The Rusted Shores

[Vulpes]

Once part of a grand mining empire, the Rusted Shores are now a haven for smugglers and cutthroats alike.

I wanted to get some shoreline practice in and play with island/archipelago shapes. I also got a bit more involved in the compass rose with this one to try and add some narrative theme. All in all, a very fun map to draw over the course of a Saturday afternoon. Thoughts and tips always appreciated

The Rusted Shores.jpg

All hand-drawn; started with a rough pencil plan before inking with fineliners; 130gsm A4 (~8"x11"); December 2020.

In days long past, all manner of precious metals and sparkling gems would flow from these islands, carried far and wide by the treasure fleets of Nildûr. But the Nildûrians mined too deep, and when Mt. Kida saw fit to unleash her fury, none were spared.

Port Baruut'za now squats in mocking imitation of this one great seat of power and the Court of Rust oversees its sprawling hive of black-market traders and endless skullduggery. Buccaneers lurk in the myriad coves and few now pass this way unharried, bar the Sisters of Foxfire Abbey, of course.

Over it all gazes the formidable peak of Mt. Kida, her fumes curling into the dusky sky, a reminder of what true power looks like.

Whilst pulling this together, my worldbuilding juices got flowing so I wrote this little snippet to accompany it (please let me know if this isn't the place for worldbuildy/flavour text stuff and I can edit it out )

[Arimel]

Really nice and clear map! I like the little mining entrances in the mountains. Only possible small nitpick I would have is that Mt. Kida is not exactly shaded like the rest of the mountains on the map. However, that seems more like an artistic choice than anything!

Also, the worldbuilding blurbs are fine! They are always fun to read.

[mapmage]

Really nice! Question: What pen thickness are you using on the coastline, because it really pops

[Vulpes]

Really nice and clear map! I like the little mining entrances in the mountains. Only possible small nitpick I would have is that Mt. Kida is not exactly shaded like the rest of the mountains on the map. However, that seems more like an artistic choice than anything!

Also, the worldbuilding blurbs are fine! They are always fun to read.

Thanks! And you are correct. I couldn't devise a way of shading the volcano that looked quite right as it didn't suit the standard mountain shading I used for the others. Still trying to puzzle that one out so if you have any ideas I'm all ears

[Vulpes]

Really nice! Question: What pen thickness are you using on the coastline, because it really pops

I used a 0.7 for the main coastline, a 0.5 for the outer one and then a 0.3 for the lines coming off it

[wminish]

Another really nice map Vulpes, your maps have a really charming feel to them.

[Vulpes]

Another really nice map Vulpes, your maps have a really charming feel to them.

Thank you so much! I'm a big fan of all that black and white old school fantasy art that filled the pages of things like the Fighting Fantasy books etc. and it seems to come through in how I go about my maps.