Basic artistic map for fantasy setting
SUBJECT
I need a map for a fantasy roleplaying game campaign I have been working on. After years of playing RPGs and designing worlds I've finally found a setting I think I'd like to settle down and start a life with, and I have realized that my poor quality cartography in MS paint won't be enough to impress my players. After trying my hand at map-making in gimp I've decided to have someone else do it for me.
So, onto the subject, the map will be a "world map" of one - three continents (depending on how you count). As far as scale, I figure the entire map will be about as wide as the US or slightly less. I'm not a stickler for scale but I figure the map would be about 2000 miles (3200 km) wide. Without getting into too much detail, the world is elf-dominated and about as high of fantasy as "baseline" Dungeons & Dragons. The world will span a number of climates, and I will provide my "draft" of the map below. I'm obviously willing to give out as much information as the mapmaker needs, but for now I don't think the map will go into too much local detail (I'm not going to list every town and city now, but give myself room to "expand") and instead focus on a general picture of the world and the largest cities. For now, only the major rivers and large patches of terrain will be mapped, and probably less than 10 cities. However, I want the map to be fairly large to allow me to later pin markers onto it and such for my players. My draft is below:
34j7ktw.png
What I have in this draft is terrain descriptors for major areas, and a dot label for the largest cities with a label next to them. I'll provide names for the continents and cities if/once someone picks up the job. The mountain ranges and major rivers are on the map but I'm willing to give the cartographer permission to move what he wants for whatever purpose. The patches of yellow and brown don't correspond to where I expect deserts and swamps (besides the major desert I labeled as such) but I left them in out of laziness; the cartographer could choose to use them if he wanted, but most of them are sort of randomly placed from the technique I used to create them in gimp.
STYLE
I want a style that is more artistic than realistic. I do not want a bird's eye view or terrain map. I want a more symbolic, kind-of isometric style. I will provide some links to styles I like below, although I don't necessarily expect the same level of detail many of these maps have. The main stylistic request I have is the inclusion of small "caricatures" of the cities rather than a plain dot for a label. I can provide descriptions of the cities to aid this to the cartographer, but I don't expect super detailed drawings for the cities.
http://www.cartographersguild.com/at...1&d=1254679559
http://www.cartographersguild.com/at...7&d=1233961171 (This map is almost too huge in scope!)
http://www.cartographersguild.com/at...4&d=1332812995 (The parchment style is not a plus or minus to me, but I like the map)
http://www.webcomicsnation.com/users...world_map.html (Obviously on the cartoon-y side but actually pretty nice)
These were just a few examples, I could provide more, and I by no means expect the amazing level of detail put into these (in fact, I'm not providing that much detail)
QUALITY AND SIZE
I don't have specific technical specifications I need and will leave most of this up to the cartographer. However, I would like to be able to print the map at a large size (not quite a poster, but bigger than a sheet of paper. Probably smaller than 4 sheets of paper.) to use for my campaigns.
TIME CONSTRAINTS
I realize this could take someone time and want the mapmaker to work at his own pace. I'm not sure how long it would take exactly, but I would prefer the map to be done by mid-June (around the 14th) although if this is too soon I will live.
PAYMENT
And now for the most important part: the money. I put [Paid?] for the title because I am currently broke, but depending on when/if this request if filled I would be willing to discuss payment. I won't have any substantial money until summer (sadly when I want the map done) but I could pay for this job and am happy to discuss this with whoever accepts it. I would like to keep it under $50 USD but if this is too little I will negotiate.
COPYRIGHT
Because of the payment I am offering I will allow the cartographer to keep the copyright and use the map in his portfolio if he chooses to, but I want the right to make as many copies as I would like to for personal use. I don't plan on publishing anything in this world, but if I may in the future. I'm not sure how the copyright works exactly, but I may use these locations and world in a published work and if I do, I would contact the cartographer to discuss rights to use the map or make another one, etc.
CONTACT DETAILS
Private message me on the forum or email me at "thhardesty -- at -- gmail [DOT] com" (removing all the junk and formatting as an email, obviously), or post below to discuss taking the job, details, payment, etc.
I'm not sure if I'll be lucky and get this job done for cheap, or at all, but I'm crossing my fingers that someone will reply to this soon because I want a nice map for my next campaign after the D&D 5th edition playtest is released. Please contact me if you are interested and bring up anything you'd like to know
-- Trent "spudspotato" Hardesty
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