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Fantasy maps created using Xara Xtreme
Hello, my name is Michael Tumey and I am a professional fantasy cartographer, that is I create fictional maps for novelists, video games and printed maps for RPG games like Dungeons & Dragons. I've been doing this for three years and have been commissioned for maps by many publishers large and small.
I am a senior member of the Cartographers' Guild, though I am the only one who uses Xara to create maps - most are users of map applications like Profantasy Campaign Cartographer (CAD application) or image editors like Photoshop or GIMP. Since the majority of pro fantasy mappers are members of the above mentioned site, I know that I am alone in using Xara Xtreme - at least at a professional level.
At the CG, I've participated in numerous Map Challenges (community monthly contests following a specific theme or set of rules) and have won four times.
I have included several more recent maps I've created - from Contests entries, professional commissions, as well as work for my own game publication.
While I have some maps that were created exclusively in Xara Xtreme, most of my recent work combines hand-drawn linework that is digitally scanned then imported to Xara for coloring/beveling shadowing and special effects. I also have maps that utilize imported 3D graphics elements I create using other software. While I will use Photoshop to do any image editing I may need, most of the digital work is handled entirely in Xara Xtreme.
The first map below is my most recent work, its for a map contest (with prizes) - kind of creepy map, a dark fantasy dungeon featuring a crypt, surgical chambers, a blood filled canyon, a bone chapel with a bloody moat, and many filled chambers. I call it the Necromancer's Lair...
(Now seeing the limitations of attachment manager, I will post links to the maps from my website, as almost all of the maps exceed the file size limitation...)
Necromancer's Lair
The next map is very much a work in progress, as it is a commissioned piece for a print newsletter for Iron Crown Enterprises RPG - the Guild Companion, I have more hand-drawn work to do, more buildings to place and trees. The inset square in the top right corner will for interior views of a tavern/inn that figures prominently in the storyline.
Village of Tomme
The next map is a commissioned regional map of Zion Canyon area in Utah, as part of a Old West RPG for Dog House Rules (Sidewinder: Recoiled)
Zion Canyon Regional Map
These last two links posted will be to older maps. The first one was a contest entry and the inspiration to create my my published game setting for a fantasy medieval Japan (Asian horror) game for Pathfinder RPG. However the contest area depicts a part of actual Japan in 1184 - 1185, showing major battle sites and political controlling areas during the Genpei War.
Genpei War Map
Last map posted for today - a contest entry and winner for Iron Crown Enterprises first map contest. The theme was create a temple map, so I created a map for a Sea God, something like Poseidon, I call this map: Sargoseum.
Sargoseum - Temple to God of the Seas map
I will post more, hopefully as attachments later on. I also plan to post tutorials on how I use Xara Xtreme to create my fantasy maps.
Enjoy!
GP
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Re: Fantasy maps created using Xara Xtreme
Hello Michael,
Welcome to Talkgraphics.
Attachments are limited to a maximum width of 800 pixels. This is to support the most members with various size and resolution monitors. Also we have members world wide and many are still using dial-up connections.
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Re: Fantasy maps created using Xara Xtreme
Nice work, Michael. And welcome to the forum. :)
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Actually, I'm on dial up at the moment. I have cable internet at home, so I'll probably be posting more updates from there.
At the Cartographers' Guild they use different forum software that automatically creates a thumbnail, viewable in a reduced form when clicking it (click again opens a new window at full size). They still have a limitation of 6000 pixels and 4.5 MB for JPG files.
I do have a few thumbnail versions of my maps that I can post directly. Here's one - Ryukyo (Sea Dragon City) - this one has some 3D elements and PD Particle elements, but this one is mostly generated in Xara Xtreme only.
Let's see if can post this successfully!
Here's a link to the larger version of that map - Sea Dragon Palace and City
Edit: I'll have to go check and see if I have a final version of this map - this looks like while it was still a work in progress
GP
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Very impressive.
A lot of people would have posted a smaller attachment directly on the forums - partly to protect their work from "walking". Your images do look fabulous at such high resolutions. I think the other reason why posting link is generally discouraged is that over time, websites come and go, often makinging links unusable - it's fortunate that because talkgraphics usually has attachments rather than links, we still get to see the work way down the line.
Really nice work - I can see why you are so successful.
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My website hosts my service for large format digital printing of RPG maps for gamers and publishers, so its a business website (so it won't go away soon!)
