Question about a Christmas Gift for a Cartographer

[logaugh]

Hello!

I'm not in to cartography myself, but my roommate is very passionate about it: he's been in the hobby for a few years now, I think. He makes fantasy maps by hand, usually using a whiteboard to brainstorm, then pen and paper to flesh things out. Does anyone here have any recommendations for christmas presents that would be useful to a hobby-cartographer? Thanks, I really appreciate the advice!

[MistyBeee]

It's a lucky roomate you have, logaugh

Random ideas, depending on what he/you love(s)...

... for drawing :

- A good set of fineliners of various size (Copic Multiliners, Micron pen...),
- A set of good quality charcoal pencils,
- A set of quills and/or good quality inks,
- A quill, a bottle of "Blue Ghost" Noodler's ink and an ultraviolet lamp to add secret details on the map (can be super fun for RPG),

... for adding colors :

- A small set of good quality watercolors (extra fine or at least fine, and you don't need a wide range of colors for start),
- A small set of Copic markers with colors he loves : greens and blues, or grey or sepia tones...,
- A set of good quality colored pencils,

... reference books :

- How to draw fantasy art and rpg maps, by Jared Blando,
- The Writer's Map: An Atlas of Imaginary Lands,
- The Phantom Atlas, by Edward Brooke-Hitching,
- Vargic's Miscellany of Curious Maps

... prints of inspiring maps from universes or artist he loves :

- on InPRNT
- Game of Thrones maps by Jonathan Roberts
- ...

PS : Don't know who you are, guy who implemented the "restore saved message" feature on the website, but I love you ! ^^

[Jaxilon]

No idea what you are looking to spend but you could get him one of these: Tee shirts if you go a couple pages into that thread there is a picture of one someone ordered.

An old hand drawn map of the world can be cool, my wife bought me a giant one and it's totally cool.

I'm not sure if he does traditional or digital but he might need a drawing tablet like a bamboo or an Intuos from Wacom. Those run from like 50 to 500 bucks and more so I guess it depends how you define "roommate".

I don't know about these other folks but I'm a pen/pencil/brush bigot and love my art utensils so a gift certificate to a local art supply store works well. Personally I would be happy with that because I would spend time fiddling around with the brushes until I found the perfect one.
I think if my wife bought me a brush it likely wouldn't be the one I needed.

If we knew what media your roommate worked in that could help us come up with more specific gift ideas.

[Gidde]

The paper itself is always a really wonderful gift, too. One tends to go through it like crazy. Something like a nice (i.e. Strathmore) drawing or sketch book is a fine inexpensive gesture, whereas big sheets of awesome cold pressed watercolor paper get more expensive and are something he is not likely to get for himself so it's a fantastic gift.

[Jaxilon]

The paper itself is always a really wonderful gift, too. One tends to go through it like crazy. Something like a nice (i.e. Strathmore) drawing or sketch book is a fine inexpensive gesture, whereas big sheets of awesome cold pressed watercolor paper get more expensive and are something he is not likely to get for himself so it's a fantastic gift.

This is a good point. I'm a total cheapskate so I end up chopping my regular sheets into smaller ones all the time. I think I'm always wondering if I'm doing well enough to use a big expensive sheet. <-- that's a mental issue I think because I haven't totally botched a watercolor in years. Old habits just die hard I guess.

[ladiestorm]

Here is an idea that many may not thinking about. When he's drawing his maps... where does he draw them? Does he sit at a desk? Does he lay his supplies down on the floor? Perhaps something as simple as an easel? Or a drawing board? Are his supplies scattered in different places? What about an organizer (carrying case) for his pens/pencils/erasers, paints or what ever he uses? Or a sketchers kit (one that has different colored pencils, straight edges) Or a compass and protractor set for making curves, slopes and edges?