Hey guildmates,

It's been a looong time since I've contributed things. I need to rectify that.

While I continue to tinker with my dieselpunk-fantasy Hexingtide world map(s), I've taken a turn in the last few years towards historical interests in the "Golden Age of Cartography" with works by such luminaries as Mercator, Ortelius, Speed, Munster, etc, combined a growing interest in the Dutch Revolt (the late 16th century - early 17th century conflict against Habsburg Spain that would result in an independent Dutch Republic).

So, to represent a crossroads of those two interests, I'm attempting a map of the eastern Netherlands in the late 16th century style of the cartographers of that period.

And to make it even more frustrating for me, I'm eventually going to try this by hand to get the right effect.

But! I'm starting with a digital master reference and synthesizing the locations of coasts, rivers, and landmarks from 6-10 different historical maps from the period to compile everything first before using pencils and then pens to put everything on three 10x14 sheets.

Here's where I stand after my first evening of the cross-referencing and making judgement calls and best guesses about locations. I've got the basic reference of landforms, rivers, and political boundries along with the grid I have plotted on the paper and some rudamentry ornamental elements.

Next step: plotting cities and towns, and then geographical features like bogs and hills.

EasternLC-WIP-01-Linework.jpg