vexillation
@vexillation.bsky.social
Architect / Amateur Illustrator / Cartography Enthusiast / Science-Enjoyer /Forever DM
Day 4 is ‘Underground River’ - This was a fun experiment to work on…tested out some ideas of how to express the dynamic shape using a series of intersecting circles as guidelines. The banks were also a test and I kind of like how it turned out! #map #cartography #ttrpg
December 12, 2024 at 5:12 PM
Day 4 is ‘Underground River’ - This was a fun experiment to work on…tested out some ideas of how to express the dynamic shape using a series of intersecting circles as guidelines. The banks were also a test and I kind of like how it turned out! #map #cartography #ttrpg
Continuing with Day 3 of the challenge: the prompt being “Arcane Nexus” - and this is one that I definitely want to expand into a full project, just not sure when! I like how the central arcane relay and floor turned out. Feels nice to be drawing again for non-work purposes! #map #art #ttrpg
December 11, 2024 at 7:56 PM
Also, for anyone interested, here is a quickly pieced together list of the prompts I will be adhering to (hopefully!). Definitely wouldn't mind having people following along if they are looking to recharge their batteries, and I certainly would love to see other folks' work as well!
December 10, 2024 at 5:14 PM
Also, for anyone interested, here is a quickly pieced together list of the prompts I will be adhering to (hopefully!). Definitely wouldn't mind having people following along if they are looking to recharge their batteries, and I certainly would love to see other folks' work as well!
I decided to start a 10 day drawing challenge to give myself some creative momentum and make myself start drawing maps again. I created a prompt list to take the guesswork out and to let my creativity guide things. This is the first entry and I’ve mostly kept to it so far! #map #art #ttrpg
December 9, 2024 at 5:33 PM
Generally, I prefer making maps using traditional means, but for a one-shot I put together, I tried some 'all-digital' methods for the battles. These were experiments to create a more 'realistic' look. Not sure if I will continue to make them this way. They feel a bit too 'clean'. #ttrpg #dnd
December 8, 2024 at 7:44 PM
A brief evolution of logos I’ve used from most recent to the oldest - they’re fun to make but mainly a legacy from my old Patreon, but I think they also work well for a degree of anonymity? I’ve been toying around with the idea of starting my own design firm so maybe that will be my next project!
December 5, 2024 at 5:10 PM
A brief evolution of logos I’ve used from most recent to the oldest - they’re fun to make but mainly a legacy from my old Patreon, but I think they also work well for a degree of anonymity? I’ve been toying around with the idea of starting my own design firm so maybe that will be my next project!
Another one of my favorites! This was meant to be one of a couple of explorable areas for a short adventure I wanted to write but never got around to. I’ve been slowly recharging my batteries and starting to work on new stuff (I swear!), but I won’t lie it’s been hard to rekindle the spark.
December 5, 2024 at 1:06 AM
Another one of my favorites! This was meant to be one of a couple of explorable areas for a short adventure I wanted to write but never got around to. I’ve been slowly recharging my batteries and starting to work on new stuff (I swear!), but I won’t lie it’s been hard to rekindle the spark.
It’s been a hectic couple of weeks with work deadlines and the holiday but I recently watched The Terror on Netflix and now I’m obsessed with Arctic expedition maps from the 1840s and 1850s! These are some I found and thought would be worth sharing (though the resolution is awful!)
December 4, 2024 at 9:19 PM
It’s been a hectic couple of weeks with work deadlines and the holiday but I recently watched The Terror on Netflix and now I’m obsessed with Arctic expedition maps from the 1840s and 1850s! These are some I found and thought would be worth sharing (though the resolution is awful!)
I think I can definitively say these are two of my favorites - a dwarven city with a lava lake variant (Cinderbridge) and an underground lake (of water, duh) variant with a dam (Thunderbridge). Just lots of fun to bring to life…and I really want to try making an even city next! #ttrpg #map #dnd #art
November 27, 2024 at 1:28 AM
I think I can definitively say these are two of my favorites - a dwarven city with a lava lake variant (Cinderbridge) and an underground lake (of water, duh) variant with a dam (Thunderbridge). Just lots of fun to bring to life…and I really want to try making an even city next! #ttrpg #map #dnd #art
Covers from IDEA magazine (a Japanese graphic design magazine) No. 43, October 1960, No. 45 from February 1961 and No. 98 from January 1970. I have always been obsessed with the cover art for the magazine and just wanted to share some of my favorites - the abstract designs just resonate with me.
November 25, 2024 at 10:37 PM
Covers from IDEA magazine (a Japanese graphic design magazine) No. 43, October 1960, No. 45 from February 1961 and No. 98 from January 1970. I have always been obsessed with the cover art for the magazine and just wanted to share some of my favorites - the abstract designs just resonate with me.
When you see this, post a room.
Had to dig into the way back machine to find a decent photo offhand! Also a good lesson in how the part can be more appealing than the whole!
Had to dig into the way back machine to find a decent photo offhand! Also a good lesson in how the part can be more appealing than the whole!
November 25, 2024 at 7:22 PM
When you see this, post a room.
