10 replies to this topic

[JStevens]

Had a couple hours of downtime and felt like working on a map from A Song of Ice and Fire series.

It's still a work in progress, especially since there are many parts of the fantasy world yet to be mapped. But I thought I'd share.



Comments and critique are very welcome!

[Michael Schmeling]

That is looking pretty good for a start.

I always thought that the maps in the books could be greatly improved.

But I wonder about copyright. Will the publisher not object?

[JStevens]

EDIT: Duplicate, see post #8.

[DaveB]

I'm a fan of fantasy and fantasy maps, but I wasn't able to "get into" the Game of Thrones series. Still, the map looks very good. How did you do the terrain?

If he isn't selling the map, just doing it for fun, then I wouldn't think there is any copyright issue. As "fan art" I don't think there is any issue posting it on the web either, but I'm not sure about that. Does anyone know? The copyright holder's lawyers could always issue a "cease and desist" order, but I don't know if they would have any legal basis for it. It's a good question.

[Claude]

This is great, i'll definitely be using this as a reference as I work my way through book #2.

[ravells]

That looks great!

On the copyright front I know of at least 2 maps people have made of Westoros on the Cartographers' Guild, one in 2009 and there hasn't been any trouble. Authors and publishers are sophisticated enough to know that whatever their legal rights are, serving C&D notices on fan art sites is usually counter productive and serves no purpose if the site / artwork is not being sold for profit and is in fact advertising the book, game or film.

[JStevens]

EDIT: Duplicate, see post #8.

[JStevens]

Thanks for the comments! I plan add more texture to indicate forests and things like that, as well as some labels and features that go beyond the first book.

I'm a fan of fantasy and fantasy maps, but I wasn't able to "get into" the Game of Thrones series. Still, the map looks very good. How did you do the terrain?

The terrain was made by blending together several real shaded relief layers, placing mountains and other features where the reference map indicates them. It works pretty well, but has some problems with geographic inconsistency (aligning pre-defined streams with the topography of the shaded relief, for example).

If he isn't selling the map, just doing it for fun, then I wouldn't think there is any copyright issue. As "fan art" I don't think there is any issue posting it on the web either, but I'm not sure about that.

This is my understanding as well. Being fan art, I certainly can't claim copyright or sell it, but can create it for personal use. The map being used to demonstrate a technique or strategy might also fall under 'fair use.' Not entirely sure, but I believe fantasy maps are pretty safe.

[JStevens]

I worked on this a bit more, making some progress with textures and labeling. I also adjusted a few of the rivers and updated the overall style a bit.

Hope you enjoy it

 Westeros.png   991.72K   91 downloads

[Adam Wilbert]

I'm currently slogging through book 3 and loving it. The map looks great. Any plans on doing the whole series?

[JStevens]

Thanks, Adam!

I'd like to expand the map to cover all the books. I've just started the second book this week and will likely add to the map/create others as I go along. There's enough reference material and even some fantastic finished maps out there, but I'm too worried about coming across spoilers and information I haven't yet read.