So this is a bit of an unusual book review. I was browsing Amazon and saw this book, HOW TO DRAW FANTASY ART AND RPG MAPS by Jared Blando. I always wanted to draw maps, except I suck at drawing. This isn’t false modesty. I suck at drawing. You should’ve seen my awesome map of Hugh’s castle. OMG. ::shudder::
But then Amazon kept helpfully suggesting this book every time I would log on. Hey, do you remember you looked at this book? Would you like to buy this book? What about more books on map making?
I finally gave up and bought it. Because why not, right?
In my experience art books go like this:
So I didn’t have high hopes.
I was wrong. Jared starts with a blank page and gives very simple instructions. Draw a blob. Anybody can draw a blob, right? Refine your blob with some wiggly outlines. Refine a bit more. Oh look, you got a continent.
Draw a triangle. Draw more triangles. Draw some lines on the triangles. You got a mountain range.
Draw some squiggles around your blob. Congratulations, here is an ocean.
So behold, after much erasing and pencil sharpening and more erasing, my first attempt at a clumsy map. I took a picture with my phone.
Then I messed with it in Photoshop. I used some free stock images from Pixabay for backgrounds.
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Things I’ve learned: I think I might get better results on a tablet. I am messy and the constant erasing resulted in some dark areas on the mountain range. I really would like to figure out if I can draw this on my iPad somehow.
Also, next time I will leave naming of towns and town icons until the Photoshop stage. I am clearly not precise enough to not screw this up.
Other than that, I had a ton of fun. So if you are in the market for a fantasy map how-to book, this one is pretty awesome.
Lovely map! I always liked the maps in the fantasy books, but knew I could never achieve that look. I am more a paint by numbers person even though I can make a basket (after multiple basket weaving workshops). Thank you for the recommendation.
That looks so nice, Ilona! I’m glad you got to learn skills to achieve something you wanted to do for a while 🙂
My favourite thing has got to be the sea serpent ?
I had the same thought!
Yes❣️
Yes.. me too… this whole thing is great. what a fun book.
Me too! There be dragons…
+1, and the horse-drawing instructions 😉
Here is somethong about dragons and apples
https://1000vampirenovels.com/pdf-novels/an-apple-a-day-keeps-the-dragon-away-by-amber-d-sistla-free
+1
Great little story ???
Looks fun. Your map looks good. I like how it was broken down, make a blob, then the triangles. Personally I can at least draw the number four horse from the horse pictures. ?
Jared Blando (I am assuming it’s the same person, it’s a distinctive name) does a lot of work for Dungeons and Dragons. I’ve bought a few of his maps for my group. It gives hope to those (by that I mean me) who are artistically challenged.
That was so cool!
Jared Blando’s book is now on my buy list.
Thank you for sharing the process, it’s always fascinating to see how an artist’s work evolves.
It’s even better to see (by inference) that your hands are much better.
Have a great week!
Wow! I never would have thought that was your first map attempt had it not been titled as such!
Also those woods are the woods that locals dare not enter as it is obviously filled with a dark miasma that mutates anything living into evil creatures.
Holy crap! No joke, that looks awesome. I think you should frame it. It looks like something out of Lord of the Rings.
I thought actually that, great minds think alike ?
Blasted auto correct it’s meant to say exactly, but my spelling is awful and I should check first hahaha
Soooo, what does Hugh’s castle look like? With the moat? 🙂
+1 – will you share Hugh’s castle map with us?
That moat should win an award for best supporting role in a work of fiction lol… one of my favorite lines was when Elara says to herself,”you should ask him about his moat” when talking to Nez…
That is so cool! Very nice map. 🙂 I also cannot draw AT ALL. I am impressed.
Do you know I literally go throu “blog withdraw” if you don’t post for more than a day? I’m thinking of starting a new AA group – Authorholics Anonymous. Do you think the rest of the BDH would sign up? Thanks for the map and post. Now that I’ve had my fix I can get on with my day.
Me too. I thought: okay just read. (Right, like that worked)
Here I am posting. Totally addicted. Of course it makes a difference that some of the nicest people post here.
SOFTWARE FOR IPAD DRAWING:
I can highly recommend Adobe Sketch. It works in layers like PS, but it’s a drawing software where you can adjust pretty much everything—style of drawing utensil (pencil, pen, marker, brush, etc.), and thickness and color and opacity, etc…. and erase just as easily. You can start off keeping it super simple (basic drawing) or do it on layers (easier to get rid of stuff without screwing up the rest). All made for iPad.
Note—I did get the pencil / stylus thing that goes with the iPad and my only complaint is that I will occaisonally wander off with the stylus and forget it, or forget to charge it. It does not need frequent charging, thank goodness.
