Behind the scenes: map-making

bravo1102 on July 17, 2017

The inevitable fantasy map.

You are inventing a new world, with new places so there should be some kind of guide for how to get around. Geography shapes us all so how is it shaped in your world? And if you draw a map really like it once upon a time the transition between drawn and digital wasn't that easy if you did full size artwork. The first map of Narthatheia that really worked was a 36“ x 60” wargame map. There was no way to scan that. So I drew the hex map seen here. The hexes were 1/4“ as opposed to 3/4” so the map was that much smaller and much easier to carry around and small enough to fit on a scanner.

Hey, why are there two Markains?
In the days of the old high kings both islands had a capital city that was the seat of high king when in residence. Markain was that city. They used to have designations of North and South but as the politics on the islands drifted apart each island tried to claim they had THE Markain.

Why are the names and borders different on the hex map and the other two?
Two different historical eras. The Photoshop maps are for the comic during the time of Falkimir. The hex map is a few hundred years later representing the some changes Falkimir would make to the map.