How to Make Hand-Drawn Maps

A Creative Guide with Tips, Tricks, and Projects

Helen Cann

• Publisher: Chronicle Books LLC
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781452175294
• Topic: Art
• Subtopic: Art Techniques

With wonderful examples and easy-to-follow instructions, this beautifully illustrated how-to book makes it simple and fun to create one-of-a-kind hand-drawn maps. Helpful templates, grids, and guidelines complement a detailed breakdown of essential cartographic elements and profiles of talented international map artists. From city maps and family trees to treasure maps, palmistry charts, platformgame maps, and more, the wide range of projects collected here will satisfy first-time cartographers as well as veteran mapmakers inspired by the popular map art trend.

SECTION 1

MAP ANATOMY

Compasses

Compass roses are a familiar feature of maps, created to help the user orientate themselves or navigate from any point. They are used to show the four cardinal directions—north, south, east, and west—and sometimes the intermediate directions (northwest, southeast, etc.) as well. Generally, contemporary maps show true north (the position of the North Pole) at the top, although this hasn’t always been the case in centuries past.

Compasses have been used to locate north using the Earth’s magnetic field for almost 2,000 years. The Chinese of the Han dynasty (206 BC–AD 220) first used naturally magnetized iron ore, called lodestone, which freely aligns itself with the magnetic field. Later, compasses were made with iron needles that had been magnetized by striking them with a lodestone. Modern devices, such as smartphones, can be used as compasses because they contain a sophisticated magnetometer that relies on sensors encased in an electronic chip.

The earliest-known compass rose to appear on a map was drawn by Abraham Cresques, a cartographer from Majorca, Spain, in 1375. Since then, the rose has continued to be a highly decorative and useful design element of mapmaking.

Drawing a BASIC compass rose

Start by drawing two concentric circles—a small inner circle and a larger outer one—then use a ruler to draw a vertical line through the marked center point of the circle. This is your north (at the top) and south (at the bottom). Draw a horizontal line (at 90 degrees to your vertical line) through the center point of the circle, crossing the first line. Use a protractor for accuracy. This is your west (on the left) and east (on the right).

Starting from the top point of your circle and working clockwise, use a protractor to make marks around the circle at 45 degrees and 135 degrees. Then flip the protractor over and do the same thing for the other half of the circle.

Using a ruler, join each mark to its opposite point, making sure your line goes straight through the center point each time. You now have your eight compass points: (clockwise from the top) north (N), northeast (NE), east (E), southeast (SE), south (S), southwest (SW), west (W), and northwest (NW).

Using a ruler, draw a diagonal line from the outer circle at point N to the inner circle on the NE line. From here draw a diagonal line to the outer circle at point E. Continue this pattern all the way round your compass (outer E to inner SE, to outer S, to inner SW, etc.) until you reach point N again. You should now have created a four-pointed star shape, with arrows pointing to the cardinal directions of the compass.

Now, starting at outer-point NE, draw a diagonal line to the inner circle on the E line. From there draw a diagonal line back out to the SE point on the outer circle. Continue: outer SE to inner S, to outer SW, to inner W, to outer NW, to inner N, returning to outer NE. You should now have created an eight-point star shape, the new points of the star indicating the intermediate directions. This is a full compass rose.

– OVER TO YOU –

Consider a color scheme for your compass rose that complements the intended map. I gave the compass points on my design a colorful geometric pattern in sea-blue and green gouache and watercolor (see page 13).

For decoration, you ...