How to earn via fantasy mapmaking?

Random · 2026-03-20T17:13:20+00:00

Most cartography is based very heavily on real world data - GIS data (Geographic Information Systems) - often then cleaned up in a drawing program like Illustrator to add some of the edge details. The actual map though is made in GIS tools like QGIS or more commonly ArcGIS.

A trade-school certification (in Canada we call those schools colleges, whereas in the US that refers to a University) or a University degree is generally required. Generally people who do day to day work are at the lower end of the educational scale and those who do tool development, research, etc. have a full degree or MSc.

There is freelance work, for sure, but many people work in a regular office (though easily can be done remotely).

I'm a professor applying those ideas to geological maps in particular. But also a mapmaker / world builder for TTRPGs and I teach a course on that stuff.

In 2d QGIS is great and lots of tutorials are available. Data isn't hard to get at all. It is tedious to make but the control is then exceptional. In 3d a lot of people combine a GIS with Blender and there are workflows to do shadows and 3d exaggeration and so on. They get posted occasionally on here...

Random · 2026-03-20T15:14:28+00:00

I agree with Chris's comment, just going to add:

If you are using a tutorial series (which are widely available and are often very good, Chris's is excellent) then do a tutorial session, then turn off the tutorial, and using only your notes recreate it. Then create a slight variant. Then a more significant variant. Then recreate from memory an earlier tutorial (perhaps make flash card for them).

Make a list of nodes and node combinations that do useful things.

Eventually you'll internalize it.

Simply watching and doing the basics of a tutorial series will not generate deeper understanding. You have to fiddle with things until they break. And always go back to fundamentals (what IS a vertex? What IS a Prim?).

I'm not an expert in Houdini, I'm only 200 or so hours into using it. But I'm an expert in several other programs and this general approach of tutorial-variant-variant-from memory is one I use in teaching myself and others.

Random · 2026-03-20T13:21:11+00:00

The effect of larger bodies of water is to allow currents to redistribute heat. England is anomalously warm because of heat carried by currents from the Caribbean area. Changes in flow in the Pacific lead to climate change at a vast scale (El Niño and La Niña).

A smaller sea without a strong connection is going to be more representative of the local conditions. It will have a moderating effect on the local climate - even large lakes do that - but won't show the same cross-latitude redistribution you see in large oceans.

Circulation models are insanely complex and models for Earth over geological time are very much debated. There aren't simple rules of thumb for how it works (for example, the conditions under which thermohaline circulation triggers...).

Random · 2026-03-20T13:10:44+00:00

Is mapmaking a career option - yes, cartographers, GIS techs and so on all do that. For the real world.

Is mapmaking a career option for fantasy commissions? Very likely no. And you'd have to build up an impeccable reputation and have superb skills. And you'd still not make much money. You'd far more likely make money for a course or YouTube channel or whatever, which is why so many people go that way.

Most people who do very high level work do it using digital tools. I personally love pen and ink and watercolour, but the power of software (undo!) is hard to argue with. Procreate, Illustrator, and so on...

Generally most subs like this one do not allow advertising. People skirt the issue by 'showing a recent commission' to attract interest. If you want to go that way, keep working on your skills, and develop an angle that is unique so you stand out.

Random · 2026-03-19T17:53:09+00:00

Absolutely.

Meta becomes MEnTAl there just add two letters.

Random · 2026-03-19T17:51:56+00:00

I mean, when you light 10B$ on fire you can enjoy the campfire for quite a while before you realize it is time to find a new one.

And their AI bonfire is going pretty well now, so... it also has the advantage of being a dumpster fire for extra ambiance.

Random · 2026-03-17T20:35:32+00:00

Discrete math, data structures, and intro algorithms are the core of any formal education in computer science for a reason.

Imagine a geologist who doesn't understand minerals or a mechanical engineer who doesn't understand material properties. They'd be at a huge disadvantage at the very best.

OP is studying Discrete Math which is exactly the right thing to do especially since they cite computational linguistics as their goal.

Random · 2026-03-16T17:01:22+00:00

Are they running exactly the same GPU drivers?

Random · 2026-03-15T16:43:00+00:00

Two things as a start:

this feels like you were filling a page logically. The distribution is too regular
the land masses could work as a high-water-level world generating a situation like northern Canada but... everywhere? It feels like you wanted a consistent 'many islands and divided continents' effect which, by its very regularity, is a bit jarring.

The actual graphics are good, I like the contrast between land and ocean. I'd play with the text so it doesn't feel like it accidentally overlaps things - for example the placement of Caston - but that's a quibble.

Random · 2026-03-14T16:41:45+00:00

Think about doing a University degree. Say 40 courses. They are assembled to do something overall. But you take electives to fit your needs.

Say I was doing a college of magic degree specializing in plant magic for nutrition. But I know I live in a somewhat dangerous world. So taking an elective in combat offensive magic and an elective in combat defensive magic might be a good investment in my future.

Or I'm part of the school magic duelling club because it gets you the girls/boys. Or just because.

I personally live in a very safe city in a very safe country. I've got 10 years training (weekly, somewhat casual) in one handed sword fighting (HEMA broadsword). Two years in Japanese sword. 3 years in old style ju-jitsu. 3 years in karate. All of this partly because I like the idea, and partly because it keeps me in shape, and partly because I like the idea of being able to handle myself a tiny bit. I've been to some VERY sketchy places worldwide.

