Reputable World Map Sources?

[justino]

Hi everyone!

I've recently taken on the massive task of building myself a globe, inspired by Bellerby & Co's amazing work. I've been researching the process for about a month now, trying to take stock of each step in the process before I jump into creating it. I'm at the point where I would like to begin editing and customising the map which I will eventually turn into gores, but I'm not sure where to find what I'm looking for.

I plan on spending a few months perfecting every aspect of this globe, and if I am going to put this much energy into it I want it to be as close to an accurate representation of the world that I could possibly make, which means getting my hands on a vector map from a reputable source that I can trust. But not being from the world of cartography I'm not exactly sure where to look. Can anybody point me in the right direction to find a map that I can purchase the license for?


I'm looking for:
- a political equirectangular world map
- in adobe Illustrator format

[kacey]

Hi Justino, I'm not sure if this is what you're looking for, but I use this site all the time to get high resolution real earth shaded relief, they have tons of map info to download for free, and the images I've received from them are top notch, very high resolution, and crystal clear...I hope this can help, it's a great resource either way.

http://www.naturalearthdata.com/