Fantastic Maps
"All the maps Ralf prepared for us [for 'Dwarfs: Stone & Steel' and
'Fear the Worst'] were clear and detailed, in tune with the graphic style of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, and delivered ahead of deadline. Fans sent us several emails praising the quality of the cartography in
the books. Ralf is one of our two favourite mappers in the world, and I recommend him highly."
James Wallis, Director of Hogshead Publishing Ltd
I create maps of imaginary lands. Be it for a roleplaying world, an online game, a novel or for private enjoyment - I will draw it to your specifications and in the style you want. The Gallery lists a sample of maps I have done to give you an idea of different styles and inspiration for your own maps.
If you want to know how I would go about creating a map for you, take a look at "Creating a Map". And finally you can check out the Rates I charge for my work.
The Gallery
USA map for Sidewinder: Recoiled
Sidewinder: Recoiled is a d20 system Western RPG by Dog House Rules and won a 2004 ENnie Award. Its publishers needed a map of the continental United States for that product, which I was happy to create using USGS data, Fractal Terrains and Campaign Cartographer Pro.
Chevalier Battlefield Maps
Russel Lowke is creating "Chevalier", a web-based platform to play historical battles (following the De Bellis Magistrorum Militum and De Bellis Multitudinis rules), as his Harvard University thesis. for this project he needed a series of images to serve as the background for the battlefields of three engagements: Arsuf (Richard Lionheart vs Saladin), Agincourt (French vs English during the Hundred Years War) and Gaugamela (Alexander the Great vs Darius III).
Drawing on the capabilities of Fractal Terrains, the beta-version of Campaign Cartographer 3 (now released) and Paint Shop Pro X, I created these images for him. You can see them in action in the beautiful web interface of Chevalier.
Juhl City Map
The City of Juhl is the elaborate setting for a science-fiction novel in progress. It is grounded in centuries of fictional history and development and probably contains more detail than any other map I ever made.
To ensure that the map was as fatihful to the author's vision as possible, it was drawn in close cooperation both reacting to and influencing the development of the fictional setting.
Lupos Regional Map
I got the chance to revisit the beautiful world of Lupos with this detailed regional map. It shows off some of the beautiful symbol work included in ProFantasy's Symbol Set 2: Fantasy Overland.
It was created in close cooperation with the owner and creator of Lupos. A lot of detail was moved around and edited after the first draft was complete, but CC2 made this process quick and easy.
Floating Islands
This is another map for the upcoming MMORPG "Elfdust" by RealTime Studios. The premise was pretty unusual: A group of islands floating high up in the air. I think it turned out pretty well.
I created a symbol catalog of floating islands for this map, which is now available as a free download from Mapsandmore.com. Check it out!
Avarion
Avarion is a German role-playing game and campaign setting currently in production. Its unique background (physically reminiscent of Philip José Farmer's World of Tiers) required quite a few special map symbols which I had the pleasure to create.
I also drew the regional map (seen above) which features the area where the introductory adventures will take place. Note the immense cliff face which separates the area from the next higher tier of the world.
14th century France
Australia-based Griffin Grove Gaming produces a thoroughly researched rpg campaign based in 14th century Lyon. Being an electronic publication it will contain an extensive collection of CC2 maps, all linked to each other and to the corresponding pdf texts.
This map of medieval France shows just some of the depth of the historical data contained in the maps. Among others it contains information layers on geography, the political and ecclesiastical divisions and languages of the country. It is linked to the similarly rich map of the Lyonnais (the area around Lyon) which in turn allows the user access to the Lyon city map and so on.
As a historical reference this map has been created with accessibility and clarity as the top priority. It resembles modern atlas style maps, but makes good use of the possibilities of the electronic medium.
The Continent of Midkin
"Within us all there lives something great - be it heroic or villainous. Some hold swords on high with mighty battle cries, and others twist the awesome energies of magic to do their bidding. What lives inside of you? Choose your skills, learn them well, and enter a world of might and magic, where you can turn the tides of battle and win the war!"
"Elfdust" is an upcoming, text-based MMORPG by RealTime Studios. Its world has been richly detailed with history, races and locations (read about it on its website). It just needed a detailed map to make all the parts into geographical whole. This is the map I created for the continent "Midkin".
