#farmergilesofham

[heckosart]

Heya

Fellow (albeit novice) fantasy cartographer here

How'd you get into making maps for people?

Hi!

I've liked drawing and making maps for a long time, and I used to make up maps for fun as a kid. The things that inspired me originally were mostly books, I read fantasy extensively and I've always loved following the characters around by referring to the map as I read. From that I started to draw maps of places in books as well ones I made up. I drew a lot of magical islands for a while.

I also got really inspired by the natural forces of geology/plate tectonics/weather/etc and how they impact the land. I use all of that interest to try and create fantasy maps that have a sense of grounded believability to them. I'm by no means an expert, but I'm always learning and trying to improve.

Obviously for most maps I do professionally there's already a general shape and layout my clients have in mind, but even then I often include small additional islands, give borders and coastlines extra wiggle and variation, and look for ways to incorporate natural and geographic barriers that would help inform political ones.

As art of my thesis at art school, I made a map for a personal fantasy project. I also made a simpler map for a friend, and with those examples I put maps into my commission info. Since that time (2020) I've probably only done about five maps for clients, so I don't usually get as many as these last two jobs back to back might imply. It is always fun to work on though, and I'm thinking about doing some new personal pieces soon since it's been almost four years from the last time I did one for me.

My best recommendation for getting into map commissions would be to get a couple nice samples completed (at least one of a budget option and one big fancy one) and to decide on a clear plan for base pricing. Currently, I have maps broken down into two categories of price.

Simple: $90 - Includes lines, one flat color for land and one for water, mountains and rivers, and typed labels.

Complex: $180 - Includes lines, terrain color variation, symbols/terrain textures/landmark drawings/mountains/rivers, and handwritten labels.

I can also add on sea creatures and monsters and custom compass roses for an extra charge.

My pricing is based on knowing how long it takes me to do the work, how much effort it takes, and the expectation that short deadlines not be imposed. Extra complex requests and tight deadlines (for maps I'd consider anything less than three weeks to be tight) are fully welcome, but will come with an added price to account for those requirements. I would also charge far more for a commercial client, all of my prices here and in my commission info are for personal use jobs only.

You probably know this already, but I always have to say it! Make sure, whatever you're charging, you're making above minimum wage. Ideally, you should make more than minimum because custom art is luxury service. Your skills are valuable, so treat them like it!

I also can't recommend making a TOS to protect both you and your clients' safety enough. Mine are very much not perfect, but I'm always happy to offer them as something for other artists to reference or even just copy when making their own.

Personal Use | Commercial Use

On top of all of that, I'm very persistent with my self-promotion. I used to only use Twitter for art, but post-Elon I've branched back out to Tumblr and made a Bluesky because suddenly it was really scary to notice that all my eggs (clients and followers) were in that one volatile basket. I'm not famous or wildly successful, but my followings on here and Bluesky are still a tiny fraction of on Twitter and that's scary. I try to reblog/retweet/etc my promotional posts once a day to keep eyes on them (but I forget pretty often too lol) and whenever I have a little drawing or something I post it. I'm not the most prolific artist, but I try not to worry about that too much.

Hopefully this isn't too much stuff you already know and hopefully some of it was helpful!

[phantomwarrior12]

Question: does the Guardian from the "x Shaxx" fics ever get jealous of ole one-horn shouting praises at people who do real well in crucible?

Nah, she's very secure in her relationship with Shaxx. :) There's nothing even remotely intimate in terms of the types of compliments he's dealing out, so it really doesn't bother her.

What does bother her is when she's finally home from missions but her partner actually still has to do his job for some reason. -.- How dare he not get the day off just because she's home. Very rude. How dare the Vanguard. So, having to share him with the Crucible when she has a day off is what really bothers her.

[red0490]

Doth the helmet stay on?

Very confused Saxton “Um-? Yes?”

