Fellow explorers,

venturers make
a se cret. All great ad
I’ ll te ll yo u number of times
I can’t count the
their own maps! d fo
amps, or
rests, endless sw e time
pe d ha un te
I’ve esca I took th
in ranges because
maze-like mounta p.
ma
to make a proper
of NOT getting
ex tr emely useful way
Not on ly is it an sit down at the
fun and relaxing to ing locations
lost, but it’s also rest
ch out all the inte
campfire and sket
ng day’s travel.
discovered on a lo
You don’t
t th in g ab ou t drawing maps?
And the gr ea trate one that
lev el 20 artist to illus
have to be a the alphabet, you
od ! If you can write
look s re al ly go I’ve made of the
just like the one
can draw a map takes a little pla
nning, some
It ju st
Dagger La nd s. tips contained
nc e, an d fo llo wing the helpful
patie
inside this guide!
Reference
s:
– Flik Silverpen
Make A World
by Ed Emberley
The Writers M
pes like ap
If you can draw a few simple sha edited by Huw
les, wavey lines, zig- Lew is-Jones
rectangles, triangles, half circ
you can dra w every part of
zags, dashes and dots, Atlas of Fantas
ti
the Dagger Lands map on the foll
owing page. edited by Pam c Worlds
Hansel
For instance, use these shapes: Old Roads
by Kyle Latino

To make this sea-side

pirate village:

l show you how!

The diagrams on pages 4 - 9 wil
 How This Guide Works
and source of encouragement for
This book is a step-by-step guide
s.
drawing your own fantasy map
ple
nt locations, learning to draw sim
You’ll be making a list of importa cil, lab eling
, planning out the map in pen
icons to represent those places h ink .
map illustration wit
each location, then finalizing the
you’ll
erience, just follow the steps and
You don’t need any drawing exp
!
be amazed at what you can create

Tools for Making Maps

Honestly, any quill, ink, and parchment will work for
making
maps. The tools aren’t that important, so use what you
have
on hand.
But it’s also fun experimenting with different pens and
paper
to find out what you like best. If you’re interested in
what I
keep in my Cartography Kit, here’s a list:

Paper: Scrap sheets of cheap plain white paper. Final

maps
are drawn on Bristol Board (Strathmore 300 or 400 Series
Smooth).
Pencil: 2H or “Non-photo Blue” mechanical pencil (Hard
er
graphite, like 2H, makes lighter lines. Just don’t push
down
too hard.)
Eraser: White Vinyl.
Pens: Fineliner or Artist Pens (Sakura Micron or Faber
-
Castell Pitt Artist pens). These pens make nice uniform
lines, have archival ink, and come in all sorts of sizes,
super
tiny to ultra bold.
Correction: Pentel Presto Correction Pen or a White
Posca
Marker.
A ruler.

2
 Step 1: Make a List
Now before we jump straight into drawing
a map, let’s start by making a list of every
location that we’ll be illustrating.
I’m talking oceans and seas, mountain
ranges, forests, swamps and deserts.
Towns, cities, roads, rivers, dungeons,
and that ominous wizard’s tower. And not
just the names of these places, but a little
bit about each. Is it a spooky forest filled
with fog and dense pine trees? Or maybe
it’s an inviting glade with tall conifers and
friendly elves. Is Fairhaven a small town
with a single inn on a muddy road or a
bustling metropolis protected by imposing
battlements?

Step 2: Learning to Draw Icons

Once you have a comprehensive list of locations,
it’s time to figure out how to draw each icon that
represents those locations.
We aren’t trying to make a realistic map that
shows the exact scale of a mountain compared
to a lake. And we aren’t concerned with the
precise distance between that southern fort
and the far-off swamp. No! We are just drawing Sidenote:
representations of each location. A simple
It’s worth experim
stylization that is useful for general directions en
at this stage. Illus ting
and also fun to look at. trating
an icon so it accu
rate
Using the instructions on the following pages and describes the loca ly
tion is key.
a scrap sheet of paper, draw out icons for each
This is why we mad
location you have listed. Don’t bother illustrating ea
detailed list.
an entire mountain range, just figure out how
to draw a single mountain, or maybe a couple Spend extra time
clumped together. No need to spend an hour mak
up unique icons fo ing
filling in a dense forest when you can just draw a r th
really important lo e
single tree to represent it instead. Unique icons will
cations.
stand out
more than the gene
ric ones
repeated over and
over.

