The Kingdom of Arcadune

[EdythMiller]

I was introduced to this forum yesterday and was so inspired that I pulled out one of my old map concepts and created it anew with all the new tricks I just learned.

Created in Photoshop 7 (the curved text was created in Illustrator 8). Used a mouse. Took about a day, all told.

The Kingdom of Arcadune is one of four countries on a small island continent. Though it holds the central-most position geographically, it is culturally isolated. The map represents that- it highlights only the area the Arcadanians are most interested in- their own territory. The whole island sits about 500 miles north of the tropics, so Arcadune has a warmish temperate climate (think Tennessee). The slightly greener areas indicate forests.

I wanted it to look kind of girly and soft- almost cartoony- as the Arcadanians are a very docile people. They are politicians, scholars, architects, and the like, not warriors. Their general social structure is late medieval, but they are a bit more technologically advanced, so I included more modern elements, like the scale bar and the detailed compass rose (which is Dutch in origin, not sure where I found it).

I'd love to hear what ya'll think! I've always loved cartography, especially of the fantasy world-building kind, so I'm thrilled to find that I'm not alone and that this isn't strange!

Janis