THE LEARNING ARCHIVES

Whether you're creating maps for a novel, rpg, or just for fun, this collection of tutorials and map tips will help you create more professional and believable maps for your story!

How to Draw a Floating Island
Map Tip Josh Stolarz Map Tip Josh Stolarz

How to Draw a Floating Island

The idea of having a floating island that is mysteriously positioned in mid-air is something that has become increasingly popular in the fantasy genre. But, how do you draw one on your map? In this Map Tip, I will break down for you my method for drawing the underside of a floating island for your fantasy worlds!

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Varying the Size of Mountains
Map Tip Josh Stolarz Map Tip Josh Stolarz

Varying the Size of Mountains

What's the trick to making your mountain ranges look more realistic on your fantasy map? One thing often overlooked is that not all mountains should be the same height. Having some variation helps them feel a part of the surrounding landscape and not just sitting on top of it. Let's look at some simple principles you can apply to your maps.

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How to Draw Stippled Mountains
Tutorial Josh Stolarz Tutorial Josh Stolarz

How to Draw Stippled Mountains

There are many ways you can draw mountains on a fantasy map, but this method will walk you through how to use a traditional stippling technique which brings a bit of a Victorian aesthetic to your modern fantasy cartography.

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The Ridge Determines Mountain Height
Map Tip Josh Stolarz Map Tip Josh Stolarz

The Ridge Determines Mountain Height

One way to make your fantasy map more believable is to vary the size of the mountain ranges. Not all mountains in our world are the same height, and they shouldn’t be in your story either. If you are using the Ridgeline Mountain Method, then how you draw the initial ridgeline will play a large role in how your mountains look when they’re finished.

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How to Draw Mountains in Top-Down Perspective
Tutorial Josh Stolarz Tutorial Josh Stolarz

How to Draw Mountains in Top-Down Perspective

One of the most important features on fantasy maps are the mountains. Not only are they prime real estate for dwarves and dragons, but they play an important role by impacting political borders, travel, and even weather patterns.
But, they can be challenging to draw in a top down perspective and still get a good sense of scale and depth. While it is much easier to accomplish this in an Isometric Perspective, there are ways to really make your mountains pop off the page. So let’s start mapping!

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How to Draw Rivers
Tutorial Josh Stolarz Tutorial Josh Stolarz

How to Draw Rivers

How do you make your rivers stand out so they’re more than just a squiggly line on your map? In this tutorial, you will learn how to draw rivers that have a sense of depth and look like they are actually part of the landscape.

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How to Draw Ridge-line Mountains
Tutorial Josh Stolarz Tutorial Josh Stolarz

How to Draw Ridge-line Mountains

Mountains are an important feature of a map as they impact weather patterns, where rivers flow, and ultimately where cities and nations arise. In this tutorial, you will learn how to draw mountains for your fantasy maps using the ridge-line method. If you love fantasy style mountains but want to push them to have a little more realism, then this technique is for you.

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How to Draw Mountains
Tutorial Josh Stolarz Tutorial Josh Stolarz

How to Draw Mountains

Mountains are perhaps the most important natural feature you can draw on a map. They impact weather patterns, where rivers flow, and ultimately where cities and nations arise. But, how do you draw them so they don’t just look like squiggly triangles on your map? In this tutorial, I will walk through one of my favorite methods to draw mountains on your fantasy maps!

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