3
4
5
6
7
8
9
 Step 3: Sketch the Map
Now that you have a list of important locations and you know how to draw each
icon to represent them, it’s time to start planning out your map.
Use a pencil and a sheet of paper (I like to draw on Bristol Board) to lightly
sketch out your map. Start by drawing the border of the map with a ruler. Then
draw the outlines of the coasts, where land meets the sea. Fill in the bigger
locations like mountain ranges and forests first. Then add important locations
like towns and cities and connect them with roads.
Here are a few things to keep in mind while planning your map:

• Rivers flow from high elevation to low (usually from mountains to lakes or
coast). They mostly join and rarely split.
• Mountains form ranges and rarely stand alone. High mountains block
moisture so one side of the range will be full of plant life and rivers while the
other is dry and arid.
• The climate, soil, and elevation effect what kinds of trees grow in an area.
• Towns and cities are usually located near water or other important
resources.
• Roads lead to populated places. Think of them like giant arrows directing
the viewer to the important locations on the map.

Don’t be afraid to erase and redo things. Now is the time to figure out exactly
how your map is going to look.
If you’re feeling confident, you don’t need to pencil in every detail (like the
mountains and forest in the example on the next page). You can save time by
waiting to fill in the details on Step 4: Finalizing with Ink.
Don’t forget to label each location too!

Sidenote:
helming,
If a blank page feels overw
usi ng a squ are or hex grid.
consider
ico n
Fill each unit with a single
s wh at typ e of
that best represent
t are a. A gri d is also
location is in tha
urate
very helpful at conveying acc
distances.
from
Print your own grid paper
gridzzly.com

10
 Labeling Locations
Labeling your map isn’t simply writing the names of each location. Instead, think
of it like you are drawing the name of the place. The trick is to keep each word
similar in size. Each letter of a label should be the same height and width. And
the space in between in each letter and word should be consistent too. Draw in
guidelines with a ruler and use a pencil to plan out labels first.
You can also draw labels on an angle or curve. Sketch out guidelines to make it
easier to keep the lettering uniform and consistent.
Of course, for the more important locations your labels can be bigger and the
letters more spaced out. Just be aware and try to keep things neat, legible, and
consistent from label to label.

Your labels can be simple and blocky or more detailed and ornamented. Conside
r
mixing up the style of lettering depending on the type of the location. A looming
mountain label might be straight and angular like it’s carved in stone. An arch-
wizard’s tower could be an elegant serif as if written with magic, while the foul
swamp is crude and chunky as if it were drawn with a stick in the mud.

12
 Step 4: Finalizing with Ink
Now comes the fun part. It’s time to finish your map with ink!
Remember, you are just filling up the page with the simple icons you’ve
already learned to draw. If you’re unsure how a location should look, try
drawing it on a sheet of scrap paper or using a pencil to lightly test it on the
map.
Take your time tracing over your pencil sketch with your pen. Here are a few
helpful things to keep in mind:
Scale. Keep your map neat and legible by maintaining a consistent scale
for each icon. Trees should all be a similar size. Same for mountains and
other icons. You can break this rule to make a particular location stand out
(like a giant volcano or the capital city!)
Hierarchy of lineweight. Use the thickest lines for areas that need to be
clearly separated like coastlines and borders. Medium width lines should
be used for most of the map drawing. Thinnest lines should be reserved for
the details of your most important locations.
Detail and whitespace. If the map is dense with detail, sparsely illustrated
areas will attract the eye. If the map is minimally illustrated, places with
thicker lines or higher amounts of detail will draw the eye. Use this concept
to your advantage and make important areas stand out.

Once your map is filled up and every location has been illustrated, gently
erase the pencil sketch and make any final corrections.
Congratulations, you just made an amazing map! Share it with your friends
and have fun exploring!

Find more helpful guides at patreon.com/jpcoovert

Flik Silverpen’s Guide to Making Maps (FSG 13)
by JP Coovert © 2022
First Printing October 2022

Thank You
Jacie. Scott. Brandon, Kyle, and Bryce.
And all the patrons that helped make these Making Maps real.

Explore videos at youtube.com/jpcoovert and artwork at jpcoovert.com