Had to dig into the way back machine to find a decent photo offhand! Also a good lesson in how the part can be more appealing than the whole!
Had to dig into the way back machine to find a decent photo offhand! Also a good lesson in how the part can be more appealing than the whole!
Some more mapping feature guidelines to round out my feed - these show a variety of annotation features and icons to boot! Hoping these prove useful to anyone interested in taking the plunge into crafting their own maps! #map #art #cartography #ttrpg
November 25, 2024 at 4:53 PM
Some more mapping feature guidelines to round out my feed - these show a variety of annotation features and icons to boot! Hoping these prove useful to anyone interested in taking the plunge into crafting their own maps! #map #art #cartography #ttrpg
Continuing the process of porting over some of my older photos from Twitter - these were meant to be demonstrative little snapshots of how I map certain features for fantasy cartography. Part of me has been meaning to do an update to these soon. #map #cartography #art #dnd
November 23, 2024 at 6:51 PM
Continuing the process of porting over some of my older photos from Twitter - these were meant to be demonstrative little snapshots of how I map certain features for fantasy cartography. Part of me has been meaning to do an update to these soon. #map #cartography #art #dnd
A while back my old firm was working on drawings for a historical restoration project, doing work for NV State Parks at Spring Mountain Ranch. Loved seeing some of the hand drawn drawings from a previous partial restoration. Something so pleasing about hand drawn plans (but definitely more tedious!)
November 20, 2024 at 8:39 PM
A while back my old firm was working on drawings for a historical restoration project, doing work for NV State Parks at Spring Mountain Ranch. Loved seeing some of the hand drawn drawings from a previous partial restoration. Something so pleasing about hand drawn plans (but definitely more tedious!)
I have been slowly trying to import some work from the other place, but there aren’t a lot of older examples I feel like sharing, but this one is an exception! The Triptych Towers was a fun mix of designing a building in Rhino and using the linework to develop the maps! #ttrpg #map #dnd #rhino3d
November 19, 2024 at 8:48 PM
When we were walking around Waikiki there was a building with a striking facade ‘exoskeleton’ that really stood out to me. I found a bunch of fun architectural details while we explored…will probably post more in the future but I think for non-architects a little bit of detail goes a long way!
November 19, 2024 at 8:36 PM
When we were walking around Waikiki there was a building with a striking facade ‘exoskeleton’ that really stood out to me. I found a bunch of fun architectural details while we explored…will probably post more in the future but I think for non-architects a little bit of detail goes a long way!
I tried several new techniques in Photoshop to bring this map of my campaign world to life - a lot of layer effects, and I drew the linework on my iPad, which was....interesting. Currently, I'm sitting at 2 campaigns that have occurred here, with more to follow (hopefully!). #dnd #map #art #ttrpg
November 18, 2024 at 1:55 AM
So I guess we’re best friends now. He only offered to lower my car insurance rate once, too! Better not tell my dog or cat…
November 15, 2024 at 5:41 AM
So I guess we’re best friends now. He only offered to lower my car insurance rate once, too! Better not tell my dog or cat…
One day I’ll run a campaign set in this world, where reality itself is an island amidst incoherent, cosmic chaos. Here’s an enlarged shot of the Main Drift and the enlargement of the Jarappa Wasteworld. Lots of science-fantasy vibes (my favorite genre)
November 13, 2024 at 5:18 PM
One day I’ll run a campaign set in this world, where reality itself is an island amidst incoherent, cosmic chaos. Here’s an enlarged shot of the Main Drift and the enlargement of the Jarappa Wasteworld. Lots of science-fantasy vibes (my favorite genre)
I never did get around to posting the ‘full’ version of my Broken Constellations setting map on the other place. Apologies for the awkward angle…hard to fit everything in the view. Pen, ink, colored pencil. Lot of tooth in the paper. #map #cartography #art #scifi
November 13, 2024 at 5:11 PM
I never did get around to posting the ‘full’ version of my Broken Constellations setting map on the other place. Apologies for the awkward angle…hard to fit everything in the view. Pen, ink, colored pencil. Lot of tooth in the paper. #map #cartography #art #scifi
This was also an attempt to create a more interactive map experience for my players, showing a somewhat traditional hex grid layout that could be enhanced as the players explored further. I’ve been really wanting to perfect the wilderness exploration aspect of adventures and this seems to work.
November 12, 2024 at 6:33 PM
This was also an attempt to create a more interactive map experience for my players, showing a somewhat traditional hex grid layout that could be enhanced as the players explored further. I’ve been really wanting to perfect the wilderness exploration aspect of adventures and this seems to work.
Burnout hit me hard in 2023 and it’s been a slow recovery into doing maps again. Most of what I’ve worked on in recent months has been for my own campaign(s), and that has helped (a little). Did this regional map a while back when my Gales of Graymount campaign started. #map #dnd #trrpg
November 12, 2024 at 6:30 PM
I've also been messing around with some mapping styles that feel a bit more 'informational' - this one was a handout I gave to my players to help them understand the forces distributed on the battlefield. Definitely has a textbook feel, but I kind of dig that. #map #ttrpg #dnd
November 11, 2024 at 6:16 PM