{"id":1789040,"date":"2020-07-25T09:44:09","date_gmt":"2020-07-25T13:44:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/?p=1789040"},"modified":"2020-07-25T09:44:09","modified_gmt":"2020-07-25T13:44:09","slug":"creating-a-fantasy-map-in-photoshop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2020\/07\/creating-a-fantasy-map-in-photoshop\/","title":{"rendered":"Creating a Fantasy Map in Photoshop"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chris Spooner\u2019s step-by-step tutorial on how to create a fantasy map in Photoshop<\/a> offers some insights on how to create the look and feel of a digitally generated fantasy map with Photoshop. Because its method of generating land masses is more or less random (it uses the cloud rendering tool to create landforms and topography), it\u2019s not a tool you could use to generate a map of a specific<\/em> secondary world\u2014in other words, not something that could elevate your rough sketch into something professional looking\u2014but it looks fun to play with. [Alejandro Polanco<\/a>]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chris Spooner\u2019s step-by-step tutorial on how to create a fantasy map in Photoshop offers some insights on how to create the look and feel of a digitally generated fantasy map with Photoshop. Because its method… More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"link","meta":{"autoblue_enabled":true,"autoblue_custom_message":"","autoblue_shares":[],"autoblue_post_url":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[31,1454],"class_list":["post-1789040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-link","hentry","category-imaginary-maps","tag-fantasy-maps","tag-photoshop","post_format-post-format-link"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1840139,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2025\/05\/fantasy-mapmaking-tools\/","url_meta":{"origin":1789040,"position":0},"title":"Fantasy Mapmaking Tools","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"2 May 2025","format":"link","excerpt":"I\u2019ve been making note of procedural fantasy map generators for a while now. These are tools that generate a map of an imaginary landscape, town or dungeon, mostly (but not necessarily exclusively) for the purposes of role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons. The latest to come to my attention is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Games"","block_context":{"text":"Games","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/games\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5661,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2013\/12\/how-to-make-a-fantasy-map\/","url_meta":{"origin":1789040,"position":1},"title":"How to Make a Fantasy Map","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"11 December 2013","format":"link","excerpt":"So today Tor.com posted something very much relevant to my interests: a piece by illustrator Isaac Stewart that describes his process for creating a map for a fantasy novel. In this case, The Emperor's Blades by Brian Staveley, who very helpfully provided a sketch from which Stewart could work. This\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Maps and Literature"","block_context":{"text":"Maps and Literature","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/maps-and-literature\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1836218,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2025\/01\/kathleen-jennings-shows-us-how-she-draws-a-fantasy-map\/","url_meta":{"origin":1789040,"position":2},"title":"Kathleen Jennings Shows Us How She Draws a Fantasy Map","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"27 January 2025","format":"link","excerpt":"Kathleen Jennings In addition to being an author in her own right, Kathleen Jennings is an illustrator who draws maps for other fantasy novels. For a recent work\u2014The Wild Huntress by Emily Lloyd-Jones\u2014she takes us behind the scenes, going step by step through the process to create the map. I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Maps and Literature"","block_context":{"text":"Maps and Literature","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/maps-and-literature\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/jennings-wild-huntress-sketches.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/jennings-wild-huntress-sketches.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/jennings-wild-huntress-sketches.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/jennings-wild-huntress-sketches.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/jennings-wild-huntress-sketches.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/jennings-wild-huntress-sketches.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5940,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2014\/10\/fantasy-maps-of-us-cities\/","url_meta":{"origin":1789040,"position":3},"title":"Fantasy Maps of U.S. Cities","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"2 October 2014","format":"link","excerpt":"For another example of using fantasy map design language to create real-world maps, here's the work of geography professor Stentor Danielson, who draws maps of U.S. cities in the style of fantasy maps and sells them on Etsy. Boston, Cleveland (above), Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Washington are available. His Tumblr. Via\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art"","block_context":{"text":"Art","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/art\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Fantasy map of Cleveland (Stentor Danielson)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jonathancrowe.net\/images\/2014\/mapsburgh-cleveland.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jonathancrowe.net\/images\/2014\/mapsburgh-cleveland.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jonathancrowe.net\/images\/2014\/mapsburgh-cleveland.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1831085,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2024\/05\/a-library-of-17th-century-map-elements-useful-for-fantasy-and-game-maps\/","url_meta":{"origin":1789040,"position":4},"title":"A Library of 17th-Century Map Elements, Useful for Fantasy and Game Maps","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"15 May 2024","format":"link","excerpt":"David Stark extracted elements from a 1688 map of part of Germany to create a library of tree, hill and town signs that he thought entirely appropriate for use as map assets for a role-playing game. I look at them and see fantasy map design elements. In 2019 I noted\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Antique Maps"","block_context":{"text":"Antique Maps","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/antique-maps\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/stark-1688-elements.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/stark-1688-elements.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/stark-1688-elements.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":298,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2016\/01\/mapping-the-drowning-eyes\/","url_meta":{"origin":1789040,"position":5},"title":"Mapping The Drowning Eyes","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"14 January 2016","format":"link","excerpt":"To mark the publication this week of a new fantasy novella,\u00a0The Drowning Eyes by Emily Foster,\u00a0the artist hired to create the map, Tim Paul, wrote an essay on how he did it. I'm struck by the lengths he took to \"avoid making the map look too European\" and by the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Maps and Literature"","block_context":{"text":"Maps and Literature","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/maps-and-literature\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"the-drowning-eyes","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/the-drowning-eyes-188x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1789040","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1789040"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1789040\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1789042,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1789040\/revisions\/1789042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1789040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1789040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1789040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}