how to draw fantasy maps

:earth_americas: Hello dear members of WCA! :earth_americas:

I'm Silva and today I'd like to share my way to draw a fantasy map.

There are different ways to draw them, so this is how I personally do it.

:earth_asia: First of all, why do you need one? :earth_asia:

It's your choice of course if you use a map while writing your story.

For me, the story seems to come to life when I have a plausible map. It serves as a kind of direction for you and if you want to publish a book, your readers might want to know what the world looks like you're writing about.

You can follow my steps or get creative and think of other things to add. Keep in mind that I'm no professional when it comes to drawing!

I'm also open for any other tips! Just share your ideas in the comment section!

:earth_africa: Step One: Shape your world :earth_africa:

You need a blank sheet of paper. Just a normal paper. It doesn't have to be fancy. And also a normal size (A4). Otherwise you'll sit really long on that first sketch.

Next, try to find something small that helps you draw your map. If you already have one in your head, just draw it! If you have no clue, use little nuts, beans or dices. The more, the better.

For this map, I used sunflower seeds.

What you're gonna do is just let them "fall" randomly on your paper. As many as you like.

Afterwards you can still move them around a bit to get the right shape.

Mine looks like this:

Now comes the fun part!

Take a pencil and draw a line along your shape. The line shouldn't be clean. Add wobbly parts and be creative!

I already added some lakes and islands.

If you're done, remove the seeds, beans etc.

Already looks like a map right?

But, it's nowhere near done. This leads us to step two.

:earth_asia: Step Two: Mountains :earth_asia:

There are different ways to draw mountains. I'll quickly show you two of them that I really like.

The left one is the easier one and takes less time.

The right one is the more complex one. It takes time but also creates a really cool 3D-look.

I decided to go for the right one but before I draw them, here's a little tip:

Again, I use something small to shape/place the mountains.

This time, I used hazlenuts.

Take a pencil and draw a very thin line around the so you can still see the shape after removing them. (The line shouldn't be perfect cause you are gonna erase it afterwards)

Now you're gonna draw your mountains and shade them a little bit to achieve that 3D-effect.

It took me around 30 minutes to finish them.

:earth_americas: Step Three: Lakes, Rivers, Seas :earth_americas:

I draw lakes and rivers just like on the world map.

Where the sea is supposed to be, I write down the name.

After that's done, I start with the shading.

I thicken the lines of the bottom of the country and draw everything with a black pen. I usually use different sizes. For the rivers, I use a really thin one. For the lakes and names a thicker one.

But for this map, I tried using my calligraphy pencil.

(Don't make the mistake I did in the right upper corner. The ink got on my hand and then on the paper)

I then changed the mountains a little bit and added this wobbly effect of the sea around the continents and islands.

:earth_africa: Step Four: Forests :earth_africa:

It's time for you to think about where you're gonna place your forests. This is totally up to you. Start by drawing light areas and then add detail while you draw darker.

Here's a close-up:

:earth_asia: Step Five: Cities and Towns :earth_asia:

This step is really simple. Just think about where you want to have a city/town, draw a little house/castle and name it!

Don't forget to name your whole fantasy world!

And you're done!

Of course there's so much more that you can try or draw. That's just my style that I wanted to show you and I hope it could be of help to some of you.

:earth_africa:   :earth_americas:   :earth_asia:

#CuratorReview

[28.04.2018]

how to draw fantasy maps

Source: https://aminoapps.com/c/writersclubamino/page/blog/how-to-draw-a-fantasy-map/3dJp_MQuBuwE5GB7J3WPpmqrMLppK560qj

Posted by: hendersonplat1974.blogspot.com

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