed.

[Jacob Rabinowitz]

Am I reading this right? You need 26 pieces done?

The answer to your questio is posted a little bit below: I haven't quite got the knack of this interface.