Fantasy Mapping: Drawing Worlds

by Wesley Jones

Fantasy Drawing Worlds teaches you the art of fantasy map-making and shows you how to draw your own eye-catching masterpiece. Fantasy maps are illustrations of fantastical and imaginary lands. Nothing pulls a reader into an enchanting world more than a fantasy map. Whether you want to make a map for a role-playing game, a book, or you just want to learn how to draw one, this is the guide for you. Full of simple, step-by-step tutorials, this book is great for beginners. Its straightforward approach is also perfect for the advanced artist wanting to discover new tips and tricks. Quickly master innovative skills and create unique, one-of-a-kind maps. In this book you will

World building
Geography
Drawing techniques
Map construction

The book showcases a treasure trove of original, never-before-seen maps that are sure to inspire. Jump start your mapping journey and maximize your drawing skills. Make the maps you have always wanted! Written and illustrated by Wesley Jones, an artist, author, and an award-winning map-maker.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction

126 pages, Paperback

Published September 13, 2020

Reviews

[Sarah Ryder · Rating 4 out of 5]

No matter how hard I try I can’t draw worth a flip even though I love art, but one thing I would like to at LEAST be able to do is draw maps for my stories so I don’t have to pay someone to do that too, lol.

Enter this book! I can’t wait to try it out, and the instructions seem simple enough for even an art idiot like me to follow, but we’ll see when I actually have the time and brain power to sit down and test it out…

Like I said the instructions seem simple enough and I liked all his examples of different styles of maps at the end, otherwise it’s basic information about drawing mountains, hills, rivers, etc. and putting it all together in a sensible fashion.

I may report back here when I actually draw something from it or not—we’ll see how things go.

[Daniel Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Fantasy Mapping, artist Wesley Jones' goal is to cover every aspect of the titled topic, to include:
- world building,
- geography,
- tools & materials,
- map components,
- styling, lettering & colouring,
- composition, and
- finished maps.

This book is a mixed bag. Some of the tips were aspects I hadn't considered; I appreciated that. And I liked that about half of the book was the final chapter, where he gave many examples of finished maps (complete with world-building backstory) in different styles. On the other hand, a lot of the book seemed too basic; tips like "there are many different software programs available for digital art . . . each program has its strengths, so it is okay to use multiple programs to get good results." Fine and good, but statements like that left me wanting more. And while some art tutorials were there, they were glossed over. That may be appropriate for the topic at hand, but I felt this could be been better.

Rating: C+

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nicely put together guidebook, well laid out. The addition of the map designs to finish the book was a great idea - lots of different techniques and approaches to explore there. Some of the drawing step-by-steps approached "now draw the rest of the owl" levels of detail, but should still be a great reference book for future map making.

[Juli Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

An unusual guide to a fun topic!