Making maps = infinite!

[Elterio Delgard]

Hello everyone!

I would like to share why I like cartography and, I hope, you will share what you find it this wonderful hobby as well!

1-When drawing a world for my book project, I feel like I am Learning who are those that lives on my fiction world. In turn, by describing some cultures, it gives me ideas for my maps. Both the book and the maps influence each other. A never ending circle of inspiration!

2-I like to explore our world for inspiration and also to sse what new things I can put.

3-For some, map making may give them the impression of being a god who creates, but I feel more and more as I progress like a student. Yes I am drawing a world but I cannot do whatever I want and so when people leave comments or critics I see myself almost like an explorer of my own universe. It is as if I could make mistake in drawing and that I have to look carefully in order to make an accurate map!

I hope you will share your thoughts on this, how you feel when mapmaking!

[ladiestorm]

Well, I'm a relatively new mapper, I'm primarily a writer as well. Whether it's a campaign for players to adventure in, or the backdrop for a book project I'm working on, what I'm enjoying is finally allowing others to see what's inside my head. I've always stated that I paint pictures with words, because writing is where my true talent lies, and I've always been extremely impaired in the visual art skills.

But with the mapping program I have... I can start to create visual guides that allow people to actually see those worlds I write about. From that sleepy little town that hides a great evil to a blasted, war torn, post apocolyptic world, I can show people what my twisted mind creates.

It also helps me keep my vision organized; I can't tell you how many times I have created a campaign(in the past) and without the visual aide, my players would get confused because they missed a part of my description. This way, there are no surprises(other than the intentional ones!). I can pull out a specific map and say 'this is what you see around you' and then just describe the heights, the sounds around them. It also helps me keep straight what is where.

And how do I feel when I'm making a new map? I feel the same way I do when I'm writing... like I'm journeying through the world I'm creating, and discovering all of its nuances, then recording them for others to share.

[J.Edward]

I have a sort of similar experience with world building.
It's less that I am the creator and more that I am discovering the place as I map it.
There are places I may desire to have there but many factors determine whether it's feasible and workable.
But I think that may have more to do with one's own ideas about realism.

It is a journey of discovery. A very pleasant one too.

[Elterio Delgard]

Indeed. I agree with both of ya. Ironic is it not? beautiful results will come more often if you are limited by your own imagination. When you limit yourself and struggle with yourself, then you look at every possible detail.
It is one thing to imagine a world, but another to keep it consistent.

[FilipeJF]

I'm a writer as a hobby too, but in a very different language. I think that maps, besides of being very pleasant (most of the time) and helpful, are a great way of imersion into our created universes. I'm not specially good on drawing maps, but I do the best I can sometimes so I can put everything in the place they're in my head, just to see how it fits, how it feels in a map. Also, I like when maps are created by members of the fictional universe itself, with some traces and inconsistences if directly compared to the actually in-book world (if possible).