Map of Florida (Commercial Use)

[ealfert]

I can pay with a credit card via PayPal, Square, or any other reputable payment system.

Please contact me via email at edward (@) alfert.com or post on this thread.

If you are interested, please quote me how much to create a map of Florida, that is as accurate as possible, with Inkarnate ( https://inkarnate.com/ ) or other map making software.

I know it is an odd request to ask talented illustrators to not hand-draw but instead use a map making software; I'M SORRY IF I AM OFFENDING YOU WITH THIS REQUEST .

Can this be done with the available art in the pro version of "Fantasy World" style that I saw on Inkarnate demo? I would not want the person creating the map to use any custom art that they upload to Inkarnate because in the future I will want maps for the remaining 49 US states, and I don't want the future maps to vary if some maps are created by a different artist that won't have access to previously used custom art. But my preference is for the same artist to create all 50 state maps.

Having consistency across all 50 US state maps (and possibly future county or city level maps if commercial website is a success) is the reason I don't want to hire an illustrator to hand-draw the map and would instead want the artist to use a map platform with predefined assets. I'm very scared of hiring an artist and then him/her not being available to continue creating all future maps that I will need because I don't know at what interval I will be requesting additional US state maps.

I would need to hire someone with Inkarnate Pro since their FAQ ( https://inkarnate.com/faq ) says...

• Commercial use of maps created with Inkarnate. (e.g. selling maps, commissioned work, etc)
• Exporting maps at high resolution with stunning quality – up to 8,196 x 8,196px.

...and I want to be allowed to use the final map on a commercial website that will display tourism information when someone clicks on either a county or city on the map.

I'm looking for similar content to this map ( https://www.printablee.com/postpic/2...ble_180896.jpg ) but with some terrain detail.
free-florida-road-map-printable_180896.jpg

If Inkarnate is not the best option, would Campaign Cartographer 3+ ( https://www.profantasy.com/products/cc3.asp ), or another map platform be a better option?

Thanks,

Edward

[Redrobes]

Welcome to the guild.

I would just point out that you can get map state outlines for free from the USGS website which are public domain. Also I think you can take OpenStreetmap data and use it in very generous ways. But if Inkarnate is the requirement then this one would be pretty good for someone who can convert these free resources into an Inkarnate compatible format.

[Tiana]

Also I think you can take OpenStreetmap data and use it in very generous ways.

That is correct! Try out the program 'Maperative' for this purpose, or you can get a plugin for Q-Gis to export certain elements from OSM data. Credit must be given. I used this technique recently to create a map for a book about baseball games in a specific region. I did end up redrawing all of the roads because we deemed the data version to be 'ugly' though.

Inkarnate is likely not the best choice. Other World Mapper allows the import of shapefiles from existing GIS data so I would recommend it for this purpose since one could import the shape of the state and then drop on the pre-existing styles you would make from version #1.

That said, if you talk to your cartographer of choice that this will be a 50 map project I am sure the right person would agree as I estimate such a project would cost between $5000-$25000 depending on how low you find someone willing to do each state, certainly enough to get someone to commit to doing maps over a year period for example. I imagine some states easier than others. Someone skilled in GIS manipulation could extract the data for the state shape and counties from OSM.

[ealfert]

To give some more information for potential cartographer hire(s), I have several domains I have purchased and want to finally start developing a website for them. The domains are:

• visitorcenters.com
• visitorcenters.org
• visitormaps.com
• visitormaps.org

If I see some traction with website visitors (and I can monetize the traffic), then I would be looking at creating as much content as possible. The domains don't limit me just to the US. I could potentially expand to include other countries and then potentially want maps at the country and regional levels.

you can get map state outlines for free from the USGS website which are public domain

Thanks, good to know and hopefully that data can be incorporated by cartographer to make the map(s) commissioned more accurate.

if Inkarnate is the requirement

No, Inkarnate is not a requirement. I don't care which software is used as long as the same software is used for all future maps.

Try out the program 'Maperative' for this purpose, or you can get a plugin for Q-Gis to export certain elements from OSM data. Credit must be given.

Thanks, I'll research those options.

I did end up redrawing all of the roads because we deemed the data version to be 'ugly' though.

That is what I fear with going with a purely technical solution instead of hiring an artist/cartographer. I'm a career IT person, but definitely not an artist, so I'm sure I can learn the technical parts of downloading, extracting, manipulating, and converting the data to other formats, but I wouldn't be able to create a pretty map.

Inkarnate is likely not the best choice. Other World Mapper allows the import of shapefiles from existing GIS data so I would recommend it for this purpose since one could import the shape of the state and then drop on the pre-existing styles you would make from version #1.

Thanks, I like the look of the "Fantasy World" style of Inkarnate, but will see if there is a style for Other World Mapper that I also like.

I estimate such a project would cost between $5000-$25000

Thanks, I have no idea what to budget for the maps and this is helpful.

certainly enough to get someone to commit to doing maps over a year period

That's what I'm hoping for, a long term mutually beneficial partnership with a good cartographer. I'm very flexible with the timeframe considering this is a side-project since I have a full-time IT job.

I imagine some states easier than others. Someone skilled in GIS manipulation could extract the data for the state shape and counties from OSM.

Yes, since Florida is so flat and the only unique feature is some swamps, sorry Everglades , it is going to be simpler than California with such variety of terrain.

[Tiana]

I'm sure I can learn the technical parts of downloading, extracting, manipulating, and converting the data to other formats, but I wouldn't be able to create a pretty map.

If you did indeed learn to do this, giving me the data extraction to redraw nicely would be the sort of thing that brings the price down. I'm sure this would apply for anyone you selected.

A style can also be created via a Photoshop style and layers that can be reused, making it not require a special program like Inkarnate. Most people here use Adobe or similar programs.

Yes, I estimate a price of $100-$500 depending on how complex. It sounds like what you want are relatively simple maps at screen size which is generally lower cost than a poster for example, or a poster with tons of custom illustrations. They'll have a consistent flare to them and mild fantasy style, such as side-view mountains instead of topography in a top-down style. Assuming you did not want total ownership that makes these each mid-range commissions, since someone could easily find reuse for a map of every state.

There are some other map programs, there's also Wonderdraft, it might also be to your taste for its style potential. But I think if you wanted any graphic designer to be able to pick it up, doing a Photoshop or Illustrator style set for the first map would probably be the best bet long term, since it doesn't depend on these programs being developed and continued for new operating systems.