My site has been active since April 2007.
Good points and I will try to format smaller versions of my files so they can easily be posted as attachments, here, so they can last into posterity.
GP
PS: except for commission maps which are All Rights Reserved owned by the respective publishers, most of my maps I offer as CC-BY-SA license for free use in home RPG games, just not for publication. In the gaming industry there are only 150 or so pro mappers in the industry world-wide, we all know each other (more and less) and though the end-user market is in the millions - we tend to learn quickly when a map is "walking away" and take action quickly. Our fans are quick to notifiy us when something like that happens - loyal fans and all.
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Work-in-Progress map for the village of Tomme is near completion. I need to add some timber piles at the lumber mill, timbers floating in the river near lumber mill and the interior map for the inset - then it will be finished.
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I found the completed version of my Sea Dragon City map - Ryukyo (which means "dragon city" in Japanese).
And here's a link to the larger version of that file...
Ryukyo map
The real experiment in this map was to simulate the depth by using layers of 30-60% transparent rectangles of blue stacked between "lower" terrain layers, so the image gets darker, more blue, thus deeper until you can barely see the objects at the bottom.
Enjoy!
GP
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Here's an older map that's completely created in Xara Xtreme Pro alone - no other software was used. Rather than color textures there is extensive use of aerial photos of forests as well as closeup photos of rock jpg's used as texture fills for various shapes. I don't do this style much, preferring a more hand-drawn look in the maps I create (also a preference for that by publishers as well.)
Here's a link to the larger version of this map - this was a personal project, so anyone is free to download and use this to their hearts content, just not for commercial use (CC-BY-NA) licensed. Celanta small continent map
I used this for a home-brew game - so this isn't published work.
GP
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Gameprinter I think the last link is faulty..it has an extra hyphen..
JimM
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Oh! You're right! I fixed it - thanks.
Michael "GP" Tumey
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One more map I thought I'd post before getting offline - things to do!
Here's my September Map Challenge entry (and winner) at the Cartographers' Guild Sept. '09, called the Archean Trade League - kind of a pirate era fictional map in a colonial wilderness area.
And of course here is the full sized version of that map...
Archean Trade League map
This is the first map, I began attempting to combine hand-drawn scans with digital creations in Xara Xtreme.
Enjoy!
GP
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Great Maps Michael , I really enjoyed the high resolution maps on your web site. Thanks for the links.
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Thanks for the comments everyone, I enjoy what I do!
Another part of creating maps is creating map objects. Now while I prefer fantasy themed maps to inspire my imagination, some maps are needed for other themes, from Old West to modern games.
The first attachment below is a sample of modern map objects: an uzi submachine gun and a dentist's chair (attached are both the image of .XAR file).
The next is along Echo Canyon, part of Zion Canyon, Utah, for an Old West game.
The next is part of my Necromancer's Crypt map, this was a time consuming boneyard with a detailed hand-drawing (took an hour) and 3 hours of tracing shapes, applying bevels, and drop shadows, but the result is pretty nice.
Just a variety of stuff I create and get asked to create!
Enjoy!
GP
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For my December Challenge map at the Cartographers' Guild (I didn't win this one) I created something for a twisted Orc's Christmas map. Orcs are those ugly green guys in the Lord of the Rings, for those who don't know.
I wrote a fourteen stanza tongue in cheek poem celebrating the Yuleblood Raid, reflecting orcish ancestral traditions - a great 12 day killing spree!
Anyway, this is the map I created - in many ways more of cartoonish style in this map - it was fun to create!
Link to larger file: Yuleblood Map
GP
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Here's the completed map of the village of Tomme, for the sake of publication, all you get is a thumbnail, this time! :p
The client needed a zoomed out overview of the entire village, so I created the second inset for that. The top inset features the interior of the primary encounter location in the adventure.
GP
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Here's the last map to earn me an award - the September '09 challenge: create an extra-dimensional location map. So this is the map location accessed via a magic item called the Amulet of Cerene (seen in lower right of map). The map is titled the Assassin's Lair.
Again this uses my hand-drawn and Xara composited style of map.
Link to larger version: Assassin's Lair map.
Enjoy!
GP
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I've got several tutorials at the Cartographers' Guild using Xara Xtreme 4.0 to create maps, rather than retype them here, I thought it might be easier to post a link of the tutorials at the CG site.
