I've been toying with the idea of getting a cartographer to create a more professional looking map of my campaign world done in a style I saw over at the Cartographer's Guild and have been wondering what the ball park is for how much that would cost.
Not actually what I want but I think a comparable project would be along the lines of 'take the D&D known world (Mysteria I believe) and redo it in a different artistic style'.
Any idea's on what a cartographer might charge for a project like that?
|
Depends on the cartographers skill and experience as well as what tools they use, how many unique elements you want and the size/amount of time needed, level of detail
I've heard quotes from the $50-60 range from new mappers to almost $1000 for some of the artists/professionals doing world scale maps
It varies
As noted above the price can vary based on the cartographer and the style/quality you want. I do some freelance cartography work from time to time, mostly for fun not to make much money. I'd probably start off thinking about a couple hundred for a nice page-sized (8.5"x11" at 300dpi) world map without a lot of detail. If you want a bigger map then the price would go up. If you want hand-drawn as opposed to digital processes then the price would go up.
Go check out the Cartographer's Guild forum. There's a requests forum. Sometimes cartographers will take on a job gratis (you sometimes get what you pay for, sometimes a whole lot more) or to order for payment. You might get some estimates that will help you a bit...and can certainly find the artist for the job while you're there.
Hope that helps.
M
My gallery: http://www.cartographersguild.com/members/mearrin69-albums-my+maps.html
|
How much would it cost to map a Golarion?
It would take about five years of continuous employment as a cartographer to map an entire world in D&D 8 mile hexes - at fifty thousand dollars a year wages it would probably cost you a quarter million dollars...if they cared to commit their time to that much toil.
As noted above the price can vary based on the cartographer and the style/quality you want. I do some freelance cartography work from time to time, mostly for fun not to make much money. I'd probably start off thinking about a couple hundred for a nice page-sized (8.5"x11" at 300dpi) world map without a lot of detail. If you want a bigger map then the price would go up. If you want hand-drawn as opposed to digital processes then the price would go up.
Go check out the Cartographer's Guild forum. There's a requests forum. Sometimes cartographers will take on a job gratis (you sometimes get what you pay for, sometimes a whole lot more) or to order for payment. You might get some estimates that will help you a bit...and can certainly find the artist for the job while you're there.
Hope that helps.
MMy gallery: http://www.cartographersguild.com/members/mearrin69-albums-my+maps.html
Thanks for the advice and you have some very nice maps in your gallery.
@Brock: I must admit that's an angle I hadn't considered. :)
@Jeremy: Thanks and good luck.
I've been toying with the idea of getting a cartographer to create a more professional looking map of my campaign world done in a style I saw over at the Cartographer's Guild and have been wondering what the ball park is for how much that would cost.
Not actually what I want but I think a comparable project would be along the lines of 'take the D&D known world (Mysteria I believe) and redo it in a different artistic style'.
Any idea's on what a cartographer might charge for a project like that?
Jeremy, check out my maps at sample maps . If you like one of the map styles in particular, drop me a line, and we'll work something out on the very, very affordable side.
(I do music for aspiring GMs too. Check out the WWW site.)
In service,
Rich
Dr. Games, I'm getting a 404 on your first link.
I've been toying with the idea of getting a cartographer to create a more professional looking map of my campaign world done in a style I saw over at the Cartographer's Guild and have been wondering what the ball park is for how much that would cost.
Not actually what I want but I think a comparable project would be along the lines of 'take the D&D known world (Mysteria I believe) and redo it in a different artistic style'.
Any idea's on what a cartographer might charge for a project like that?
Jeremy, check out my maps at sample maps . If you like one of the map styles in particular, drop me a line, and we'll work something out on the very, very affordable side.
(I do music for aspiring GMs too. Check out the WWW site.)
In service,
Rich
Yeah - I am not really looking for a map...I've got something that works OK at the moment.
What I am looking for (and probably will not find within my budget) is someone who can take my campaign world and do this with it.
Jeremy,
Yeah. That's a bit ambitious because of the hand-drawing. That looks like the work of "Djeckspek" or someone who has emulated his style. I can tell you from trying to copy him myself that it's a bunch of work.
Something in an "atlas" style are much more achievable...and you could probably do it yourself if you follow the tutorials I'm linking below.
http://www.cartographersguild.com/tutorials-how/4084-award-winner-my-atlas- style-ps.html
http://www.cartographersguild.com/tutorials-how/8086-award-winner-saderan-% 96-tutorial.html
Lots of aspiring cartographers want to try out those tutorials so one thing you might do is post your world outlines and other details in the map request forum and offer somebody credit and adulation if they'd try out one of the how-tos using your world as the basis. Or, for a little money, I'm sure you'd get a taker. Before you do that, however, I'd suggest checking out galleries of potential mapmakers to ensure they in general execute to a quality level you'd be happy with.
