Results 1 to 9 of 9

Thread: Xiao continent - hand drawn map

  1. #1
    Guild Journeyer Meton's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2017
    Location
    Finland
    Posts
    115

    Map Xiao continent - hand drawn map

    Haven't posted any maps here for a while! Here's a commissioned map I recently finished. The map was drawn for author Brandon Varnell for upcoming novel series Severing Time & Space. The depicts the Xiao continent with its thirteen kingdoms.

    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	Xiao continent Orbigraphia.png 
Views:	200 
Size:	5.74 MB 
ID:	129503

    - Hand drawn with Pigma Micron fineliners and Pigma Brush pen
    - Coloured with Copic markers
    - A3 sized "Paris" paper of reddish tan colour

    This map was quite a fun commission and a challenge. The worldbuilding here is by the client, but the information was only in written form, so actual the layout is more my design. The world is inspired by Three Kingdoms era in ancient China, and the client asked for something ancient looking. For reference, I searched for old East Asian maps and in the end I think I found a quite good style to go with. I somehow managed to spend quite a lot of time thinking about what kind of paper to use. I knew some kind of background texture would be good, and I really wanted to draw the map straight into the textured paper instead of adding the texture digitally. I tried some coffee staining also, but result was usually too messy. In the end I decided to use this and I'm really happy with it. The Copic markers acted a bit differently than usual with this somewhat thin paper, but generally there was now problem. This was my first time drawing a map to something else than white paper and I'll certainly do like this in the future too.

    For the compass rose the client had the idea of using the Four symbols for the directions. Drawing animals is not my best expertise, but in the end, it's always good to have exercise every now and then. It was also really interesting to study about these traditional creatures representing the directions in Chinese astronomy. Personally I'm quite happy and almost surprised how well it ended up.

    The labels are added digitally by the client, so I left empty areas for that in the map. All the kingdoms, cities, seas and some other features will have names then, and there will also be a title in the upper right corner.

    I'm happy to hear if you have some thoughts or comments!
    www.orbigraphia.com - More maps also in instagram @orbigraphia

  2. #2
    Community Leader wminish's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2020
    Location
    Christchurch, New Zealand
    Posts
    534

    Default

    This is looking really good. The compass rose is great and I really like the glacier up near the top, it's not a feature you see on many maps.
    View my map and asset packs on CartographyAssets or DrivethruRPG. Support my work on Patreon. Take a look at my work on my Website or Instagram.

  3. #3
    Community Leader Facebook Connected tilt's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    Trelleborg, Sweden
    Posts
    5,784
    Blog Entries
    2

    Default

    Looking really good, lovely coloring as well
    regs tilt
    :: My DnD page Encounter Depot free stuff for your game :: My work page Catapult ::
    :: Finished Maps :: Competion maps - The Island of Dr. Rorshach ::
    :: FREE Tiles - Compasses :: Other Taking a commision - Copyright & Creative Commons ::
    Works under CC licence unless mentioned otherwise

  4. #4
    Guild Expert Facebook Connected Arimel's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2017
    Posts
    1,145

    Default

    Really nice! I like the hotsprings (or so I assume they are just south of the glacier).

  5. #5
    Guild Adept KaiAeon's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2019
    Location
    South Africa
    Posts
    335

    Default

    What a beauty. I love the texture and design of the map. It's nice to see some oriental style buildings in a map.
    View my website and Instagram

  6. #6
    Professional Artist ThomasR's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2015
    Location
    Angers, France
    Posts
    4,149

    Default

    That is one hell of a map Mikael ! So elegant and in character ! Congrats !

  7. #7

    Default

    Lovely! And that compass is a killer .

  8. #8

    Default

    Ooh, 'love the colors and design choices here, just perfect for an Asian-inspired culture. Such a lovely map, Meton !

  9. #9
    Guild Journeyer Meton's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2017
    Location
    Finland
    Posts
    115

    Discuss

    Quote Originally Posted by wminish View Post
    This is looking really good. The compass rose is great and I really like the glacier up near the top, it's not a feature you see on many maps.
    Thanks a lot! I struggled a bit with the compass, but I'm really happy with it too. The glacier was straight from the client's plans, I wouldn't have thought about adding one by myself, but it does work and it's a nice addition to a map that is otherwise not that detailed about the terrain.

    Quote Originally Posted by tilt View Post
    Looking really good, lovely coloring as well
    Thank you!

    Quote Originally Posted by Arimel View Post
    Really nice! I like the hotsprings (or so I assume they are just south of the glacier).
    Thanks Arimel! Yeah, they're hot springs, they're also straight from the client's plans. I'm happy to hear you recognized them as what they were supposed to be!

    Quote Originally Posted by KaiAeon View Post
    What a beauty. I love the texture and design of the map. It's nice to see some oriental style buildings in a map.
    Thank you! The buildings are drawn similarly as in one old Chinese map I used as an inspiration.

    Quote Originally Posted by ThomasR View Post
    That is one hell of a map Mikael ! So elegant and in character ! Congrats !
    Thanks a lot Thomas!

    Quote Originally Posted by Ilanthar View Post
    Lovely! And that compass is a killer .
    Thank you Ilanthar!

    Quote Originally Posted by MistyBeee View Post
    Ooh, 'love the colors and design choices here, just perfect for an Asian-inspired culture. Such a lovely map, Meton !
    Thanks a lot Beee! I'm so happy to hear the style looks good, as this was my first time drawing any map with a style close to this!
    www.orbigraphia.com - More maps also in instagram @orbigraphia

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •