#fantasy maps

Just an update on this project

Just a little project I’m working on

Screenshots from a commission, the ultimate Tamriel map for a d&d campaign

Some screenshots of a new commission project I’m working on. A full map of Tamriel for a D&D campaign.

My world map in progress, still naming and adding details.

The islands of Storm’s End, in Storm Bay. A part of my fantasy atlas project

Some islands for a project of mine, early stages

My world map from Avatar the Last Airbender, one of many prints I’ll be selling at DIY Ferndale

My fantasy style map of Michigan

My map of Hyrule from Breath of the Wild

A Michigan fantasy map I’m working on

My finished map of Azeroth from World of Warcraft. Discworld is next!

My latest commission, Hyrule from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Finished up these tier logos for patreon!

Working on new stuff, big announcement coming soon!

A commission I just finished for a novel called “The Last Hacker” by Mark Wahlbeck

The continent of Salika, another D&D map commission

My latest fantasy map commission

A D&D map commission I just finished.

Sanctuary, the dark and twisted world from the Diablo franchise.

Therelease of the map for Robert Jordan’s posthumously published Warrior of the Altaii has gotten me thinking about a feature that is extremely common on fantasy maps – the huge mountain range that forms the western or eastern border of the subcontinent where the story takes place.

There’s an obvious parallel between Altaii’s Backbone of the World and the Dragonwall in Jordan’s Wheel of Time series, but Jordan is not alone in using this feature. There’s the Westron Mountains in Stephen R. Donaldson’s Thomas Covenant series, Eridu from Guy Gavriel Kay’s Fionnavar Tapestry, etc. The wide-open plains of Rhun from Lord of the Rings don’t fall into this pattern (despite otherwise fitting the west/eastward-facing subcontinent model), though the Blue Mountains from the Silmarilliondo. (Most of the examples that spring to mind are from the 20th century, and my impression is that fantasy worldbuilding has gotten more diverse in recent decades.)

The Eurocentrism of these classic fantasy geographies is often pointed out, and Europe does match the model in many ways, but Europe has no analogue for the mountains at the edge. Europe’s eastern side gives way to the extensive plains of Central Asia and Siberia. The conventional boundary between Europe and Asia is in the modern era usually placed along the Ural Mountains, but the Urals are no Spine of the World – they’re quite modest as mountains go. Nevertheless, it could be that fantasy worldbuilders are being influenced by the conceptof Europe being bounded by mountains.

I’m less interested in explaining this feature by finding real-world analogues than I am in thinking about what it contributes to worldbuilding – the function it serves in stories. Here, I think the important thing to note is that in classic fantasy worldbuilding, mountains serve as barriers. Mountain ranges create lines that characters can’t easily cross, making for a challenge if they must cross it, forcing detours, and explaining why interaction between the places on either side is limited. (Note that this is not necessarily the case in the real world. From the mountain-centric empire of the Incas to the thriving trading communities of the Himalayas, mountains have often been just as much spaces of connection and exchange as barriers.)

A border range – especially a very high one – serves that bounding function for the land as a whole. But it’s a different kind of boundary than an ocean (which usually forms the side opposite the mountains). A mountain range signals clearly that there’s more to the world beyond it, but that that land won’t be playing a major role in the story (or if it does, it’s a story of contact between peoples who are ordinarily separate). A mountain range also gives the land a “back” side. Oceans are boundaries, but they’re also spaces of connection. We expect ships to be traveling up and down the coastline even if they don’t cross the open waters. A mountain range, on the other hand, does not facilitate travel along its length. The world in effect faces away from the great mountains.

Continent of Golad-Dara. Commissioned map.

Lindone - Commissioned map.

The Precarious Pillar - Commissioned map.

Commissioned map for a RPG group

Austoria - An exploration of styles.

Waypoint - Welcome to Waypoint! The friendly village where everyone smiles and the perfect stop for the exhausted traveller! Personal project, quick and serious settlement.

Post-Apocalyptic Florence, Commissioned map.

Moriendere - Personal project, emulating a medieval style.