Category: Work-In-Progress

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Tir Thelandira: The Plan So Far

Here’s a map with all the locations I’ve got planned for Tir Thelandira. There are 12 in all, of which 3 are already drawn. For another 6, I have a pretty good idea of what will be there. And for the last 3, I’m going to let patrons decide. I’ll take proposals for ideas for those locations and hold a vote to determine which ones get drawn.

Okay, let’s talk about the first nine locations. If you haven’t seen the lore, here you go.

  • Oakenhold – Finished
  • Frog’s Haven Crannog – Finished
  • Cave of the Sun – Finished
  • Broch – This is a broch. Historically, they were built in Scotland in the Iron Age. The elves constructed this place as a defense against the Dhasrans and it’s the first large-scale stone structure they’ve ever built. This will be the next map.
  • Elven Town – Like the rest, this will get a more interesting name once I draw it. The town will be laid out in a motte-and-bailey design and there will be a bridge or a ferry over the nearby river.
  • Dhasran Colony – This is the settlement the Dhasrans built around their gold mine. The mine itself may get its own map.
  • Burned Colony – This is the previous mining colony the Dhasrans built, which the elves burned to the ground.
  • Glaver’s Camp – The encampment of the mercenaries of Glaver’s Regiment. Tidy and organized. Very professional.
  • Blackboots Camp – The encampment of the Blackboots mercenary company. So filthy you’d expect orcs to be living here. But nope, just really nasty humans.

The other locations are marked 1, 2 and 3. These are the ones I’m leaving up to you. I did this for the Black Loch and the ideas you submitted were so good I decided to do it again with Tir Thelandira. Here are a few guidelines on each location:

  1. This can actually be in one of two places: the little island in the river OR the swamp to the east of Oakenhold.
  2. This can be anywhere on the island, so if your idea is for a location on the coast, that’s fine. It doesn’t have to be where the dot is.
  3. This can be anywhere near the marked area, so if you want it by the lake or in the forest, that’s fine. It can also be on that small island in the bay.

I’ll send out a message to all patrons asking for your ideas on the first location in a day or two. While a lot of the places on the map are settlements, I’d love to get ideas for other types of places as well. Think it over. I know there are a ton of good ideas out there and I really do want to hear them. Help me make this world.

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Point Caergyd (Almost Done)

I’m almost finished coloring this and it should be done by tomorrow, but here’s a look at it anyway. I meant to post this a few days ago, but I got a new computer recently and it doesn’t have a slot for my camera’s memory card, so I decided I’d buy one the next day. But that was St. Patrick’s Day and, here on the Isle of Emeralds, the stores close for that. Then I realized that the mysterious hole in the side of my tablet was a card reader, so here’s the picture.

Anyway, I’m gonna finish this up and I’ll have it for you tomorrow.

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Palladio’s Rialto Bridge (Work-in-Progress)

I’ve got the deck of the bridge finished, but I’m going to draw a roof level as well, along with a sideview of the exterior, which looks like this. It shouldn’t take too long, but I wanted to give you a look at where things are at so far.

In addition to being a passage across Venice’s Grand Canal, this bridge was designed to be a market, with lots of spaces for merchants and vendors to rent. It also has stairs and I’m going to be honest– I have no idea where they lead to. Up, down? Not a clue. I spent about three hours trying to figure it out, but I finally gave up and decided they lead to the roof.

I mean, they can’t lead down into the pylons of the bridge, right? I’m not an engineer, but that seems crazy. Anyway, I think being able to access the roof makes this place much more interesting, especially since the central part isn’t covered. So the party can come by for a little shopping and enjoy a lovely rooftop ambush at the same time. Or maybe they can be the ones doing the rooftop ambush. Possibilities abound.

Anyway, I’m gonna get back to it.

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Dark Fantasy Venetian Palace (Work-in-Progress)

Since this is supposed to be a Venetian palace, it’s going to be on a canal, but I’m going to make a version that’s on land, too. The thing is, there’s a boathouse on the left side and I’m not sure what to do with that. I mean, I’ll get rid of the boats, obviously, but then it’s an Italian palace with a monster truck garage. Il Palazzo di Truckasaurus Rex. Well, I can probably just call it a carriage house.

All right, time to color this thing.

