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Every Good Adventure Needs A Map, Right?

Posted on February 10, 2016 by Loni Townsend

I was cruising around G+ the other day when I came upon a post linking to Inkarnate. I thought it looked cool and investigated further.

Inkarnate lets you make maps. It’s a simple interface and tailored for roleplaying games, but I was clapping and squealing in delight. I’ve looked into making maps before. They have installable programs like Campaign Cartographer, but I didn’t want to take the time to do the install and then learn the software. There are tutorials for making maps using graphics software, which I already have installed and know how to use, but I’m not so good at drawing slopes and ridges.

Inkarnate is a web-based and easy to use. I spent about a half hour on my map.

Map

Since Inkarnate is simple, I couldn’t portray my world exactly as I envisioned it. Halqua is actually raised compared to the other provinces with waterfalls flowing over the edges, and Lumenor is a giant ring-shaped canyon with sandstone red walls. But still, Inkarnate is pretty darn cool and quick to learn.

What do you think of my map?

Do you like maps? Do you have a map for your world? Do you have any experience making maps? What do you use?

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27 thoughts on “Every Good Adventure Needs A Map, Right?”

  1. Sarah Foster says:
    February 10, 2016 at 7:46 AM

    That’s so cool! I do have one story idea in mind that would require some world creating. I’ll have to keep this in mind for when (if…) I get around to it!

    Reply
  2. CD Gallant-King says:
    February 10, 2016 at 7:57 AM

    I haven’t made a map for a book in years, though I occasionally make them for games. I’ve heard good things about Inkarnate, I should check it out.

    I like yours. The program creates simple but attractive designs. And it sounds easy to use!

    Reply
  3. M.J. Fifield says:
    February 10, 2016 at 8:00 AM

    I love your map! That’s awesome!!

    I only have my hand-drawn map. I’ve been wanting to use a program like Inkarnate to create a real map that could be included in a book, or a website or something. Guess I’ll have to check this one out.

    Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  4. Arlee Bird says:
    February 10, 2016 at 8:11 AM

    I’m a big fan of travel and since I like to know where I’m going, I like to study maps. I’ve enjoyed looking at maps since I was a child and even now sometimes for entertainment I will just explore maps and dream about going places.

    I’ve not had the occasion to make my own maps, but I haven’t been engaged in any world building either. Your map looks very good.

    Arlee Bird
    A to Z Challenge Co-host
    Tossing It Out

    Reply
  5. Sarah says:
    February 10, 2016 at 8:57 AM

    This is SO cool! And I love your map. I’ll have to check that out. Thanks. Also, you should write a post on G+ when you get a chance since you’re cruising and all. I’ll send cookies.

    Reply
  6. J.C. Jackson says:
    February 10, 2016 at 9:17 AM

    I love maps and yours! Currently, I don’t have any sort of physical map. Keep saying I need to make one so I can at least label where places are.

    My husband makes maps for our gaming group, but I haven’t done it. Right now he has one that he’s working on spread out on the dining room table. Predominantly, he uses gaming paper so we have a board to play on. I’ve heard of other online ones for tabletop RPGs, but haven’t tried them. He had been playing with one a while ago, but I haven’t heard anything from him recently on how it is.

    Reply
  7. Elizabeth Seckman says:
    February 10, 2016 at 11:01 AM

    That is so awesome. Now, I want to create a town!!!

    Reply
  8. Crystal Collier says:
    February 10, 2016 at 11:02 AM

    I LOVE the map. Awesome. I’ve got a whole folder full of old sketches of maps for story settings. I think it’s one of those things that really helps ground you on a fantasy project.

    Reply
  9. Aldrea Alien says:
    February 10, 2016 at 12:02 PM

    That is simply gorgeous!
    You know how I feel about maps, especially fantasy ones. I’m just going to sit here and geek out for a bit.

    Reply
  10. Alex J. Cavanaugh says:
    February 10, 2016 at 12:08 PM

    Cool idea! Makes me wish I still played D&D.

