Hello all,

My name’s McCracken, and I’m excited to join this community! I’m a big fan of this forum and after reading it for a bit, I think I’ve found my people lol

I’ve been running D&D for about three years, and making maps for my campaign really reignited my love for maps, a love which began with reading fantasy novels like dragonlance. For about 2.5 years, I made my maps exclusively on inkarnate, but after being frustrated with the limitations of the software, I took the very scary dive into photoshop. I’m predominantly a world builder and a dm first, so I really only draw when I can, but I freaking love it, guys. Like seriously. I can spend yours just thinking about different styles, fonts, and colors. I’ll spend a good long time just perusing over the maps on this site, and I especially love reading the lore. I am pretty (almost unhealthily) obsessed with names, and what makes a place name sound “right”. So expect me to post in those forums.

In terms of mapping, I’m a real basic beginner. I’m learning both procreate and photoshop as I go, and just drawing what I think looks good. Something I wanna learn soon is how to make map borders. The ones I see here are so cool! But they’re intricate, I don’t even know where to start.

My campaign and setting right now is my favorite I’ve ever worked on. It’s a dark fantasy, low-magic continent-sized setting inspired by the Ottoman Empire, Ming Dynasty China, The Silk Road, OSR-weirdness, the Umayyad Caliphate, Vedic India, and Romance of the Three Kingdoms. It’s a truly massive undertaking and I’ve enjoyed every minute. It’s called the “Gallinor: Land of a Thousand Thrones”. It’s got all the fantasy trappings of a late-medieval/pre-modern world, including gunpowder weapons, Westphalia-esque nation-states, and clockwork technology! If that sounds cool, then stay tuned!