Noob from San Diego
Hey, all--glad to be here! Just joined and looking forward to sharing what I create... Long time RPGer and fantasy reader here, so let me just get that out of the way right at the top. (My roots have informed my imagination.)
I also joined the DeviantArt group, so I'm discovering loads and loads of inspirational imagery... I've used Photoshop for a while now in my professional life as a costume designer and theatrical technician, but I made my very first map for my own D&D table (where I DM--isn't that how it starts out for so many?) using the program... It's child's play compared to the literal works of art I keep finding here... Wow.
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I'm not in this for commercial gain, just the joy of mapmaking (is there a technical difference between the terms "mapmaking" and "cartography" by the way?). I'm enjoying playing with the different things Photoshop can do with digital art, and find this particular application of its tools to be deeply satisfying.
I'm learning that the artistic and formatting constraints and traditions of cartography are really "de-limitations" for me, quite frankly--when there are "rules" it allows you to creatively work within them, and I'm finding it a real joy to investigate the maps and finding the "de-limitations" that different artists are placing on themselves to enable such deep creativity! The unity and harmonizing of fonts, of symbology, of brushes, of colors, of textures, of layering and depth all within a single cartographic expression is just... thrilling to me. Each artist is so stylistically unique, and it is fascinating to me how so many of you cartographers can do maps in so many different styles! It's art. And it's just beautiful and inspiring.
And horribly, dauntingly intimidating. LOL! I have a long way to go.
My inspirations currently are Jared Blando and Mike Schley, obviously, as my exposure to uniquely fantasy cartography is framed by my RPG experience and informs my preferences. And while I am fascinated by different cartography programs (and even map generators) like Campaign Cartographer, I'm finding my familiarity with Photoshop to be more comfortable for me. And I'm more interested in the stories the maps help to tell and how they stylistically support them. Photoshop just seems to have more possibility for expression for me... And looking at maps of unknown worlds done with such wonderful stylistic choices makes my head spin with inspirational epic tales that I apply to the names and geography... I guess that comes naturally from reading Epic Fantasy, huh?
Anyway, I am looking forward to adding many more artists and cartographers to my inspirational list that I am discovering here--there are some stupefying works on this site that just make my eyes pop out of my head and my brain ratchet up! And the tutorials and advice... It's terribly distracting, darn it!! I can't just "browse"! I keep stopping to look! To investigate! Ya'll are just too good...
Suffice to say, I'm hooked. And looking forward to the falling down the rabbit hole of cartography. Thanks for letting me join you!
--Coreyartus
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