Tesset Gallí

[Tonnichiwa]

I really like this map, especially the evergreen tree forest near the top. I love the style of drawing you used for that. I have only one question. Why is there no scale bar so a navigator can tell how far he has travelled on your map?

[Caenwyr]

I really like this map, especially the evergreen tree forest near the top. I love the style of drawing you used for that. I have only one question. Why is there no scale bar so a navigator can tell how far he has travelled on your map?

Good question Tonnichiwa!

There are actually two answers. The first is the fact that from north to south, the scale difference is quite huge, so a single scale just wouldn't do it. I could have used a variable scale like the one below, but that would imply drawing geographical parallels as well, while this map is all about the medieval-ish feel (so no parallels but crazy windrose lines). I've done a tiny bit of research, and it seems portolan maps (which I based my windrose lines on) didn't have scales, at least not in the modern sense. They did however represent port-to-port distances, which I have left out. Maybe a good idea for a future map?


(Source: Bemidji State University)

The second reason for not having a scale is probably a bit less impressive - it's called the "Get It Over And Done With Syndrome". I won't have much time for mapmaking in the weeks to come, and I didn't feel like dragging this one out for longer than necessary. Usually I try to come up with a scale indeed (as a geographer, I was taught to always have a legend, a scale and a windrose in my maps!), but working out little details like that tend to take a LOT of time, especially if you want to draw all of them yourself. Time I didn't have. So I dropped the scalebar .