Maps and Artwork

[EdKann]

Hi!

Old gamer here, living and raising an entire family of devoted Fantasy and Sci-Fi RPG nerds here in Topeka, Kansas. I began this journey rolling funny shaped dice back in 1978 and I have been an avid DM and player ever since.

Up a little early today - as we get older sleep can be a bit of a challenge. Thought I would post some examples of my maps, tavern sign artwork and fantasy artwork, generally drawn over the years for my own campaign.

If my style of maps and art looks useful or helpful I would be happy to help a brother or sister out with a little art and / or map(s) for their BFRPG project.

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[EdKann]

I hand illustrate all of my maps on bristol or in one of my campaign journals. This is a revisitation of my good old home campaign world done in ink before adding color.



Here is the final version colored with art markers.

[EdKann]

In my own game, I will get a big sheet of graph paper and create a one square equals one square mile "adventure scale" map. I use these for plotting encounters in set locations or as my main DM map for running overland adventures and explorations.



I use a more abstract map of the kingdom or region as a reference when making these maps so that the scale and distances between locations, the flow of rivers, placements of geography and roads matches the kingdom reference as close as I can manage.



Here is a look at what a final adventure map might look like all colored in with colored pencils. I can usually get away with two or at the most three of these covering most of a kingdom where my players are running around and have plenty of coverage for anything they care to do.



Here is the finished map with the related Kingdom reference map I was working from.

[EdKann]

Sometimes I will get a wild hair and draw up a sign for a specific tavern or business, like this one for "The Belching Beast". Printing these out on parchment can make for a fun handout for game night or to post up on the campaign bulletin board for players to see.

[EdKann]

I like to draw illustrations of creatures, locations or characters encountered in my campaign although I would say that more than half of my personal drawing time goes into maps. I would be happy to draw something for someone's BFRPG book project. I can't commit to bashing out ten illustrations for your project but if you can be a little patient I can probably contribute a few. Every little bit helps, right? All I ask is for clear credit for my work.



Neanderthal mercenary from the Jungles of Drum.



Auspragh the Enchanter



Cultist kneeling at a ruined shrine, deep within the strange fungoid groves of the Murklands of Shub.



Amidst the maps that I do, I also like to illustrate towns and villages and of course dungeons, lots of those. So hit me up if you would like some help.

[Jeff Wrbelis]

'Sea of Harlots"? (Sets sail...)

[Jeff Wrbelis]

I must say, as someone who started around the same time, what a ride it has been...the vast amount of change we've seen across the game genera since those halcyon early days..like Arthur said, everything back then had a certain rosy glow when looked at across a span of many years. No incredible graphics computer games, just old Ray Harryhuasen films and pulp sword and sorcery to kindle the imagination...it was a very unique time to be alive.

[Solomoriah]

Wow, this is some really nice stuff! Thanks for sharing!

[EdKann]

Thanks! Let me know if I can put together a map or a few bits of artwork for some upcoming project. I would be happy to volunteer some time for your excellent projects.

[chiisu81]

Agreed, really nice work. I'll repeat what we tend to say in other threads like these: at the end of the way we welcome any contributions, and if there's something in particular that you'd like to draw for, then we say go for that first. In the Workshop we have the Project Priorities thread, where you can see which items are slowly making their way to print release candidate status; those can always use more artwork. If there's any other recent items in Workshop you'd like to add to, that's welcome as well. Since you've shown a knack for signs, I know The Village of Brebury could use a couple of those...

As posted elsewhere for artwork: grayscale, >=300 DPI please