The Lands of Lupos
The Lupos map was a commission for private game world - richly detailed with lots of hand-drawn maps. Therefore it had to conform closely to an existing vision, and I understand it worked out very well.
The map uses Symbol Set 2 (Fantasy Overland) for CC2 and its colour scheme is designed to match. The symbols are so finely detailed that it takes just a few of them to create a great looking forest or mountain range.
Crystalsaga (Corenis)
I was commissioned to do a completely original symbol catalog for the upcoming fantasy world Corenis to give its maps a unique and distinguishing look. These symbols will only be used in the maps for the planned "Crystalsaga" books and games.
The detail level of the symbols is somewhere between the original CC2 overland symbols and those of Symbol Set 2. The first catalog has a desert theme and I am very pleased with the look.
Should you be interested in a similar project, just contact me. Click here or on one of the images above to view the complete catalog.
Kingsgraal and Surroundings
The Kingsgraal series of maps was commissioned for a privately run rolepaying campaign. I got very detailed, handdrawn maps done by the game's GM and used these as the basis for the CC2 maps.
Here I used the new Overland Symbols (Symbol Set 1) fully for the first time and I am very happy with the result.
Click on the image to see more maps from this series.
Darkfire RPG
These maps are unique in that I had overwhelming freedom in their design. They are part of the MMORPG project "Darkfire RPG", and apart from a few location names, the creators entrusted the creation of the world completely into my hands. I used Fractal Terrains to create a world map and fleshed out certain parts for the commissioned maps.
As the maps are mostly for online display, I could not put too much detail in and therefore used the standard CC2 symbols instead of more elaborate ones.
Click on the image above to see the Darkfire maps in more detail.
WFRP: Dwarfs - Stone and Steel
Hogshead Publishing's sourcebook on the Dwarfs of the Warhammer® world needed two maps of the Dwarven realms on short notice. They approached ProFantasy Software who delegated the task of drawing the maps to me.
The maps were drawn with Campaign Cartographer 2, but had the added requirement that they would be printed in greyscale. I therefore had to keep a close eye on the colours, so that they would still be distinguishable after printing.
Notice: As soon as Games Workshop gives me permission, you will be able to view samples of the maps for "Dwarfs - Stone and Steel" here.
WFRP: Fear the Worst
After having done the maps for "Dwarfs: Stone and Steel" Hogshead Publishing commissioned me for drawing the maps for the Warhammer® Fantasy Roleplay adventure "Fear the Worst". The adventure is still available as a free download from Warpstone, an independent magazine for WFRP.
Other maps
I have a drawn a large variety of maps for my own amusement and to hone my skills. You can peruse a collection of these maps at my Jhendor website.
All of these are drawn with Campaign Cartographer 2, but I also use Paint Shop Pro by Jasc Software to creat some of the more fancy color effects and to post-process maps for the web.
Click on the image on the right to see an example of two very different map styles.
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Creating a Map
If you want me to create a map for you, we will go through a number of steps to insure that I understand what you want me to do and that we are both satisfied with the results.
Step 1
You give me as much information as possible about the maps to be created. A hand or computer drawn sketch is perfect, but I can also work from a written description. You also indicate which style the map should be drawn in.
Step 2
I create a first draft of the map that shows the general layout and gives an impression of the style that I am using. I submit this draft to you and you give me your go ahead or indicate any changes you would like. We repeat this step until you are satisfied with the draft.
Step 3
I draw a polished and almost finished version of the map. I submit this as a relatively low-resolution image and you indicate any final changes you want done.
Step 4
You pay me. For my rates check the next section.
Step 5
I apply the final changes and the finishing touches to the map and send it to you via email in whatever file format you want and I can produce (e.g. CC2 format, pdf, high-res bitmap).
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My Rates
The rates I charge for the maps naturally depend very much on the amount of work involved. As a rough guideline I usually charge
If creating the map involves a lot of work or post-processing in Paint Shop Pro, prices will be a little bit higher.
These rates are just general guidelines and are open to negotiation.
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Notice:Warhammer is a trademark of Games Workshop Limited. Used without permission. No challenge to its status is intended.
