9 Little Maps

[nopkin]

Not feeling fully prepared to tackle my next large map, I thought I would better do some small scale studies for practice first. So I took an A4 paper, drew 9 rectangles and started filling them with pencil sketches, then went over with ink and watercolor, all the while browsing a couple of beautiful map books that I got recently, searching for inspiration. The overall page looks a bit messy, as I did the maps as distinct as possible on purpose, in order to experiment with different techniques, ideas and color schemes. But they turned out better than I expected, so here they are...

9 Little Maps.jpg

What do you guys think? Do you have one (or more) that you like in particular? Do you see anything wrong with any of them or have suggestions for improvement? As always, critiques and comments are more than welcome.

[Greg]

These are nice Nopkin, kinda remind me of the bookmarks we did on the Guild a while back.

I think the lefthand middle is my favourite (though I don't like the tower symbol, it's too tall and not quite right) and I like the bottom central one too, but it's great how you captured all the different styles in there. Makes me want to give something like this a shot myself!

Might not be a big map, but still awesome to see nonetheless. Hope you develop some of these on further! Your colouring seems just perfect!

[Kellerica]

D'awwww, these are adorable! :3

[kacey]

Oh I love them! My favourites are the bottom and middle left but they’re all super cute.

[Tenia]

Lovely ! I like all of them but I am not very fan of the upper right : it is good by itself but the border style and color doesn't seem to fit woth otrher's style.
cheers

[Neyasha]

Those little maps are lovely and a great way for trying out different techniques. I don't think the overall page looks messy.
My favorite ones are South Arina and Matalona.

[MapMappingMapped]

Lovely! My favorite is Matalona. And I have no idea how you do that on A4.
Your watercolours is always getting better. Keep going!

[nopkin]

Wow, thanks a lot for the awesome feedback everyone! Highly appreciated.

These are nice Nopkin, kinda remind me of the bookmarks we did on the Guild a while back.

I think the lefthand middle is my favourite (though I don't like the tower symbol, it's too tall and not quite right) and I like the bottom central one too, but it's great how you captured all the different styles in there. Makes me want to give something like this a shot myself!

Might not be a big map, but still awesome to see nonetheless. Hope you develop some of these on further! Your colouring seems just perfect!

Thanks, you're too kind! Now that you mention it, I totally agree about the tower, it's huuuge Thanks for the rep!

D'awwww, these are adorable! :3

Thanks, Kelleri (for the rep also)!

Oh I love them! My favourites are the bottom and middle left but they’re all super cute.

Thanks, Kacey!

Lovely ! I like all of them but I am not very fan of the upper right : it is good by itself but the border style and color doesn't seem to fit woth otrher's style.
cheers

Thanks! I agree on the upper right one, it's the only one where I use some watercolor pencils. I was tempted to go over it with ink, because indeed it's the odd one out, but then I decided to leave it like this as a reminder or sample of the look I get when using just pencils.

Those little maps are lovely and a great way for trying out different techniques. I don't think the overall page looks messy.
My favorite ones are South Arina and Matalona.

Thanks, Neyasha! It seems you share your preferences will Kacey. It's nice to hear that, as those two are not among my favorites

Lovely! My favorite is Matalona. And I have no idea how you do that on A4.
Your watercolours is always getting better. Keep going!

Thank you, MMM! It is indeed harder to get the details right at this scale, especially with the finer lines, and if you study the maps carefully, you'll see I've messed up in a ton of places. However, today I've discovered - or actually rediscovered - a technique that helps a lot, and that is using a dip pen with watercolors. Just mix your color (make sure it has enough water) and use a brush to load the nib. It's almost like having a Micron with any color (and sometimes even better, because I prefer the organic and a bit uneven lines produced by the nib to the perfect lines of the Microns).

[Arimel]

I really like all of the mini-maps although I must show preference for the top and middle middle maps. I think that is of a showing of the faded style of map I tend to enjoy though. As MapMappingMapped said, your water coloring is certainly getting better!

By the way, how did you get those faded brown colors? Is it just mixing the paints until it gets to a shade you like or is there a precision to it?

[Mouse]

Another vote for Matalona

They're all beautifully done with nice fresh but not to bright colours. If I have anything to suggest, it is to try a less earthy colour for the mountains. Maybe paler and greyer/more bluish-mauve. They are just a bit too close to bare earth colour - though it doesn't detract that badly from the rest of the map