How to Draw a Better Map | with Middle-Earth Map
-- FREE MIDDLE EARTH MAP HERE! --
Welcome, fellow map-makers, to a journey of artistic exploration! In this guide, we'll work on how to draw a better map. Come and delve into the enchanting realm of drawing simple yet captivating maps for your RPG adventures. Whether you're a seasoned game master or a fledgling storyteller, these tips will help you bring your world to life.
If you're here for the full A2 version of the map that we made for this post and video tutorial, look no further:
1) The Purpose of your Map
Before you put pen to paper, take a moment to envision your world, in drawing a better map. What landscapes will your adventurers traverse? It may be tempting to just let go and start drawing, but the real point of a map is always the same - it needs to be useful.
Because of this, you need to think about the intention of it. If a map's primary purpose is to be useful, then cluttering the page with illustrations will not help. Your job is not to fill the blank areas of the map with things that will only confuse the reader.
What is the purpose?
The most important part of a map: it needs to be read. Your labels need to be clear, your coastlines and mountains must be the first and foremost natural objects that you sketch. Think of your map in the way that a traveller would need it. What are the most important points and obstacles that need to be sketched on it? A forest is not as important as a city to a merchant, and a river is less of an obstacle than a mountain.
What are the mapmaker's priorities?
Here is the list of priorities that I use when creating a map:
a) Coastlines and Mountains: First on the page, the biggest obstacles for any traveller.
b) Kingdoms and Cities: Which regions are which, and what are the main points on the network of commerce and diplomacy?
c) Rivers and Roads: Next on the list, because oftentimes a traveller can use mountains and cities as waypoints, the rivers and roads do not need to be as accurate.
d) Forests and Sites: These are also waypoints for the weary wanderer, and sites are important to note - sometimes, your map will have things that are unique or not easily classified, such as henges, ancient towers, mythical locations, etc.
e) Natural landscape: The last thing on my list, to fill in those blank areas. Once all of those are done, you can fill in the rest as marshlands, grasslands, plains and steppes, deserts and wastes.
2) The Method of your Map
Alright, you've thought it through, you've even got a rough sketch completed. Now you can put pen to paper and start to fill in the blank edges of that map. Remember that a good map is a work of art. The best ones are as nice to look at as they are useful, and that takes composition and patience. My maps generally takes me about seven or eight hours to complete. If you want to draw a better map, you need to accept that it will take more time.
So, here are the general order of steps that I take when I'm making my maps:
Step 1: Sketch
Simple enough. You sketch out, in pencil, the outline of the coasts, the mountains, the major points and the rivers. These are the main details that you will need later on. Obviously, if you're making this up as you go along, then you don't need to spend extra time checking and re-checking the distances and the relative scale.
But even if you're making it up as you go along, you will want to sketch it out first. It will mean you make fewer mistakes, you can change things early if the map looks crowded or lopsided, and its imperative for the third step.
Step 2: Coastlines and Mountains
They are number one on the priority list for a reason. They don't change their location, they cannot be altered (by mortal means), and they present the largest waypoints and obstacles for any traveller. Everything on your map will be placed in relative position to these points.
I use a thicker black fineliner (generally about 0.7mm) for my coasts and a thinner black fineliner (0.4mm) for my mountains, which have more detailing. If you want to see my methods, check out my YouTube tutorial through the link at the bottom of this article. It's easier to show than explain.
Once you have the general shape of them, you can move on to the next step. The detailing will come later.
Step 3: Labels
From my own experience, and please listen to me: label before you start filling your map. If you fill first, or if you fill and label at the same time as you go, you'll find that your labels will get crowded or illegible very quickly. Do your labelling before you move on, making sure you do the most important labels (capital cities, kingdom names, etc) first.
You'll thank me later.
Step 4: Now you can fill in the content
I'll let you do this to your own style: every mapmaker is different for a reason. But I tend to draw things in the order of priority above, because to ensure that the map does not get overcrowded.
This is the point at which you can also draw illustrations, if that is something that you want to do. But a quick word of advice: don't make any illustration larger than one hundredth of the map as a whole. If it is any larger, it will suck attention towards it and away from the rest of the map. Subtlety is a virtue.
Step 5: Legend and scale
Don't forget these two! Very important. Generally, you should add them in your sketch, but sometimes you have a lot to cover. There are a number of ways to add these in - in a dedicated corner, around the border of the map, built into an illustration. It's entirely up to you which you choose.
3) The Style of your Map
Alright, last but not least: to draw a better map, you have to decide what your style is. Generally, when you draw map after map after map, you will generally settle on some styles and features that you bring into every map. Ways of drawing mountains, forests, coastlines, or rivers that are uniquely yours.
But if this is an early experiment of yours, I would definitely recommend using a map that you have access to as inspiration (if you like, you can use my most recently posted map here). Remember the golden rule of maps: maps are representative, not presentational.
When you draw a mountain, it doesn't need to look exactly like a mountain. When you draw a forest, you don't need to draw every leaf. The onus is on you to determine what details your audience needs to allow their eyes to fill in the details themselves. You do the minimum of work for the maximum output.
I'll be showing a my own styles in my video tutorial on this topic. If you're interested in some more examples, comment below and I will get to it in the near future.
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Don't be afraid to experiment with different symbols and styles. This is your world, and there are no strict rules. Feel the freedom to explore and express the unique stories your map has to tell.
As you put the finishing touches on your masterpiece, remember that every stroke of the pen is an invitation to adventure. Your map is not just a visual aid; it's a gateway to realms unknown. Ready to take your map-making skills to the next level? Watch our comprehensive video tutorial on YouTube and let your imagination run wild!
Link here: How to Draw a Better Map!