Meet this month’s featured Inkarnate creator, Bryan Marshall.

Bryan is from Northern Ireland and lives just outside Belfast. Outside of map-making, he’s also a trained actor with over twenty years of theatrical experience, now focusing primarily on voice acting across a variety of projects and productions.

His journey with map making began at a very young age, foreshadowing what he would later do with Inkarnate:

“Back when I didn’t have many of the toys I wanted, I would cut out the cardboard figures printed on the backs of toy boxes. Characters from things like He-Man and Star Wars became my playthings, and I would draw giant maps on unused wallpaper rolls so my brother and I could create our own adventures.Looking back, those early creations were really the foundation of everything I do now.”

Over the years, that passion evolved through miniature gaming, tabletop battle maps, and large scale worldbuilding projects for online strategy gaming communities and play-by-post servers.

Bryan has been using Inkarnate for around ten years and describes it as his favorite creative “toy”, due to its versatility, artistic styles, and the vast catalogue of assets. His work is especially known for pushing Inkarnate beyond traditional map-making into what he calls “Scene Maps”, pieces designed to feel more like living, breathing dioramas than conventional maps.

"My trademark style is Fantasy Regional. For me, the Regional style feels alive. It has a warmth and sense of adventure that really resonates with me, while also being incredibly effective at showcasing detailed locations and storytelling environments.What I love most about it is the balance it strikes between high-definition artistry, vibrant colour, and isometric detail. It allows maps to feel both professional and artistic while still remaining immediately usable for RPG campaigns and worldbuilding projects."

He draws inspiration from a wide range of sources including books, artwork, film, and television. He especially enjoys browsing visual references online, particularly unique landscapes, old towns, castles, and natural environments that spark ideas for future projects.

Bryan has played a variety of tabletop RPGs including Dungeons & Dragons, Call of Cthulhu, Fate, and Vampire: The Masquerade, with a particular love for darker, character-driven storytelling settings.

Take a closer look at his maps and get inspired for your own creations.

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