Dispatches From A Cartographer - The Beginning

[Wingshaw]

Greetings from an Australian.

I have been lurking around the Guild for some time, and finally decided to step out of the shadows, and join my map-making brethren. This will be a short introduction – I’m not writing my autobiography.
I’ve been making maps and building worlds for almost 20 years. I do not do it for a game or for a novel, but as an activity in its own right. Now, I want to create maps not as a hobby, but as an artform. From what I’ve seen during my lurking, this is the place to do it. I’ve seen some incredible maps on this forum, and followed many of the tutorials. No disrespect to the tutorial-writers, but for my maps to seem arty, I can’t afford to adopt anyone else’s style. I also want to start posting straight away, so I have attached my first map for online publication (i.e. putting on this site).

Let me give a brief overview of what I’m trying to do (not too much, though – I want the real story to be told in the maps themselves). My maps will be part of a series, called Dispatches from a Cartographer (or DC for short). They will encompass a variety of scales, from towns, to whole regions, and will combine PS with hand-drawn elements. Each map will show a different part of the world, as seen through the eyes of the wandering mapmaker, Larithas Stone. You will get to see the lands that Larithas has visited, and his comments about what he found there. Depending on the response and feedback I get, I will try to post maps on a regular basis. Think of it like a comic book or graphic novel. Each map will be a finshed product, although any feeback I get will contribute to enhancing the overall style.

Lastly, as an aspiring artist, please respect my intellectual property. I hope I won’t need to attach a detailed copywrite caveat, but if my work is being abused, I will do so.

On that negative note, I think that that’s probably enough from me. I’ll try to let Larithas’ voice be the main one you hear from now on (I can answer specific questions if anyone has any).
Enjoy the map(s).