((He doesn’t understand haha

Also sorry for being late ^^;))

[the-haiku-bot]

YES PLEASE DO ART AND

WRITE ART, EVERY STORY

GIVES US MORE TO LOVE

Beep boop! I look for accidental haiku posts. Sometimes I mess up.

idk. it's never too late to start drawing. get a wacom intuos for 44 bucks and pirate an art program. use the billions of tools available to make it easier. trace 3d models. redraw existing drawings. make an elf and draw her 3000 times. you can do it. and if you are actually unable to hold a pen, dont go typing in prompts for some ai art, write fanfiction or original stuff. writing is art. it has just as much value it just takes longer than 1 second to appreciate

[dj-tak0wasa]

Hi, you seem cool.

I appreciate the Pacific Rim love, and the rest of your dash.

Have a nice day

:0 thank you!! i hate to break it to you but i am not actually cool im just a freaky little shadow octopus

[wcs53]

Today is #TolkienReadingDay so I’m reading this little gem. 📖 #tolkienreadingday #jrrtolkien #farmergilesofham #paulinebaynes https://www.instagram.com/p/CqPAxoiL6Rx/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[savyir-genesizz-the-wizard]

Tagged by: @farmergilesofham

The rules of this thing go thusly:

step 1) Make a new post and post your latest/most recent line from your WIP.

step 2) Tag as many people as there are words

step 3) ???

step 4) Profit

I've been already tagged on this today but I can post a thing from another WIP

- Oh, I don't think so - guardian sat by a monument in a Hunter fashion. - Shaw Han, Vanguard's Operative in Cosmodrome… a friend of Amanda…

;')

[the-haiku-bot]

Some good news out of

the storm: Titanfall 2 is

back, apparently??

Beep boop! I look for accidental haiku posts. Sometimes I mess up.

Some good news out of the storm: Titanfall 2 is back, apparently??

I can't really believe it

I'll be testing this tonight

[therabidkell]

I was tagged by @abidethetempest

Rules: Make a new post and post your latest/most recent line from your WIP and tag as many people as there are words.

My most recent WIP is Fossil's resurrection

"I had that undersuit prepared for you, but even it's taking some damage, get to safety and I'll repair it and maybe we'll get some armor." Lean said, with the ache in her back and knees armor would definitely be useful.

I definitely don't know that many people so I'll just tag whatever mutuals I remember write, apologies if I misremembered

@dein0nychus @intrepiddreamx @farmergilesofham @coward2coward @eggs-ontoast

[phantomwarrior12]

Yo, just coming by to say your writing is awesome

Thank you! ^.^ I'm so glad you enjoy it! 💚

[oldenglishpoetry]

#tolkienreader #jrrt #jrrtolkien #tolkien #theinklings #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #treeandleaf #homecomingofbeorhtnoth #adventuresoftombombadil #farmergilesofham #leafbyniggle #onfairystories (at Franklin, Tennessee) https://www.instagram.com/p/B1_tE70H2wm/?igshid=1itp5vgthfwea

[fedorahead]

farmergilesofham

woot

type prevs url with your eyes closed in the tags

[thecloset-blog]

Cuando terminas un libro y no sabes qué leer a continuación 📖📚 #tolkien #tales #smithofwoottonmajor #farmergilesofham #leafbyniggle #book #jrrtolkien #love #bookstagram

[epsilonhybrid]

@farmergilesofham

you may

fuck they making the hunters wear these days bro !!!

[thetolkienist]

There is much more to explore with J. R. R. #Tolkien. #NotOneLastTime. Great publications are just waiting for you - The Fall of Arthur, his #Beowulf translation, #LeafbyNiggle on creative genius, #OnFairyStories on hos concepts of fairy tales, myth and writing, #FarmerGilesofHam to show you that with a bit of luck you can become a hero and beat a dragon... Many, many worlds and works to explore. If you love Tolkien - it will never end!

[radicalsunbeam]

My review of Smith Of Wootton Major and Farmer Giles Of Ham by J.R.R Tolkien!