Gosh I hate making introductions, I never quite know where to begin.

I'm an artist originally from the UK who moved to the US in 2005. I've been a reader and writer with a preference for sci fi and fantasy since I was able to read and write, and I've been a gamer since I was 12 years old. I've played a lot of gaming systems, but mainly I play with WEG D6 Star Wars, and D&D (2E and 3.5E). I don't use my traditional media techniques to make maps, I prefer Photoshop and 3DS Max for that. I'm actually pretty good at illustrating landscapes in watercolor, which is very handy for really bringing my worlds alive. There's nothing quite like being able to hand over a briefing packet for a new location and having pictures to go with the maps. I think that helps bring a world to life for a lot of my gaming friends.

I love creating new places for characters to go in my stories and games, and I'm known at the gaming table as the one who adds flavor to everything. There's no such thing as a plain old NPC, book, culture, or world at my gaming table; even the mounts, pets, and ships have lives, spirits and names at my table.

I have been trying to create my own gaming system, but I have a lot more to do before it's ready for any form of beta-testing. For my gaming system, I'm creating a world for stories to take place in, and that means mapping. I didn't know I was hooked on making maps until I tried making my first world map using Jeremy Elford's map tutorials (back when I could still access his website).

I'm eventually going to need to make maps of star systems and planets for a science fiction novel I'm in the process of writing, and this seems the place to pick up some friendly tips and tricks for doing just that. I haven't figured out exactly how I plan to present my galaxy and system maps, but I have a few ideas bouncing around in my head.

Well, that's me, I guess.