Perhaps not a map, but a Request/Opportunity Nonetheless!

[The Cartographist]

Assorted Cartographers, Artists, and Others.

I am announcing an illustration request / challenge / contest of sorts. My (very) small company, The Fantasy Cartographic, is putting out a pdf rpg product in the next several weeks; the product will be the first in a series of products. For a variety of reasons, we haven’t designed a logo for the product line yet. This request / contest is my means of obtaining a suitable logo.

Pertinent information is as follows:

Deadline: 01 June 2008 (Yikes, it’s a tight one.)
Image Size: 300dpi. Six inches by X inches. (X is between 2.5 and 5. It’s up to you to make the logo work to your artistic style.)
File Type: Preferred PNG

I’ve attached a jpg with a rough sketch to serve as a starting point. But you do NOT need to use this at all in your entry; it merely serves to show one possible idea.

Yes, you read it correctly, the title of the product line is “Points of Light”.

Artistic guidance: What I am looking for is the words “Points of Light” in a font of your choosing floating just above a map on parchment. (Very similar in style to the map in the logo of the Cartographer’s Guild.) Except, most of the map is blackened, smudged, unreadable. Only in a few (2-3) small places is there a spot where the black doesn’t cover the map. In those places (each surrounding a city or town – a bright, perhaps even glowing, circle on the map), the “original” color of the map shows through in bright vibrant colors—forest greens, river blues, hills, etc. [The effect that I am looking for with the black over the map contrasting to where the black is not is similar to the Sistine chapel, before restoration and after restoration, except the dark is much darker than the Sistine before restoration. The items on the map can just barely be seen under the smudge.] The geography is completely up to the artist, as it will not have any bearing on the product content. The entire logo should be surrounded by a slight shadow so that it stands off the cover.

Some other guidance: Although I depict the map as a 3D scroll, this is NOT a requirement; if your artistic sense says otherwise, don’t make it 3D. The words do NOT have to be arranged in this manner over the map; if you think it looks better horizontal or vertical or some other arrangement, go for it. The words can be completely surrounded by the map or can hang over its edges—again, up to you.

Okay, so, how is this like a challenge? Anyone who attempts this endeavor is free to post WIPs, and I will offer further guidance, advice, clarification throughout.

How is this like a contest? Well, the winner, to be chosen by me, on or about June 2nd, will get the following for their troubles:
- $15 USD.
- Artistic credit, by name, in the product.
- A free copy of the product, which will retail for somewhere between $5 - 6 on RPGNow.com.
- A residual (amount yet to be determined, probably on the order of $0.12 to $0.20 USD) for every item that is sold with this logo on its cover. We have plans for at least 4 products that will bear this logo and perhaps several more.

Why am I doing this in this format? Because in my seven months of membership here, I am continually amazed by the quality of artists/cartographers here. What better place to seek a logo? And because someone might come up with a better vision than the vague one floating in my head.

Finally, I may have a few similar request / challenge / contests in the coming days, so keep your eyes peeled!