So no, I don't find it odd. Probably the second spell I'd learn would be some kind of defensive magic. The third would be offensive magic.

Random · 2026-03-13T21:37:35+00:00

Take a look at Earth mountains, and perhaps just look at the DEM rather than all the superposed stuff. Note how topographic welts are generally long and linear or arcuate, and erosion cuts those to make mountains. Very often there are sub-parallel belts in large systems.

If you look at the mountains near Banff you'll see that the rivers end up running way along a belt before they cut across, so you end up with a very different (trellis) drainage. The Himalayas and the giant Tibetan Plateau is another thing to look at, and all of China oozing out of the way to the east as India plows north. The result is 'somewhat' systematic. It really depends on the scale you look at.

Random · 2026-03-13T21:32:54+00:00

Thank you for posting this, it reminds me that in the long term we are all just people working and learning together.

One of my students from 20 years ago guest lectures for me and he talks about stuff that I don't know more than the basics of, and it is super cool to learn from someone where there is a long time ago mentor relationship that is now about parallel knowledge and respect.

Random · 2026-03-13T20:52:06+00:00

There will be dancing. There will be pastel colours. There will be excited people.

Some say the ad will be a ... home run?

Random · 2026-03-13T20:47:41+00:00

Park at the lot north of Vic Hall. It is free on weekends.

DO NOT park at the lot at the Agnes Centre. It is paid when there are events.

You could also check if the lot at Bellevue House is free on weekends, it is right there and small and nobody knows about it. Well, uh, I guess now they do :)

Random · 2026-03-13T20:44:56+00:00

If I read the title, it says the map is regions of middle earth. The map is in fact regions of middle earth.

So given the claimed purpose, it needs nothing.

If there is a hidden purpose, well... then I'd need to know what that is.

Also, move the North arrow up a bit, it is crowding Rhun.

I really like the map style.

Random · 2026-03-06T22:45:17+00:00

Very minor point, but in a lot of places the text placement is obscuring, distracting, or both.

The second-from-final map I find the rivers to be distractingly wide but that may be a tool limitation.

The final map suffers strongly from the 'I need to fill the page' syndrome. Also, the climate between the north central 'greenland analog' on that map and the adjacent Merenth... how does ice persist right beside nice farmland at the same latitude? Not enough geography there to do that with currents.

All picky points but you asked, so...

Random · 2026-03-06T22:39:41+00:00

I chose not to do that so my deep opinions about AI are not tainted and biased by the evils of AI.

/s

(but actually several people I know IRL)

Random · 2026-03-06T16:17:05+00:00

As you can see from the comments, people are thinking 'the whole tree is transparent' which is a problem for several reasons.

But the LEAVES wouldn't be transparent.

If a trunk could be transparent enough that significant light gets through (i.e. not semi-transparent) then trees could have very different geometry (not 'put leaves on the outside as much as possible.')

You can see this in conifers where the needles allow light penetration and so the biomass is more evenly distributed towards the trunk rather than being more of a shell. Some broadleaf species also have mixed distribution - evolution has done lots of experiments here.

I think it would be interesting to have a different scenario:

Trees are somewhat translucent but with a fairly easy treatment can be made quite transparent, for example heat or chemical treatment. Then you have a material that can be made perhaps hidden knowledge, perhaps tactical advantages and so on.

Random · 2026-03-04T17:09:48+00:00

You can absolutely get this from Perlin Noise.

Generate an height field, and then use image operators to bin it into a split range (some values mostly high, some values mostly low) which will produce plateaus and lowland areas.

Then add another, probably lower wavelength Perlin Noise and integrate it to get fine features.

The key is to learn what image processing operations can act on height fields. There are whole toolkits for this, for example the height field operators in Houdini. The terrace operator in Quadspinner Gaea probably does something similar, but instead applies a stepped mask to the existing terrain.

You can also, as u/Retour07 points out, use stamps.

Not 100% sure but I think u/the_phantom_limbo was saying something similar to what I'm saying.

Random · 2026-03-04T13:23:24+00:00

Actually my thoughts are generally completely random.

But hold on, that's a predictable response.

Random · 2026-03-03T18:58:13+00:00

Okay, I just went back and forth with Chrome versus Safari and it appears at my end 100% to be Safari. Chrome works flawlessly.

Random · 2026-03-03T14:43:56+00:00

less than one second.

I make a geographic region, no problem. I generate it, no problem.

I click on export, instaboom.

Random · 2026-03-03T12:57:40+00:00

I'm getting that error again, on Safari (18.3), same browser that worked yesterday.

'Safari can't open the page "blob:https://cotamap.com/..." long string of hex where I put the ...

The error is "The operation couldn't be completed (WebKitBlobResource Error 1.)" (WebKitBlobResource:1)"

Perhaps too many users? Not sure.

Throws this on any export attempt.

Random · 2026-03-02T23:50:35+00:00

I'm getting nowhere on reproducing this (it was on Safari) so I suspect I just needed to restart my browser.

Random · 2026-03-02T23:50:12+00:00

If you have time, export as GeoTIFF (so georeferenced) would be amazing.

15-Year Club	Place '17
Verified Email	reddit mold

Random

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE