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Will
Hi, Thanks for visiting my website. My name is Will and if you have questions
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How to Make a Big Fantasy Map

This is a big map, almost three feet wide. And it is the second part of a tutorial. In the first part I show you how to make a sheet of paper this large by recycling old paper bags.

And in this part of the tutorial we go ahead and make the map.

I also have a video tutorial on this project at the bottom of the page.

 

A big fantasy map

 

The raw sheet of paper

Here is the raw sheet of paper.

 

This fantasy map is part of an larger arc of projects that I am working on. I am building a video studio for my youtube videos. You can get a sneak peek at that video studio here. And it is also part of another project where I make a wizard's globe.

 

Measure out a grid

I laid out a grid on the paper. This will help get the perspective. I drew out the grid in very light pencil lines.

In this picture I photoshopped in the grid lines just so you can see them But on the paper they are very light pencil lines.

 

Grid on the globe

I also put string on the globe in the same dimensions as the grid lines on the map. This made it much easier for me to copy the design from the globe to the paper.

 

sketches

Before drawing out on the big map I did several drawings on small paper. You should do this first. Draw out your fantasy world on regular sheets of paper first. This will be a big help. You can develop how it looks, make as many changes as you want without risking the large paper.

About Perspective - This is a bit of a tricky thing for me because I created a world on a globe. And now I have to try to flatten that out. So, I have to tinker with the scale of things and I have to distort things so they look right. But... chances are good you are just doing a flat fantasy map.

 

Start the painting

Draw out all the major land masses, the major water masses and all of the major landscape features including mountains and large rivers.

 

NextOk, let's continue with the tutorial

 

 

Will

Will's Article on making a fantasy map Are you a writer creating a fantasy world? I have an article that will be helpful in your map making. I explain things like scale, the key of the map, and travel in the world. Check it out here: Making Maps for Fantasy Writers

 

You can watch the video here:


 


 

Antique paper

Roylco Inc. R-15286 Roylco Design Craft Paper Antique - Roylco Design Craft Paper Antique Paper 8.5 x 11 32/Sheets. Use these antique parchment style papers to help illustrate poems and short stories using medieval letter-sets and scripts. Draw out an antiqued family tree family Coat of Arms or a realistic treasure map. 81/2" x 11" (22 x 28 cm). 32/pkg.