My method for creating fictional world maps:
1) go for a walk after rain
2) take photos of drying spots on the sidewalk
3) draw over them ✨ 
#worldbuilding #worldbuildingart #cartography #fictionalmaps
Edited 1y ago
cartography
#OTD in 1570.
Cartographer Abraham Ortelius issues Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, the first modern atlas.
Three Latin editions of this (besides a Dutch, a French and a German edition) appeared before the end of 1572; 25 editions came out before Ortelius' death in 1598; and several others were published subsequently, for the atlas continued to be in demand till about 1612. It is often considered as the official beginning of the Golden Age of Netherlandish cartography (~1570s–1670s).
Dutch physician, mathematician, cartographer Gemma Frisius was born #OTD in 1555.
He created important globes, improved the mathematical instruments of his day and applied mathematics in new ways to surveying and navigation. Gemma's rings, an astronomical instrument, are named after him. He observed the total lunar eclipse of 3 Mar 1569 and he also discovered the 1572 supernova in Cassiopeia on 9 Nov, which he observed two days before Tycho Brahe.
New Greater Northshore and MEGAMAP (Northwest King County) bike map update!
This version is very 1 Line light-rail focused, not just adding 1 Line stations but upgrading street labels for better wayfinding. It contains several other updates and two contributions as well.
https://solarbird.net/blog/2024/08/29/greater-northshore-bike-connector-map-1-4-release/
All previous advertised permalinks remain valid.
Edited 352d ago
#Maps & #Cartography picks of the day:
➡️ @openstreetmap - OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit
➡️ @polgeonow - Maps on current events & politics
➡️ @mapologies - Blog mixing maps with geography & other topics
➡️ @CaGIS - US org promoting map/GIS research, education & use
➡️ @BKG - German government agency for Cartography & Geodesy (in German)
➡️ @mappery - Highlighting maps in real life incl signs, posters, artworks etc
➡️ @wfgWorkshop - Artist & cartographer, maps of fictional worlds
🧵 1/8
There's been talk on the Fedi about why online maps like OSM and Google use the Mercator projection, and I think it needs a bit of clarification. (Do NOT snitch tag.)
Online maps are _mostly_ used at small scales, of a district or a city. At these scales, the earth is approximately flat, so users expect a map that is _conformal_, one that preserves angles and shapes.
Online maps are continuously zoomable from continents down to your house. They usually aren't rendered on your browser straight from vectors, but are batch-rendered offline into square tile images. If you're on a slowish Internet connection, you can see them loading individually.
As you zoom an online map, tiles get replaced with higher-resolution ones, and as you scroll, tiles get filled in to fill the gaps. You could theoretically scroll and zoom forever, so the map needs to not have a magically special reference latitude or longitude. These constrains mean that the map needs to be _equatorial_, so that no point gets special treatment, and _cylindrical_, so that meridians are vertical and lines of latitude are horizontal.
And which is the map projection that is all of equatorial, cylindrical and conformal? Mercator!
Last week we published a set of three in-depth #map reports covering territorial control across #Somalia's claimed territories from 2023 to present. The June 2024 report is free for all readers, and shows the height of "#IslamicState" (#ISIS/#ISIL) control in the country:
https://www.polgeonow.com/2025/06/somalia-territorial-control-map-2024-isis-shabaab.html
#HornOfAfrica #cartography #maps #geography #Somaliland #Puntland #SSC_Khaatumo #mapping @geography @cartography @geopolitics #AlShabaab #AlQaeda #security #OSINT
En.osm.town is an independent Mastodon server for people active in the OpenStreetMap community.
This server has been operating since 2018.
You can find out more at https://en.osm.town/about or contact the admin @compass
cc @openstreetmap
#FeaturedServer #OpenStreetMap #OSM #Geospatial #GIS #Maps #Mapping #Cartography #Mastodon #Fediverse #FreeFediverse
I've been complaining about this map for months, but now that it's done, I can share with you the rather impressive (if I do say so myself) timelapse of the illustration process. I'm really rather proud of how this one came out!
(the video's too big for anyplace but YouTube)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwp1AMKGvxs
(Reshares vastly appreciated, btw!)
#fantasyArt #fantasy #ttrpg #ttrpgs #WickedWhiskers #KeystoneFantasyRoleplaying #Cortex #CortexPrime #dwarves #cartography #map #illustration
Edited 65d ago