Here is one for creating a regional map. I created this shortly after my Celenta map was created (last posted map on page 1 of this thread.)
Regional Map using Xara Xtreme
Here's a tutorial for creating a quick dungeon map...
Dungeon Map
Lastly here's a tutorial using the Combine Shapes function of Xara, for lots of special operations I use in creating maps. While users of Xara should be already comfortable with this function, this tutorial example might show you some unique uses for the Combine Shapes operation.
Combine Shapes Technique for Map Objects.
Some of these tutorials link to downloadable PDF versions.
Enjoy!
GP
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This map is a Work-in-Progress. This is for a contest. This one is at the Cartographers' Guild - create a small Japanese vilage map of Iwaizumi, population 250, requires 20+ homes, a fortified wooden house, a shrine, a mill and a tannery along a larger east-west river, with a small north-south stream coming from the northside. It turns out this is a real place, however, this village map is circa 1287 AD, so much is different than in its current state. Oh the map is supposed to be in winter following heavy snow fall - that's why the ground is so white and the rice paddies are so subdued.
The winner from this contest will be chosen as the winning map to be used by Open Design Project (with prizes) to be used in an upcoming adventure for Pathfinder RPG.
Still have lots to do, but this is almost complete. This is my first attempt at a true isometric map (that is a map viewed obliquely). I've done others but never so accurately before.
As always, here's a link to the larger image:
Iwaizumi Village Map
Enjoy!
GP
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Here's a final version of that last posted map - again this is intended for publication, so all rights reserved, therefore, I won't post a full size of this one, however, you get a full size thumbnail otherwise.
Village of Iwaizumi map, enjoy!
GP
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Re: Fantasy maps created using Xara Xtreme
Very nicely done GP.....excellent map.
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Not a map, but an illustration of a Mujina - Japanese Badger Shape-changer. I needed one for my upcoming publication, but I didn't want to pay an artist to do it, so here's one I did for myself, last night.
Enjoy!
GP
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Just like the last post, but this is a kitsune, the wife of the Mujina above and the spiritual leader of the village of Kitsumura. She is wearing the garb of a Miko shrine maiden. Enjoy!
GP
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Haven't posted any new maps lately, though I'm working on a bunch - all mostly protected by non-disclosure agreements, so I can't show them.
However, as a piece of interesting side news. I've just been contacted by the president/owner of RPGNet - a large and fairly long established online community of Roleplaying Gamers, to create several maps as an experiment using the new Apple IPAD.
So I'm working the cutting edge of cartographic development. Plus the site owner contacted me "out of the blue". I've never been to the site and haven't targetted them with my work. They went online and found me... kind a cool.
If I get any maps completed and permission to post them, I will certainly do so. Just showing I haven't disappeared altogether - just hip deep work is all.
GP
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Congratulations from here too GP :-bd Look forward to seeing them
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Sorry, got busier than I thought, so I haven't posted lately.
Got some interesting news, I don't yet know the gallery or date, but one of my fellow Cartographers' Guild website members is organizing an Art Gallery showing of maps of the Cartographers' Guild and six to eight of my maps will be featured in the show, in a New York City gallery!
Its a "digital art gallery" having a dozen or so large flat panel screens with digital feeds of images, rotated every minute. The gallery features in-house gicle canvas art printing with profit share with artist, but otherwise the effect as a traditional art gallery with a showroon in NYC.
I've been asked to submit 6 to 8 of my maps - so that's kind of cool! If never had my art shown in any art gallery, especially one in NYC - even if its a "digital" art gallery (interesting concept.)
When I find out more of the name of the Gallery and date of showing I will update the thread.
Edit: here's a couple maps more purely Xara with some 3D mixed in recent works, than my more hand-drawn style...
GP
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Re: Fantasy maps created using Xara Xtreme
Thanks for sharing your very beautiful and professional work with us :)
BTW how was working on the Ipad ?
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Re: Fantasy maps created using Xara Xtreme
Quote:
Originally Posted by
MarciaB
Thanks for sharing your very beautiful and professional work with us :)
BTW how was working on the Ipad ?
Its still in the early development stages, I have created the initial map for the project and have had to make certainly alterations to accomodate some nuances discovered while the development team works on the application for the iPad. When I learn more, I'll say it here, but then I'm just the cartographer and not the programmer, so the developers might not tell me all as I'd like to know. But I'll you guys updated.
