Illustrated maps

Illustrated maps are something that I'm commissioned on a fair amount, they can be used for so many different commercial projects as well as being created to keep the memories of your favourite places alive!

When I start a map project whether that be for a client or a personal project I will research the key landmarks or places that need to be included in the map. Then using google maps I'll take a screenshot of the place so that I have the main roads/parks/rivers etc in the right places.

Using Procreate, I'll open up an A4 or A3 canvas and drop the screenshot in so that I can trace over the roads etc before I start illustrating buildings or any other features that I want to include. The map might be for a city, country or even a particular area of a place so it can vary a lot from map to map.

The map below is one that I created for a small magazine publisher who wanted a young audience world map highlighting some of the most amazing places in the world!

As well as doing map illustrations for clients I also create them for personal work. The 'Cornwall Map' below was something I made just for fun and it's turned out to be one of my best selling prints of all time! It was the map that kind of kickstarted my love for making maps. Cornwall has always held a very special place in my heart so it was so lovely to create this map and add in all of my favourite places.

In 2019 I was commissioned by Simon and Schuster to work on a book called 'Prisoners of Geography' which was such an incredible project and went on to be a very popular book and was nominated and shortlisted for Waterstones book of the year! It was a project that really made me understand map illustration and the importance of making sure everything is in the right place and geographically correct, especially when it's going to be used for an educational purpose.