[WIP] Series of travel maps (hand drawn)

[Qmoh]

Hello!

I have two hobbies - wandering and drawing maps. Some time ago I decided to combine them and draw maps of each of my longer wanderings. I tried to draw with photoshop and tablet ( example here), but it did not please me, so I decided to draw by hand.

In 2014 I wandered from Poland to Nimes in France (circa 2500 km). Now I decided to commemorate this trip by drawing a series of maps (probably about 30) in the scale 1:200000. Plenty of work. Today I finished the first sheet.

Attachment 109771

Attachment 109769

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What do you think about it? Do you have any advice for me? Do you want to see the whole process of creating a single map sheet?

And I realy need some critique or feedback!

[Compass Rose]

What an adventure! That sounds like a wonderful way to commemorate. I'm new and learning so I can't give much in the way of advice. Are you going to bind them into a book at the end, or hang them up?

[ChickPea]

This is wonderful!

[MistyBeee]

It's superb !! I'm in love with absolutely everything here, from linework to color : so, so lovely ! o_o

[ThomasR]

That is magnificent and the style really well emulated ! Beautiful work in the making

[Qmoh]

Thank you very much!

Are you going to bind them into a book at the end, or hang them up?

After finishing the work, I want to scan and print all sheets as a book (a gift for my nephews, who love to listen about my travels I hope to make it before Christmas)

OK, let's start next sheet.

Tools

• hard pencil (9H)
• eraser
• 003 pen marker (black)
• 005 pen marker (black)
• 01 pen marker (black)
• 04 pen marker (black)
• brushmarker (black)
• brushmarker (red)
• ruler
• circinus
• thin watercolor brush
• watercolor paints
• big brush for clearing eraser shavings

Attachment 109827

Paper
30x40 cm 300g/m2 for watercolour painting

Margins
2,5 cm on each side. That's enough for a frame, which I'll draw at the end

Towns and villages

Because I have to map the real terrain, I start with google maps. I measure the distance between the extreme points of the terrain using a ruler (Google map option). On my maps, 1 kilometer is 5mm. So the distance between cities in kilomerts I divide by 2 and the result is the distance in centimeters on map.
At the beginning I mark the town, where I started the journey, then the town, where I finished it (or the nearest).
I also choose the corner, where I will put the title and the wind rose.
Then I mark all towns, villages and hamlets between.

Attachment 109828

NOTE: If you create a fantasy map, you can start a sketch from anything - rivers, mountains, roads - but after sketching, when you grab a pen, I strongly recomended start drawing from cities and their names.

Then I draw with a 005 pen the towns on the marked points. Next I shade with a 003 pen. It's easy, just practice it.

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At the end I write the names of towns (01 pen) and villages (005 pen). I leave the little settlements off my trail without a name to make the map more readable

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I wait a few minutes to let the ink dry and erase traces of the pencil under the settlements.

***

I'm going back to drawing. Next episode tomorrow

[TaltosVT]

Very nice! I'm really looking forward to following this!

[Edward II of Kenland]

I love the style! It reminds me a great deal of Matthew Paris' map of England!

[Qmoh]

I love the style! It reminds me a great deal of Matthew Paris' map of England!

I'm rather inspired by Nicholas Bellin and Edward Hasted

Let's move on

Roads

I check on gogle maps the course of major roads in the region and I apply them with a pencil. Then, with a 01 pen, I draw them. Piece of cake.

Attachment 109835

Rivers and lakes

I do the same in the case of rivers and lakes, however, I use a thin penbrush, because it is more irregular. I draw rivers wider than in reality, because it looks nicer.
Then I draw with 003 pen the current of the rivers and waves of the lakes.

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Hiking path

The next step is to mark (red brushpen) the route of my journey on the map. The dots mean camping. Easy.

Attachment 109837

Forest

I check on Google maps the distribution of forests in this region and I draw (005 pen) the contours of trees in these areas. Then I lightly shade the forest area (003 pen).

Attachment 109839

And now the map looks like this.

Attachment 109840

In the next episode: farmlands, meadows, swamps and details.

[Qmoh]

Farmlands, meadows, swamps and details
Now the most tedious part of the job - details. First I draw (003 pen) the crop fields, then the meadows, and finally the dots, short lines and small curves as a background. Boring, but you have to do it slowly.

Attachment 109865

Wind rose

I draw four wheels with diameter 6cm, 5cm, 3cm, 1cm. Then with a ruler and a 9H pencil I draw a sketch of windrose. When the shape is ok, I finish it with a pen (01, 04, brush pen).

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Come, paint my world
I apply a small amount of watercolors with a thin brush.

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Be careful not to give too much or too little pigment.

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Almost done. In the next episode: border frame and map title.