I’m still learning it, but I have really enjoyed playing with it.
I meant to add—you don’t have to have the stylus. I just like the control better than trying to use touch to do small lines.
Do they have a version for Android tablets? I have a Samsung Galaxy S3 tablet and it came with a stylus. (And I bought a jacket for the tablet that has a holder for the stylus so I hopefully won’t lose it.)
Ooh, they do! So much for doing chores today.
LOL. I know what you mean. I feel like I’ve barely touched the surface of what the app is capable of doing, and I could get lost for hours playing.
Ooooh! It’s great! And I love the sea-dragon peeking through the waves!
No artistic talent here, which is frustrating since every other female in my immediate family (mom, sister, daughter, nieces) draw and paint beautifully and some have even won awards.
I love your map, and hope that it is the basis for more books! Magic Triumphs was amazing, particularly since you managed to let practically every character from the series play a meaningful role (or at least get a mention) and that took a lot of doing. I’m looking forward to more Hugh, Grey Wolf and anyone else you want to continue writing about—they’re all such old friends at this point—when you’re ready. Like so many of your fans, I’m happy to get whatever you publish and feel protective of you when your life gets stressful. I hope your success is affording you more opportunities to relax and recharge—you’ve certainly earned them.
That could be really handy! I run Dungeon and Dragon campaigns from time to time and usually don’t bother with maps (I can’t draw to save my life), but that book sounds like it might be really helpful.
As an extra, if you ever have a RPG released based on Kate Daniels’ world, I’d totally buy it. 😀
Ooh, wouldn’t that be fun?
+1
Excellent map, and eminently publishable. Will you include a map in a future book?
Nice map! And it does look like a lot of fun.
That looks like so much fun! I loved doing maps as a kid, and always appreciate them in books. They add an extra dimension for those of us who are visually oriented.
You did a great job on your first map. I never practiced drawing so I don’t have any skill at it – stick figures are about as far as I go. Your description reminds me of the old 80s tv show – the Joy of Painting with Bob Ross. Starts with a blank canvas and within 25 minutes has showed you how to paint a decent landscape. You can check him out on Youtube
There is now a board game based on his show. Saw it at Wal-mart the other day. Happy trees!
.
Oooh, lovely post. Thanks for the review and rec. Looks like fun and I often sketch (badly) basic maps of stories from books I like because I too am visually orientated. I also do this with genealogical research because sometimes it’s the only way to understand a family’s moving patterns. This book sounds like it would help improve my attempts greatly.
I do that (sketch maps from stories) too! Only I have failed utterly to sketch the outside of Gertrude Hunt :(. Park Street,
Camelot Lane, garage, orchard, etc. Has anyone had moderate success they’re willing to share? Please?
Looks like really good work! I wouldn’t have been able to come up with something half as good. Congrats, Ilona! Does this mean we’ll be seeing more maps with future books? 😉
I like the map, it has a LOTR vibe going on 🙂
WOW!!! Gorgeous!!!!
Cool map!
Now I really want to see the horrible map of Hug’s Castle!
Hugh’s !!!
Stupid auto correct!
That’s awesome!!! The darker blotches in the mountain ranges add life and age to map so don’t worry about them too much. It’s often the mistakes in a piece that turn it from a drawing to art.
I was impressed by the shading on the mountains! Don’t admit to happy accidents, just happy trees.
This is really cool! I also suck at drawing so I feel your pain. Love the coffee stain watermark on the bottom too, that’s a great touch
+1
You did a great job on the map. Your version of the how to draw books is hilarious. I tried learning to draw from some of them with little success and lots of frustration and erasing.
WOW!!! I am very impressed!!!
Your horse picture reminds me of a subreddit (assuming you Reddit) called Rest of the F*cking Owl
https://www.reddit.com/r/restofthefuckingowl/
WOW! That map is awesome! I like darker bits on mountain ranges, gives them some character and authenticity =:)
Great review,
Motivational
I hope … I want to … maybe if I …
This lets you know where you can start
Looks awesome!!!
If you do start drawing these digitally. Make sure you use layers for everything. I have done some map editing in Photoshop and while setting up the layers can be a bit extra work initially, they can be a giant time saver. Also give layers a name to find them faster and if your software can group layers it can help organize them.
Layers make it easy to fine adjust individual map bits (mountains, castles, roads, landmarks, text) without having to edit everything over and over.
Great map! Hope you left them a good review. There are you tube videos of people using that book and other methods.
Oooh! That is so pretty!! Does this mean we’ll be seeing maps of Baile and its nearby settlements in Iron Covenant Books 2 and 3?
Hey Everyone!
