How do I Design a World Map?
Open the cover to one of your favorite fantasy-fiction novels and you're likely to come across a world map. World maps help orient the readers and role-players to the fictional world created by the book or role-playing game (RPG). They are not only confined to fantasy-fiction, however. For example, Dan Simmons' "The Terror" (a fictional account of the ill-fated Franklin Expedition of 1845) provides readers with a world map of the Artic detailing the expedition's true and proposed routes. If you are designing an RPG or writing a novel, consider designing a world map.
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Instructions
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Choose whether to draw your world map by hand or design it using a computer program such as Adobe Photoshop. Classic maps, such as the map of Middle Earth in JRR Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings," were drawn by hand. Design software, however, allows you to utilize layers and other design tools to craft your world.
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Decide on a layout for your map. You could choose an archipelago, a cluster of islands, or a solid land mass similar to the ancient Pangaea supercontinent.. Choose the layout based on the story line. If ships and water battles are central to the plot choose islands. For epic treks across barren lands pick a large land mass.
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Look at a map of the world or use one from one of your favorite books or games as a template. Notice the jagged ridges along the coast lines. Model your continents in a similar matter.
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Label the map with story-specific locations. For instance, if the characters camped at a particular location that has some significance to the story, use an "X" and name the camp (such as Starvation Point or Locke's Hunting Party, June 1834). Locations help the readers or players further visualize the events.
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Tips & Warnings
Design software allows you to use features such as layering. By layering, you can create separate layers for rivers and mountains and land boundaries. By putting the layers together, the end result is a realistic-looking, multi-colored map that is difficult to achieve with simple paper and pencil.
Backup your world maps either on a hard disk or by making physical copies. If you revise your map, your backups can act as reference points so you can see how the idea evolved over time.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit map image by Sergey Kamshylin from Fotolia.com
