Rough copies of some ye old maps

Maps, Maps, Maps

I am no Monet or Rembrandt, can I doodle and artfully create stick men? Yes, in fact it is what I love to do best, when I am simply sitting at my desk, staring into thin air.

How the bloody hell do you draw decent maps?

  

For all you stick men, doodling type of artists out their, I know you will understand me when I say, its pretty hard. First of all, I am a visual learner, I need to see things to believe, including God. Yet despite all my non artistic ways, drawing maps was the first thing I did when starting out on this journey. To be blatantly honest with you, the rough drawings I am about to show you are a real improvement to the originals....they are akin to those amazing, well preserved cave paintings you find in Santander , Spain, only well, less amazing. But I needed to draw them, so that I could begin to form the world in which I was creating and boy is it important. Not only is it important to know where are your cities, towns and villages are, but it is important to know the land inside out. Where are the lakes? and what rivers flow from those lakes? and how does this affect the land and borders? All these niggling factors count, a lot, because if you like me are creating a major battle scene, then you need to know everything about the land and how it will affect that scene and your armies.

SO MUCH WORK!

Well yes, but my God is it fun. If you like me, have a slightly disturbed mind then having all this land to play with is like playing with play-dough, especially when you are about to kill off a character you detest.

That's perverse....

Well actually in comparison to some of my characters and on behalf of their enemies, it is noble. The point is, however you draw your map, no matter how absolutely appalling it may be, it is vital if not the core of your world and once you have mastered your maps and land then your story-lines will fall into place. 

Below is a rough copy of Meer, the Northern Kingdom.