For those who purchased Tsumiko and the Enslaved Fox by Forthright based on Ilona’s review and liked it, the second book is now available for pre-sale. It’s called Kimiko and the Accidental Proposal and will be released October 22nd.
Of course, since Amazon was kind enough to inform me, I’m sure they told you also unless you’ve managed to turn off their updates.
Saw that as well! Can’t wait!! Supposedly going to be a six or seven books series. Really excited!
In the art books I tend to get stuck somewhere between steps 2 and 3 – and yes, I have in the past succumbed to my dreams and purchased books thinking the book would ‘make a difference’. I’ve finally decided I’m just not very visual by nature.
BUT I AM SO IMPRESSED BY YOUR MAP!!!! It is STUNNING!!! It looks just like maps in published fantasy books. Only better because it’s uniquely yours. I especially like that the compass doesn’t have a North 🙂 – this could be a really interesting world.
Well done you!!! 🙂
Now I have a Want.
As a kid, many of the fantasy stories I read started with a map at the beginning, so when I started coming up with my own stories, they all started with maps too. Mine were not this fancy, and I love your sea monster!!!
You do have artistic talent. Don’t sell yourself short. That map is awesome.
That’s stunning and I wouldn’t have imagined it was your first one! (Not counting the castle.) Adding a sea serpent was a good touch.
I ran across an interesting post about the geology behind constructing maps. Though a magical land may have other reasons for topography, this gives info for those who want a certain amount of realism. https://mythcreants.com/blog/crafting-plausible-maps/
Someone linked to this in a discussion of Tolkien’s work.
Oh thank you! I adore maps and geography and totally freaked out on that book for future purchase. Not great with computer stuff yet but still secretly tea dye and burn edges just so.
Regarding the messy issue that bugs you. I studied art in cIllegal and could recommend a couple of tricks. Have you thought of resting your hand on a piece of clean paper while you draw? It decreases the smearing. Also check out different pencils. Some erase easier then you can go over the lines you want with pencils that have softer lead and leaves darker marks and is harder to erase. Also maybe think of changing your perspective regarding ‘mistakes’. Sometimes we just need to adjust what we intend to include the previous mistakes. It make a drawing of anything really interesting and crazy. Just some thoughts.
Omg I just reread my comment I swear I’m not high or drunk. My writing sucks apparently. Thank goodness for your skills at writing. Above is why I’ll jever write a book.
Nonsense, it was perfectly understandable. To paraphrase your very good advice, perhaps you should “adjust what you intended to say”?
You are so kind thanks! I love people trying new things and not being intimidated by new skills. It’s what makes us better
Awesome! Whether you realize it or not the erasing and smudging add character! Also it makes it uniquely yours. Just what an “aged map” needs!! As an artist and art teacher you did an excellent job for you first try! And yes you can create it on a tablet but it wont have the “character” the hand draw one has. It will be clean crisp lines and for some things that is good but old maps need to look old and have character!
You can add a free drawing app to your ipad. I use Adobe Sketch. It is a dumbed down version of photoshop that is a lot of fun to use. And Free! I love doodling with it on my ipad.
I was really impressed by your map. Really interesting. Unfortunately this praise comes from someone who can’t even doodle. I am amazed by all art.
Very good work! That’s great neat new thing to do! I have to show my daughter! She loves stuff like this too!
I think my Tuesday night dungeons and dragons campaign is about to get upgraded… Yesssssss
iPad Pro, Procreate software and the Apple Pencil can do great job at map drawing. Other good software for the iPad Pro/Apple pencil are Affinity Designer for iPad and Adobe Illustrator Draw.
It looks like you had fun! And that is a very good thing 🙂
Always loved the sea serpents & mermaids sitting on rocks on the maps in the books I read as a kid. I’d scour those maps & find really interesting things & hope that they’d appear in the story. Sometimes they did but mostly they didn’t 🙁
Keep up the hand drawn ones as well as play on the tablet. The hand drawn ones have so much character & look more real.
B Kliban has a wonderful cartoon entitled “How to draw a qat” that is somewhat like Ilona’s first example.
Well there go my plans for the day! XD
I vaguely remember stumbling across a blog post? about a geographer/cartographer talking about how to draw fantasy maps & mentioning known maps that got fundamental geography wrong… e.g. river flowing uphill or parallel to mountains… or mountain ranges with right angles (Tolkien? Although he did say if you had a reason for it like a god or magic purposely making it, ok sure, because otherwise tectonic plates don’t work like that…) Wish I could find that again!
I really like your map. Maybe I’ll put this book on my Christmas list.
I think you did a great job with your map!! Better than I could do. Love your books! Thanks for sharing your talent and imagination with the rest of us!!
