Category: 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!

This is the first floor of the Generalife colored. There’s still a second floor left to draw, but that shouldn’t take more than 3-4 days to get done. I’ll release the whole thing once that’s finished.

Okay, I’m gonna get on that. Let me know what you think so far!

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.

Here are the drawings for the next map. While I was looking at various clock towers for inspiration, I discovered the Prague Orloj, which is an astronomical clock. It was too cool to not include it in the map, so I drew it in. It’s based on a geocentric model, but I think we can let that go, since it was made in the early 1400s and telescopes were still two centuries away.

Anyway, I’m gonna go color this thing. Hope you like it so far!

Here’s the art for the duergar outpost. It’s built in front of a magma vent, the heat from which is used to melt and cast steel to make duergar screamers. A screamer is a metal construct with a dwarf trapped inside. The dwarf is in constant agony and it channels that pain into screams that can shatter stone.

Anyway, just thought I’d give you a look before I get to work on coloring it.

Here are the drawings for the next map. I wanted to design the sewers in a fairly realistic way, so I did some research. It turns out that, for most people, your toilet does not lead to a place that would make a good fantasy map.

There are some exceptions, though. Are you in London? Your waste actually does goes to fantasy map sewers. Vienna, too. And in Cologne, Germany, there are two chandeliers in the sewers. I mean, you expect a place to be classy when it’s literally called Cologne, but that is really above and beyond.

Here’s the aboleth lair I’ve been working on. Man, where do I even start with this? Let’s go with the horrific worm thing on the left. That’s a creature the aboleth has been trying to pull into the world from the Far Realm (aka “Weird Hell”). I’ll make a version without it, of course, as well as a token of the worm.

The big dome is an ancient temple to Bylir, the ancient evil I mentioned in this post. The aboleth lives inside it now. There’s also a layer of underwater tunnels below all this.

If some of the things here seem really strange and hard to understand the purpose of, that’s intentional. Aboleths are strange, unknowable creatures and I wanted to make this place as absolutely bizarre as possible. I’m going for maximum R’lyeh here.

Anyway, let me know what you think so far! And if you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Here are most of the drawings for the Blind Colossus, a huge, eyeless statue in the Black Loch. It’s definitely a little something different, which is hopefully a good thing.

I’ll explain who built it and why when it’s finished. I started coloring it yesterday, so I should have it done in a few days. Anyway, I hope you like it so far. If you’ve got any thoughts, let me know!

Here’s the gothic manor house I’ve been working on. Shawn, who proposed this idea to the Cartographic Congress, mentioned an old manor in Cheshire, England called Little Moreton Hall as something that might be good inspiration. Well, it was such good inspiration that the map is actually pretty close to just being Little Moreton Hall.

Have a look at Little Moreton from overhead. And here’s a picture from the courtyard. This place is screaming “Ravenloft” at the top of its lungs. If you’re not seeing it, try to imagine the place at night.

Anyway, I’m gonna start coloring this thing. Should be done in a few days. Let me know what you think so far!