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What's Included
The commission is in two parts: the physical copy and the digital copy. The physical copy is the focus of most of Ryan's attention, and the artistic product. The digital copy requires a few extra hours of work to render, colour-correct if necessary, and otherwise update, but is vital if you want to use the map digitally, to send to publishers or your friends.
Have it to Hold
The physical map is painted or inked on a single sheet of 180gsm watercolour paper, sent via post. What you will receive:
Handwritten Note: thanking you for your commission, with any final notes from Ryan on the composition, worldbuilding, and creative processes used.
The Original: an A2 map of your fantasy location, set and prepared for display. (Please be aware that different media have different level of longevity in varying environments. Consider the direct sunlight, moisture, and particulates in the area when displaying.)
The Large Copy: an A1 map, printed professionally, to use for day-to-day work or give to the party or publisher. Intended to be used in place of the original, so that the original map can stay pristine.
Have it for Keeps
The digital map is sent to you as a .png, generally uploaded to a shared file (Google Drive as default, but other options are available on request).
What to Expect
The process of commissioning is similar, but overall tailored for every individual map and world. From Ryan himself, here is the step-by-step process and your level of service:
Step 1: You express interest, and upon going through the purchase button on the Red Quills commissions site, you're sent an initial quiz. It has questions about the lore and worldbuilding that I've found particularly useful to ask, and gives the option to write longer paragraphs about things that you want me to focus on.
Step 2: I read it through, and come back to you with some more specific questions, ask for some stylistic prompts, and get you then (once I have a broad understanding of your world) to send me through everything you have on the setting. (Not necessarily the characters, of course, just geography, politics, and history). Max. 10 - 12 pages.
Step 3: I read through it, make up a pencil draft, and send the pencil draft back to you with whatever recommendations that I may have of composition, based on your worldbuilding and my own experience with maps. (This step involves a little bit of give-and-take: I can change details on the sketch to match your vision, we can discuss priorities, etc. For instance, an older map would look better weathered, but weathering paper will make any ink or paint applied afterwards spread more than it would otherwise. So it would look older, but clumsier in terms of composition. That kind of issue is the sort of detail we would need to iron out here.)
Step 4: Once you're happy with the sketch, I start painting and inking. Because this is the non-eraseable part, and because I tend to sit down over the course of several hours at a time to put these on paper, this is the point at which I can no longer change any details on the map.
Step 5: I take photos and scan the map, and send it. You receive the digital copy almost immediately via a Google Link or compressed file, and it takes roughly two weeks for the physical map to arrive.
