Fridays & Functions: Commissioning Cartography by Jonathan Roberts

I've had all sorts of maps sent to me by publishers, from detailed technical plans to a single scanned line drawing with no grid or scale. From this experience, I have come up with a few pointers for publishers looking to commission a map.

I've jotted down the best practices. First of all, if you can put together a sketch that's a huge help. When creating a sketch:

1. Start with a square grid - blue squared paper is great.
2. Pick a scale that makes sense.
3. Draw clearly areas that will block movement or inhibit movement - walls, rivers, mountain ranges, etc.
4. Place other elements - in another color if possible - that are important.
5. Think about practical issues when designing the map - if monsters are size Large, the corridors will need to be 10' wide. Food and shelter should be close together; obvious entrances should be guarded; treasure chambers should be far from the entrance and so on.

Second, the point of the map is to be clear, not pretty. Use clashing colors - blue and orange, purple and yellow, red and green. The cartographer's job is to take this and make it attractive. The important thing is that the sketch is accurate.

The remaining information that a mapmaker needs from a publisher is predominantly technical. The more information that can be provided at this stage, the easier it will be for the cartographer to meet your needs:

1. The size of the printed image in inches
2. The required resolution in dots per inch
3. The orientation - landscape or portrait
4. Color or grayscale
5. Whether the map needs a version without a grid or without labels

A publisher who wants to change or edit the map based upon author revision, editing, feedback or play-test should advise that changes may be required. It is also important to discuss the precise division of copyright before work starts.

The points mentioned above are the core elements a cartographer needs. Anything else is extra credit. If you can provide the accompanying text that goes with a map then the cartographer will be able to add extra details to make the areas fit their use, as well as check the map for consistency. At the very least, the text will give your cartographer a feel for the setting and style that is being portrayed. Equally, if you have a particular style in mind, then a link to to an existing map or illustration in that style will help convey what you are after. Remember that maps are also illustrations and help to convey your setting to the GM and the players. If your cartographer understands the setting it will show in your maps.

Jonathan Roberts
Fantastic Maps