[WIP] The Forgotten Realms

[Meton]

I started another map project for a while instead of continuing bigger projects. I think it's probably all the things I have seen here in CG and in Instagram that has lead to this: I will try my skills with classic fantasy map style.

I have made tons of fictional maps of more realistic places in modern settings with atlas-style cartography. But when going through my old drawings I found a map I made probably when I was 14 or 15 years old, so about 10 years ago. It is the single one map I have done in a fantasy style, with pictorial mountains, intriguing place names and regions with indeterminate territories. (Of course there can be fantasy maps without these).

The old map: (scan)

Original_scan_1300.jpg

I found this map still quite amusing, it has many things I could call fantasy cliches, but still I like it. However, it's technically quite poor, hard to read and a bit messy. So - my idea was that I'll try to practice the fantasy map style by redrawing the old map with better tools and techiques. I try to do it so that I won't change the contents at all - I'll keep all the coastlines, mountains and towns where thay are without adding or removing anything. I'll also keep the place names like they are, but all names that are written in Finnish I will translate to English, for making the map more understandable internationally.

When coming up with this idea I found it so challenging and compelling that I started immediately. For this point I have copied the coastlines with pencil, scetched the mountains and scethed some of the names. I have inked the names for the biggest kingdoms and for two smaller regions, and the circles for towns. In addition, I have listed and translated all the names and thought about what fonts I will use. The original was A5 gridpaper, and the new one is A4. (For copying the coastlines I first used photocopier to make an A4 copy and then drew through against light). Also, I invented a name for the map, based from its story.

It would be great to hear some comments or feedback!

WIP: (a poor picture)

wip_1.jpg

[Kellerica]

Jes, jännä nähdä mitä tästä tulee! Meillä kaikilla on kyllä varmaan jossain pöytälaatikoiden pohjalla näitä "kliseekimppuja" (se on jännä miten sitä kuvittelee olevansa niin tajuttoman omaperäinen teininä), mutta usein niihin kuitenkin kätkeytyy myös sinne tänne ihan käyttistä kamaa.

Alku näyttää jo hyvältä, vuoret varsinkin hyvällä mallilla! Vaikka sinänsä ymmärränkin halun päivitellä nimistöä kansainvälisemmäksi, olisi toisaalta kiva nähdä ihan suomikamaakin ihan vain koska. Forgotten Realms -nimeä kyllä harkitsisin vielä - vaikka se sinänsä nimenä onkin suht ympäripyöreä, se kuitenkin on Wizards of the Coastin trademark. Toki kartografin oma asia häiritseekö se

Suffer ye non-Finns, I couldn't bother typing any of that in English...

[Meton]

Kiitos kommenteista! Hupsis - sen siitä saa kun yrittää tehdä jotain fantasiahenkistä tietämättä erityisesti skenestä - d&d:täkään en ole koskaan pelannut. Taidanpa vaihtaa tuon nimen...

Muistan tätä tehdessäni että lisäsin niitä kliseitä aika tarkoituksellisestikin, mutta on siinä omaperäisiäkin juttuja, ja kokonaisuus on yllättävän toimiva.

Nuo suomenkeliset nimet mitä olin tehnyt on kyllä ihan hauskoja ja oikeassa olet, olis se hyvä ihan yleisesti tehdä karttoja suomeksikin. Mutta toisaalta, kääntäminen oli yllättävän haastavaa ja hyvää harjoitusta englannin kielessä.

Sorry everyone! I didn't realise that Forgotten Realms is already a thing. I'm not referring to any fantasy world that already exists in somewhere else. I'll probably change that name. Thank you Kelleri for pointing this out.

[Kellerica]

Heh... Näitä sattuu aina välillä! Tuli itsellä vaan hetkellinen hämmennys, kun FR on entuudestaan settinginä tuttu (itse asiassa pelataan tälläkin hetkellä sinne sijoittuvaa ropekampanjaa), ja sitten kun tämän ketjun avasin meni ihan pallo jumiin kun ei maamerkit näyttäneetkään yhtään tutuilta.

Olet muuten oikeassa, on tosiaan hyvää harjoitusta käännellä nimiä ja keksiä niille erikielisiä vastineita. Ja olen ainakin itse myös tykännyt että se on parhaimmillaan ihan hauskaakin, kun pitää jotenkin kaivaa niistä nimistä se olennainen esiin ja miettiä että mikä välittää juuri sen toivotun fiiliksen.

No, joka tapauksessa, odotan tosiaan mielenkiinnolla tämän etenemistä!

[Meton]

So I've been working on this quite much lately and it's time to show current progess. I started the inking from the labels, because they must be "on top" of the mountains and sometimes also coastlines. But because I got bored with just writing names, I started to draw the coastlines also. But because in some points the mountains have to be drawn before the coastlines, I also started the mountains. So, it looks a bit strange because some of the coastlines and mountains are missing, but you can see how the map is going to be.

About half of the labels are still missing. It has been fun translating the names to English, I've got help from my wife who is an almost-native English speaker. Some of the names were a bit difficult, though. For example the word for peninsula in Finnish, "niemi", is a very common word, there are thousands os Finns with the surname Niemi (14 700, had to check). Just the word Niemi is even a decent place name in Finland. But the English word "peninsula" is long and not very catchy. So, in the map there is a peninsula called Pitkäniemi, which literally translates to "long peninsula". Pitkäniemi is very generic and neutral name, a place called Pitkäniemi coud be anywhere in Finland (508 places found with that name) and it's a surname for 300 Finns (I don't know why I check these things). But a place called Long Peninsula - that sounds horrible, I think. So, it became Long Point. Probably better, although I think "point" usually refers to smaller peninsulas. There are only one "peninsula" in the map, the others became a "head" (Mushroom Head) and a "cape" (Cape Longo).

So here is the latest wip picture. Comments and criticism are welcome!

Have to mention again that the map is not going to be named "Forgotten Realms", probably Forgotten Lands ar something like that.

wip_2.jpg

[Chashio]

This is a really nice looking map, Meton.

[nopkin]

Great job so far! The labels are so clean, fantastic!

[MistyBeee]

I agree totally with Nopkin's comment : amazing, both for the map itself and for the calligraphy ! I'm eager to see more of it !

[Adfor]

I'll have to 3rd the label comment, they are just like Word fonts! Your simple mountain approach looks very nice as well, spiffy work!

[Meton]

This is a really nice looking map, Meton.

Great job so far! The labels are so clean, fantastic!

I agree totally with Nopkin's comment : amazing, both for the map itself and for the calligraphy ! I'm eager to see more of it !

I'll have to 3rd the label comment, they are just like Word fonts! Your simple mountain approach looks very nice as well, spiffy work!

Thank you, thank you! I'm flattered by these kind words.

This map is my first attempt to draw fantasy styled mountains, and I know they're simple, so it's nice to hear that they're at least decent. I have to say that I practiced drawing those mountain by looking at your maps, MistyBeee, so thank you!

About lettering - this isn't my first map with hand lettering so I think I have learned something (although I started learning lettering just six months ago). I think that your lettering, Nopkin, have been an inspiration for me. Thank you too!