Nobody warned me about maps
Disclaimer: this is a copy of the newsletter. Actual subscribers get all the prizes, votes, and exclusives.
“Yes, maps can be included as front and back end pages, but we need those submitted as soon as possible.”~our publisher
I’m going to give you an exclusive peek at the color version of one of our maps that won’t even be in the book (we’re doing greyscale), but first…
My nerdy fantasy heart raced while picturing the map of Middle Earth, or of Alethkar in The Way of Kings. I ran out to my wife, who was working on chibi artwork for the book (you can see it on our socials).
Me: “We get to do maps!”
Her: “Maps?”
Me: “Maps. In the book. Front and back. WOO!”
Her: “We don’t have print-ready maps, though.”
Me: “Oh… right.”
That was two days ago. Per typical Steph and Rob, we put our heads down and got to work.
Since we’re self-funded for everything but the print, there’s no budget for artwork. Even if we had it, time wasn’t on our side. The publisher said “as soon as possible” since the book is about to go into pre-print.
That means we had to figure out not if, but how we could make the maps ourselves without using generative AI assets or programs. After a few Google searches, Inkarnate rose to the top as the best option (I am not sponsored by them, but if you know someone there, nudge nudge).
We were particularly fond of their policies, which outright ban AI or even AI-assisted assets.
We love human art <3
At first, I thought we had it in the bag. We’ll just use some of the pre-made assets, plop them down on some land, and boom, we’ll have a quality map.
I was wrong.
There is a LOT of thought and care that goes into making a map. Top-view, side-view, 3D or flat assets. Proportions, coloring, spacing, what to include, what NOT to include, overall style. It was honestly… overwhelming.
Worst of all, since this is for The First Stone, the map has to be canon. Which meant I had to actually figure out proper distances and logistics that match the book.
After hours of looking at other maps, we finally chose a style we liked: Parchment with some textured nature vibes. My wife built a gorgeous land mass for Sanctorum Island, which is where Bellevar Academy is located.
We wanted this one to feel very fantasy and magical, because Bellevar Academy has that aura. We used sketched assets, some of which Steph made herself, for buildings and animals (and a few hidden treasures).
A dozen hours and drafts later, we got a solid draft for Sanctorum Island. This will be one of the maps you can reply to see.
Anyway, a few more tweaks (hours) and it was done. I clapped my hands and was ready to go subject myself to misery by playing ranked in League of Legends.
Then the words “back of the book” echoed in my head.
We need another map! Should we do the REZ? What about a map of the Main Hall for Bellevar Academy? A world map?
Eventually, we decided on a map of the Arbiter’s compound. It is huge, and the compounds are intricately designed. An illustration of them just seemed fitting.
Fortunately, Steph, amazing as she is, had worked on a top-down map a while back in a compound handbook she made that’s 40+ pages long, that was given to all new residents when the compounds were first built 100+ years before the book even begins. (This will eventually be something YOU can get.)
Since the Arbiter’s compound was built in OUR time today, to us, that meant the map could NOT be fantasy. It needed to be very structured and planned. Kind of like a Google Map.
We tried to do it in Inkarnate, but that just did not work at all. The compound’s shape, size, and complexity didn’t mesh well. Instead, we opted to have a very Google Maps-esque backdrop, and various shapes, symbols, and lines to create the type of map a new resident would care about (focused around major points of everyday necessities and transportation). Think subway maps.
This one only took a few hours of tweaking. Thank goodness.
But just when we thought we were done, we realized something critical: this map is going to be printed in greyscale. Yet, all of our transportation lines, markers, etc., that distinguish them are in color.
Rust! (iykyk)
Back at it, we redid the markers, lines, legend, everything until at long last, we had a completed map for the Arbiter’s compound.
Guys… I need to take a moment and praise my wife, Steph. She CRUSHED it on this. From the work she did years ago on the compound map that we never even knew we’d be using in the actual book, to learning how to draw, to just her constant effort. She’s metal.
I’m really excited to share with you what we came up with. So, now here’s your choice:
Reply: “Sanctorum” if you’d like to see the full color version of the map of Sanctorum Island (won’t be in the book, by the way).
Reply: “Compound” if you’d like to see the ORIGINAL compound map from the handbook (then compare it with the new greyscale version from the book). There are even some canon changes between the two.
Thanks for reading, can’t wait to share the maps with you.
~Robert
Disclaimer: this is a copy of the newsletter. Actual subscribers get all the prizes, votes, and exclusives.
