How to Draw Fantasy Maps: Coastlines
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ม.ค. 2023
- You don’t have to be an artist to draw interesting maps. Too many fantasy maps have long, straight coasts that suspiciously mirror the edges of the pages they were initially printed on. Break up your coastlines with bays, rivers, islands, and peninsulas!
This was a bit of a shorter video because we’re preparing to ✨publish a book ✨ and Cole’s been busy helping to illustrate some things for that. Special thanks to Ben, who made this video possible.
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//VIDEO CREDITS//
Script and audio by Adam Bassett: / adamcbassett
Video editing by @4bs_ben.
Animation and thumbnail by Cole Field: / acolefield
//ADDITIONAL READING//
Learn more about fantasy map design: www.campfirewriting.com/learn...
Not sure how to make a map? I was using Affinity Designer but that’s a little complicated compared to some of the alternatives. We compared a few popular tools: www.campfirewriting.com/learn...
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Only 10? 0:51 smh
I loved that final technique: mash up existing maps.
You can also look at cows like Holsteins and make maps based on their spot patterns.
Yep! Lots of ways to do this kind of thing. Coffee beans and rice are another popular one, spread out on a table and traced. I just wanted to offer a different option. And, I like this one because it forces you to look closely at Earth's geology, which is also helpful.
@@AroundTheCampfire I think you confused this comment for the one about tectonic faults. This comment is about cows. 🐄 😅
0:55 The last example shown was my favourite of those you made.
I prefer drawing the fault lines of continental plates and building coastlines from how they would naturally form.
As you were drawing your example map I immediately recognized the shapes from Chesapeake/Potomac/Delaware! That’s one of my favorite coastlines!
Oh wow... I NEED to learn how to make a map like the one at 1:00. That's my gold standard right there.
Thanks haha! That was made our lead designer, Adam :)
I've been working on some (this far vague) notions of a fantasy map modeled a bit on western North America. It even has an analog of Baja California, but it's an island rather than a peninsula.
You’re actually wrong about Westeros being just great Britain flipped the opposite direction it’s actually Great Britain just facing it’s normal direction with an upside down Ireland stuck to the bottom. You can see that clearly by looking at regions like the Vale and Flint’s Finger.
I'll concede it's not a *perfect* comparison, but I was focused on the tip of Dorne being on the east whereas the South West Peninsula is, well, facing west.
@@AroundTheCampfire yeah Dorne is an addition made by George R.R. Martin himself that wasn’t originally part of Ireland.
To be fair, the majority of fantasy settings don't have satellite imaging, so the maps drawn wouldn't be very realistic or accurate
I’m so proud of me, I was like that kind of looks like that part of Virginia and Delaware. Then you said it based off it. Dude I’m like the smartest mf on earth
Hey, Campfire. This was an entertaining video, thanks so much for sharing! I've loved drawing maps. What programs are best for drawing them?
Hey, thanks! Glad you enjoyed it. 😄
There's no "best" program. There's a lot of good options that cater to slightly different goals and levels of experience. I used Affinity Designer in this video for the map I made, but that's really more of a general art tool (like Photoshop or Illustrator). It's excellent if you're looking for a good art program, but not if you want to efficiently make maps or have little to no art background.
If you're looking to make maps quickly, I think Aazgar's Map Generator, Inkarnate, and Wonderdraft are some incredible options. They're pretty easy to use, and inexpensive (Aazgar's is actually free). I wrote a whole post about those three on our blog talking about the pros and cons of each if you want more info: www.campfirewriting.com/learn/azgaars-vs-inkarnate-vs-wonderdraft
My best advice would be to try a few options out and just go with whatever feels best for you / does what you need.
Another thing to do is think of what the map is for. If it fits your purpose, put something wierd on the map, then explain why it is wierd. For example, have a normal coastline that suddenly has a gash running up it, filled with cliffs. Said gash is there because it is where an earthquake ripped this area apart, and there is a mysterious city that fell into the new bay that opened up underneath it.
Scotland gets no love? Have you seen those images, they're.... so intense. 😅
I'd love if you would redesign the Old School RuneScape map.
Surprised you didn't mention deltas, swamps or Lagoons. Not all coastlines need to be rough.
The Nile river, Mississippi river, and Curonian spit are some notable examples forming unique geographical features
You would cry if you saw the one (and I believe only) world map I've made. Although to be fair it was never intended to be used as an accurate proper map, it's not even to scale with itself. I just needed something to know the rough directions of towns and the types of terrains of various areas that would be travelled through in a text-based rp I played with my friends so I threw together a very rough concept in Microsoft Paint and.. I never took the time to fix it.
0:58 what is this style of map called? And how can I make one like it
I'm from Delaware so I suspected that coastline looked familiar.
2:38 Then this showed up on screen lol
I'm from Maryland and I can agree. It did look familiar before he showed the images.
Where can we find the pictures of your maps?
Yay!
On the one hand, the critique is fair, on the other hand HOW DARE YOU SPEAK ILL OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR TOLKIEN!
No idea why I can see the names of Valmieras, Cēsu and Siguldas but not any of the land theyre on.
some parts blank? and what do I do when I have 9 continents :)
Big oceans and lakes?
I’d love to get your opinion on my secondary world’s map of Syla 🤔🤔
Post it on our Discord server and @ me!
@@AroundTheCampfire I would also like to show off my maps and such, but I feel so inadequate. The lot of you are talented, and little ol' me is tiny in comparison. :
I don't agree with this. Yes it's a straight line from Lindon to Gondor, but what else would it be? Little islands? And coasts aren't really that rocky, many are very soily and without much rock, like Florida, the Gulf, northern France, Ukraine, and much of Brazil. Some do have more complex shapes, such as Finland. And also (current me if I'm wrong on this, but you implied it) with Middle Earth fitting into a box, it may fit into a box, but much of that box would be sea. It still has complex shapes, such as the lands of the Lossoth, Lindon, Gondor's coast, and in the earlier days Númenor and Nevrost.
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South America has a coastline thats too simple and unrealistic for my tastes. It's basically just a straight line from argentina to Brazil. Also see Africa, Arabia, India, Italy...
why azgaar's fantasy map generator is overrated dogwater - the video