Thanks for the comments on my work - I really love doing it.
GP
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Re: Fantasy maps created using Xara Xtreme
Loving the maps, nice work.
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Its confirmed now, at least 3 of my maps will be featured as part of the Cartographers' Guild Art Show in New York City, being hosted by Soho Gallery of Digital Art - http://www.sohodigart.com
And the dates for the art show will be: July 16 - 29, 2010.
I'm excited!
GP
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I am working on an Iron Age Celtic roleplaying game setting, intended for publication next year, and although I don't yet a map, doing one might bring some inspiration. I have plans on making an entire Western European analog for the setting, as in Celtiberic, Gallic, Brythonic, Pictish and Gaelic - not just Ireland. But so far I only created a map for my Ireland analog, I twist the historic name a bit calling it, the Isle of Hybreni (instead of Hibernia.)
This is my hand-drawn, Xara coloring and bevels hybrid map style - enjoy!
GP
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The above map is currently intended as an inset, as part of a larger close-up map/illustration. It is a contest entry map for July's mapping challenge at the Cartographers' Guild. Since I was working on the map above anyway for my setting, I thought I'd incorporate it, as in inset, into this month's challenge.
Though the inset is a topdown view, my main map will be an isometric - 3Dish map to show a stone circle and surrounding support structures for a Celtic theme, as described in the previous post. This contest map only uses the setting as backstory - the challenge is to create a Locus of Ley Lines into a power source map for fantasy setting... this is what I'm doing.
OK, trying something different (I'm always experimenting)...
The base image is created in 3D, modeled in Nendo, then imported to Raydream (old simple 3D app), I don't texture it, except the stones in the menhir circle. I import the rendered image to Photoshop, adjust the contrast severely, enlarge to 11 x 17, then print to my laser printer. I cut a sheet of tracing paper to fit the 11 x 17, tape off one side, then trace the edges of the terrain and menhir stones, ink in with a pen, the stone carvings, shading lines, detritus detail - then scan it into PS, import to Xara.
I import the 3D image and the hand-drawing. Both get a stain-glass transparency filter, though I copy the 3D image, I cut it out with a pen tool then Combine/Intersect, remove the bitmap texture and replace with solid fill, make it white and place behind, then group the solid fill and the semi transparent 3D image bitmap. I create shapes of the tops of the hill in Xara, outline to 0 pixels, give it a soft green fill, apply a Color/Fractal Clouds, and change the white to a light tannish color, apply a stained glass transparency.
So this is a composite 3D image, hand-drawn tracing, and color filled in Xara - a true multi-media illustration. I think it works well - I need to be fast, to get lots of work done in a short amount of time (that's how I do anything.) So I don't dabble as some artists, I'm on a production schedule.
Thoughts?
GP
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Re: Fantasy maps created using Xara Xtreme
Looking good. :) Just a thought, but how about making the surrounding levels a "Cretan" Maze pattern?
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Well, in a sense, they are.....a-maze-ing....sorry John, couldn't resist.....
Very nice GP.....
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Thanks, guys!
I didn't want to add walls, as I was trying to make the main map very stark, more fitting a realistic henge on the plains type structure. It looks like something you might see on a Celtic isle somewhere.
I had fun with this one.
GP
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Its been a long while since I posted, sorry about that. Its not that I haven't been designing new maps, its that I am currently working on my own RPG publication project serving as concept creator, designer, developer, cartographer, part-time illustrator, art director, and technical advisor. So much of the work is 'top secret'. The publication should be released sometime early February, with two more products to follow then a hardbound print compilation in the summer - so I've been really busy!
I may not have mentioned it earlier, I'm designing a roleplaying game setting and set of 3 adventuers for Pathfinder RPG, inspired by feudal Japan crosssed with Asian horror. Once published I will post some of the new maps at that time. The product is Kaidan: a Japanese Ghost Story. Some of my posted maps are for the setting.
Its kind of job security. Instead of waiting between cartography commissions, I become the publisher and demand large amounts of quality maps - really offering more maps than what competitors can afford. So its a win-win situation.
The first adventure has been finished writing as of today, and it going to editing next, it should release sometime in the next two weeks...
Anyway, just a post to note, I'm not dead, or have forgotten TalkGraphics, just buried in my own project for a bit longer.
Michael Tumey