I have a basic world map at the front of all my novels, but as I have written more and more, I have needed to create something more comprehensive. With five novels, many short stories, and a new novel in progress, I have started to forget where things were.
Also, I have worked many in-person events to the point that I am meeting the same fans. This is a wonderful thing! Even so, I would like to offer them something fun and new to help them to enjoy the world they have explored with me. This map is the size of a poster board and will be printed poster size in full color.
The map above is the black and white work in progress. I used Tolkien’s style of map drawing as my guide.
First, I drew the entire map in pencil as I reviewed my books and short stories. I played the audio books of my novels and use text to speech so that I could draw as I listen to all the places I mention. I tried to include everything that was large enough to put on a map. I had to erase often to get distances correct. Whenever I could, I added all the places I had in mind for my future books and stories.
Once I was content, I went over everything in pen. There was an incredible amount of world-building that went into this map. I have to think about what each race of faerie grew and what climate would be in their countries. I need to have magical locations that moved around the map and floating islands in the sky. The map ended up having a youthful feel, like a very detailed version of the hundred Acre Woods in the Winnie the Pooh books.
Then I used watercolor on the entire piece. Above is a link to a short video of me painting on it. I am very excited about how it turned out. It may not have the polish of a computer generated map could create, but it is full of hidden places for my characters to explore in future stories. The project has birthed other world-building ideas for projects like a Gryphendale cookbook. Anyway, I have a link to my store below where you can purchase a poster of the map. I hope you enjoy!
What do you think?