So love your map – really awesome. One thing (as a coastal geologist) – it can be really fun to look at fantasy maps and try to figure out how on earth those would come about (assuming geologic principles are the same on new planet) – https://mythcreants.com/blog/crafting-plausible-maps/. Honestly – it just means there are silly blogs where scientists try to recreate how that map can to be :). So feel free to completely ignore – just thought I would post a new rabbit hole to go down.
That was a really fun rabbit hole! Thank you!
Wow!! Loved this ?
The apple pencil and procreate are an awesome combination for drawing on the ipad. Procreate offers layers, you can download custom brushes, and export into a psd format if you prefer to use photoshop for touchups. The app Sketchbook is also nice, though I like Procreate more.
The apple pencil itself is pressure sensitive, so it’s much better than a typical stylus when drawing, but pricey. The pencil and glass screen of the ipad make it a little too smooth, in my opinion. So I use a textured screen protector (iCarez makes a nice and cheap one) and it makes it feel like drawing on paper.
Clip studio paint also recently came out with an ipad compatible app. I haven’t had a chance to try it yet, but their desktop version is awesome, and a really affordable photoshop alternative, so I’m sure their app version is similar.
Also, nice map! This book sounds perfect for my classroom. I’m thinking of all the lessons I could use it with. ?
That is so great to know about the skin… I had had the same reaction, that the drag of the stylus is just too slick sometimes, and I miss the feel of a real pencil. (But really love the flexibility of the pen / layers.) Thank you!
I loved this post. You did a fantastic job with your map. I teach a course on map making. Well, making a map of your own life. The map may include several geographical features that talk specifically about issues in one’s life like crossing the River of Despair. Climbing Mt. Healthy relationship etc.
The book looks great and thank you Wendy W. for the website info.
That sounds really interesting! I’ve heard of life timelines used in therapy but never of maps, and crossing the River of Despair for instance sounds so whimsical and like a great way to come to terms with and organize one’s past.
Your always great about sharing books, I just finished one you might like. It’s an unusual romance. Dustwalker by Tiffany Roberts. I borrowed it from unlimited but thinking about buying the book and audio to support the author, I liked it that much.
I think the darkening of the mountains from your erasing actually makes them look good. Cool sounding book, I def want to check it out.
Very cool for a first attempt at a map! Skillful drawing is 95% practice anyway, so you are off to a great start.
The map looks good. The eraser smudges seem like a map feature if you don’t tell us.
😉
I think it’s a very lovely map. Truly. And thou had fun? Win win!
As someone who makes maps digitally this is very interesting! I want to try cartography free hand but my artistic skills are lacking. I’m going to check this book out. Thanks for the post 🙂
I think it is an excellent fantasy map… and I really like your sea serpent
That’s totally impressive for a first attempt!
I can draw on my ipad (pro, with the apple pen) pretty easily. I use procreate, and it lets me start from scratch or load a photo and then write on that. I use the photo option when posting about spinning or knitting.
Here’s the post where I did this for the first time:
http://soapturtle.net/blog/?p=1297
It took maybe 5 minutes to do total, after I spent half an hour or so dorking around with the app and how it all worked.
I’d highly recommend. In fact, I think I’m going to get the book and give it a shot with procreate at some future date, because it looks fun! 😀
I actually have this one! I just haven’t gotten around to doing anything with it just yet. I saw it was highly recommended also. I’m so glad it was useful for you.
If you are looking at world building, may I offer a consideration? Look into basic weather patterns and geography to add realism. It will help bring with world building on knowing where the deserts, mountains ranges, rivers, and similar would go relative to each other.
Your map looks great!! What a cool book; great recommendation.
Your map looks great!! What a cool book; great recommendation.
Very nice.
See? A hidden talent. =D
Sold! I’ve been looking for just this kind of book. Thanks for being the guinea pig and trying out the book’s instructions. I know what I’ll be doing during breaks from writing.
Looks great! Adding it to the list for Christmas. 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Love the ostrich dragon. obviously below the wave is more interesting than above to a sea dragon!
great map.
Awesome Map!
I like what you did whith te horse.
😉
The horse cracked me up. I’ve been looking for a decent drawing book for my grandkids and ran into the same problem with that last ‘little details’ step being way to vague.
I will definitely check out the maps book as it seems a bit more useful. Thanks for the recommendation!
Loved the bit that hints ‘Here be monsters’. Maybe a ‘nessie’ maybe a Kraken lol?
The way I learned to draw the outlines for maps was with macaroni! Dump a handful on paper, shake it a bit, and using a marker, draw around it. Works great!
Very well done! It looks fantastic, just like those I see in certain fantasy books.
Awesome job.
Thank you!! This is good to know and I am glad you posted your result in stages. Let’s me know the review is genuine 🙂 I will have to check this out when I start my next venture