M
Or you could do what George RR Martin did and have has fans pay for Jonathan Roberts to make a bunch of maps of his known world. ;)
|
|
I've been toying with the idea of getting a cartographer to create a more professional looking map of my campaign world done in a style I saw over at the Cartographer's Guild and have been wondering what the ball park is for how much that would cost.
Not actually what I want but I think a comparable project would be along the lines of 'take the D&D known world (Mysteria I believe) and redo it in a different artistic style'.
Any idea's on what a cartographer might charge for a project like that?
Jeremy, check out my maps at sample maps . If you like one of the map styles in particular, drop me a line, and we'll work something out on the very, very affordable side.
(I do music for aspiring GMs too. Check out the WWW site.)
In service,
Rich
Yeah - I am not really looking for a map...I've got something that works OK at the moment.
What I am looking for (and probably will not find within my budget) is someone who can take my campaign world and do this with it.
I used to offer to do these for free: Map sample
Yeah, as a pro cartographer to the RPG industry, I avoid doing world maps, as I consider it too much work compared to regional maps or encounter scales. I charge a lot more for city maps and world maps, and for artistically awesome maps it gets really expensive. You're far better off going to the Cartographers' Guild finding some software and learning to create your own map.
I just completed a successful Kickstarter to fund a series of Map-Making Tutorial Guides using any graphics software for RPG and board games. 25 Quick & Dirty Map Tutorials Guide Book Project - in 30 days, it got pledges by 456 backers to the tune of $23,289. You should have joined that, it just ended yesterday.
I'd do a world map only if a big publisher asked. I did the original hand-drawn design of the City of Kasai for the Jade Regent AP, but was well paid for that. If you're not a big publisher and you want a city or world map - then you can't afford me. You need to do it yourself, or settle for a much lower quality map from a less qualified cartographer.
How much would it cost to map a Golarion?It would take about five years of continuous employment as a cartographer to map an entire world in D&D 8 mile hexes - at fifty thousand dollars a year wages it would probably cost you a quarter million dollars...if they cared to commit their time to that much toil.
@Avatar: Yeah for a job that big you're looking at a team of people in order to avoid burnout and to get the project done in a reasonable timeframe. So in addition to direct compensation you have overhead costs as well.
Dr. Games, I'm getting a 404 on your first link.
. @Deathquaker:
You're right! It should be maps
That is very strange, because I previewed and tested the link before posting.
Thank you for pointing it out!
Yeah - I am not really looking for a map...I've got something that works OK at the moment.What I am looking for (and probably will not find within my budget) is someone who can take my campaign world and do this with it.
Ah! That is a good clarification! It is not at all what I was imagining.
That is more of an artistic rendering than strictly a map.
I used to do a lot of hand-drawn illumination and scroll work. Getting the 3D effect (perspective) would not be hard once you had the base illustration done, but doing the initial drawing would take awhile.
I was going to offer to do a map for free (truth be told), but what you're looking for would take a few weeks to a month of devoted effort. There are likely people that could do it quicker than me.
Could you post your existing, base map? There are folks that might take it on as a challenge.
Check out the Overland maps; the one of the area around Harbor Port starts to get toward where you are going. I did not illuminate the sides or add the 3D distortion though.
Following along my suggestion, I have cool map renderings of my region (since I don't work with a world game, only a regional one) that I game in, but then I created the maps myself...(these are hand-drawn and digitally finished).
Michael
Jeremy,
Yeah. That's a bit ambitious because of the hand-drawing. That looks like the work of "Djeckspek" or someone who has emulated his style. I can tell you from trying to copy him myself that it's a bunch of work.
Yeah - I tried myself and its seriously hard work. I think I sunk in 60 hours or some such before coming to the conclusion that my scale was such that once everything was done the interesting elements would have been to small...and man was drawing tree's getting boring.
I might even go back to the project...but I have to give up the DM chair for a seriously extended period of time to do this project.
Could you post your existing, base map? There are folks that might take it on as a challenge.
This is from my old photo bucket gallery. Stuff here is a little dated but in line with my talents...which are not up to that Sinisteria map.
I'm not expecting anyone to do anything for free...what I'm looking is too much work for that.
As far as drawing decent maps goes, it's probably the easiest thing to be okay at. Being great at illustrating anything takes a lot of dedication and practice, sure, but learnign to draw some decent tiny mountains is much easier than learning to conceptualize a knight in shining armor.
If it were just the beginning of summer I'd totally be willing since I'm a student, not a professional, and I'm willing to work for less-than-typical pay for the chance to get experience (though of course not for free).
If you still want/need this in June, send me a message.