    Reply
  11. Southpaw HR Sinclair says:
    February 10, 2016 at 12:14 PM

    How very cool! That’s a pretty nice map even though it doesn’t have the detail you envisioned. I made a stick figure map of the town my MC is as well as her home, but that was mostly to help me remember where everything was.

    Reply
  12. Mary Pax says:
    February 10, 2016 at 2:07 PM

    Totally cool. I had to bookmark that link. Simple works for me 🙂

    Reply
  13. Sheena-kay Graham says:
    February 10, 2016 at 3:34 PM

    I wanted to make a map for one of my wips but can’t draw at all. Might give this a try. Glad you are branching out Loni and working on sharing and expanding your book world.

    Reply
  14. Christine Rains says:
    February 10, 2016 at 6:26 PM

    That is so cool! I love the map. Back when I wrote epic fantasy, I’d spend hours making maps. It’s so much fun!

    Reply
  15. Jeff Hargett says:
    February 10, 2016 at 8:53 PM

    The cartography geek inside me just messed his self. So much for getting to sleep at a decent hour tonight.

    Reply
  16. Roland Clarke says:
    February 11, 2016 at 4:13 AM

    Cool map – thanks for the valuable link. Current WIP is set on future Earth… but sure I can slip a map in, somewhere.

    Reply
  17. Chrys Fey says:
    February 11, 2016 at 3:29 PM

    That is so neat! If I ever need a map for a fantasy book, I know how to make one.

    Oh, I don’t know if you noticed but I recently reviewed Thanmir War. LOVED IT!!!

    Reply
  18. C.G.Coppola says:
    February 11, 2016 at 8:35 PM

    This. Is. So. COOL.

    And your map is awesome, Loni!

    Reply
  19. Misha says:
    February 12, 2016 at 8:42 AM

    Very cool! I drew a map once, and one day, I suspect I’ll try my hand at drawing one on Photoshop…

    Reply
  20. Lori L. MacLaughlin says:
    February 12, 2016 at 11:36 AM

    I love maps and enjoy drawing them with pencil and paper. I’ve never tried making a map on the computer. That looks like so much fun! Your map looks great! Thanks for the link. I’m off to check it out.

    Reply
  21. Melissa Maygrove says:
    February 13, 2016 at 8:35 AM

    Ha! Cool! 😀
    I wish I’d had this when I was reading your book. 😛
    Do you have the rights to publish what you create?

    Reply
  22. The Blue Grumpster says:
    February 14, 2016 at 4:19 PM

    Well, your map looks pretty darn cool.

    Happy Valentine! (I’m a friend of Alex’s.)

    Blue

    Reply
  23. Mason T. Matchak says:
    February 14, 2016 at 9:21 PM

    Oh, that could be dangerous. I’ve never been able to draw worth anything, and having easy-to-use map software could lead to me spending way too much time on making maps for everything. O_o Looks cool, though.

    Reply
  24. Beth says:
    February 15, 2016 at 10:13 AM

    I love your map! Maps always interested me, but I always had such a tough time reading them as a kid. And in school when we had to make our own maps I failed miserably! lol

    Reply
  25. Lidy says:
    February 15, 2016 at 10:27 AM

    I love this. Thanks for posting about this. I’m a horrible drawer and tried to draw the map of the world in my epic fantasy. It wasn’t pretty.

    Reply
  26. cleemckenzie says:
    February 15, 2016 at 11:23 AM

    What fun! I haven’t made a map since I was ten. I’ll have to see how this works. Thanks, Loni.

    Reply
  27. Tyrean Martinson says:
    February 24, 2016 at 1:12 PM

    This is so awesome!!! I can’t wait to use it. I’ve had reader complaints about not having maps, but really no one wants to see my chicken scratch attempts.
    Thank you for sharing1

    Reply

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Welcome to my blog. I post here on Wednesdays most of the time, but you can find me on social media any day of the week. My topics include my stories and writing, life at the Town's End, creating and tinkering with graphics, things I learn and think might be helpful to others, and the occasional amateur photo. Thanks for stopping by! I hope to see you around.

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