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The Elven Citadel of Oakenhold (Work-in-Progress)

Whew, okay. This is all seven floors of Oakenhold. I wasn’t initially planning to make it bigger than the original version, but, well… that happened.

First, let me say a quick word about beds. So, elves in D&D settings meditate rather than sleep and don’t need beds (not for sleeping, anyway). But I want this map to work for other races as well, so I’m drawing the beds in a way that they can be called “meditation mats” for elves or “beds” for other races. Hopefully, that works for most people, but I know it doesn’t for everyone, so I’m going to make a version without the beds as well. Just wanted to let everyone know that up front.

This map is a part of the island of Tir Thelandira and I’ve been thinking about the lore of the place as I’ve been drawing all this. The queen of the wild elves is a ranger and a famous huntress who unified the tribes of the island. Not many elven queens can kill, skin and butcher a deer, but Queen Niamh is a little different. She’s fierce, pragmatic and leads from the front. And when the Dhasrans built their colony on her island and began logging her forest, she fired the first arrow in response.

There’s still plenty more to figure out, but I’ll have the basic lore of the island for you when the map is done.

Okay, I’m gonna start coloring this beast. Wish me luck.

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Desert Sinkhole Village (Work-in-Progress)

This is a desert village with a small oasis and a caravanserai, built into the sides of a sinkhole. The drawing on the top left shows it from the outside and the other two levels are below.

This place is inspired by the cave houses of Cappadocia in Türkiye (I like the new spelling, by the way), which are an idea I’d like to do more with at some point. For example, this is a castle in Cappadocia. I don’t know about you, but I would describe myself as highly into that. God, I have to stop looking at that picture or I’m going to just drop everything and draw a map of it right now.

Okay, one thing at a time. I’m gonna finish my coffee and start coloring this sinkhole. Let me know what you think so far!

I’ll be back for you, insane Turkish rock castle. This I swear.

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Murud-Janjira Fort (Work-in-Progress)

I meant to post this yesterday, but here’s the art for Murud-Janjira, the island fortress just off the western coast of India.

There’s a temple to the Hindu god Shiva here, but I couldn’t find a picture of the interior, so I had to do a little research to find out what a temple to Shiva would look like. Along the way, I learned a few interesting things:

  1. Shiva is the god of destruction and is known as “the Destroyer of Evil.”
  2. Shiva is usually depicted with a cobra around his neck.
  3. Shiva has a third eye which, when opened, vaporizes everything it sees.

So apparently, Hinduism is surprisingly metal. I respect that a lot, I really do.

Anyway, I’m gonna get back to coloring the map.

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Akshardham Temple (Work-in-Progress)

Here’s Akshardham Temple almost fully inked. I’ll be drawing the interior as well, of course.

This is definitely one of the most elaborate maps I’ve ever drawn, if not the most. Between the tile pattern on the central walkway, the gardens and the roof of the temple. this place is full of tiny details.

On a side note, I got a little confused while I was looking for information on this place. There was an Akshardham Temple in Delhi and another one in New Delhi and they looked really similar. As it turns out, they were the same temple. Apparently, New Delhi is in Delhi. I’m not that knowledgeable about Indian geography and I guess I hadn’t considered that possibility. I didn’t even know you could do that. Just put the new one inside the old one. Huh.

Anyway, I’m gonna get back to work. Hope you like it so far!

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The Generalife Palace in the Alhambra (Work-in-Progress)

So, the Alhambra is a fortress in Andalusia, Spain with a number of palaces inside its walls. The largest of those palaces is the Generalife, which is what I’ve been drawing a map of. I’ve been to this place and it is absolutely epic.

There’s a staircase called the water stair, which has water flowing down channels in the railings. There are also three fountains in the middle of the staircase, which might seem unusual until you realize that there are fountains everywhere. Like, there are just fountains right next to other fountains. These people were very serious about proper hydration.

There’s also the Sultana’s Garden, the Canal Garden, and the terraced High Gardens. It’s a big map with a lot of detail and it’s going to be a lot of work, but I think it’ll be worth the effort.

After this, I owe you a spelljammer. And then, I’ll be drawing two places in India. First, Akshardham Temple in New Delhi, then the island fortress of Murud-Janjira, which won last month’s Cartographic Congress. Sound good? I hope so. All right, back to work.