Unveiling Current Projects and Thrilling Updates in the Life of a Visionary Designer/Artist, Spanning from the Extraordinary to the Breathtaking.
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2D Design
Very excited today to announce I have finished another one of my posters that I’ve had on the backburner. This one was a fun build and actually managed to utilize the 3D animated TIE Fighter I had made previously. I rendered it out in isometric form and then used the images for this design.
I can’t begin to explain how excited I am to be nearly finished with this poster. I say this for a few reasons, 1: I’ve been off/on working on it since March, so it just feels great to finally be wrapping this design up. 2: I love Jurassic Park, so this just feels great to work on. 3: I only have a few remaining elements I need to design, namely the Safari Lodge, Power Bunker, Visitor Center, Raptor Pen, Iguanadon Inn and Dr. Sorkin’s Research Lab.
Well, I haven’t worked on this design since around March, but here I am finishing it up! I’ve made a fair amount of progress with this poster, having filled out the majority of the Jurassic Park map. I’ve also ditched the pop out elements, since I’m really just trying to wrap this design up. Plus, it allows me to make the map larger- so you really can see some of the fine detail you may have missed otherwise, even in a standard 24x36 size poster. Perhaps in the future I’ll design something else with the pop outs.
All that remains currently is for a number of buildings that need to be built. But I figure with a few more hours of work it should be finished up! Can’t wait, because this has been a really fun design.
I’ve been working on this new idea lately, just a fun little project really to turn real locations; like Miami. Into fantasy style maps. I’ve taken a bit of inspiration from late medieval era maps and paintings and really had a great time taking modern locations back in time.
For this first map of Miami, I’ve been playing with a few different ideas, including how to make what is in real life- one massive sprawling city and attempt to individualize and contain the urban sprawl to smaller communities. It’s been a bit of a balancing act, but I think I’m on the right track. Hopefully with a bit more work it will really begin to come together.
Fantasy has been something that’s interested me for a while, with the joys of D&D, world building and all that goes into it. I may only have one or two more WIPs of this design before I finish it up!
“You’re a wizard, Harry.”
As far as famous movie lines, this one has to be one of the most famous from the early 2000s. Though the book series has been a fan favorite for far longer. This map likewise is actually based on a much older map I produced almost two years ago. But since that time, my design skills have improved and it seemed time to update the map.
I won’t lie and say I wasn’t feeling the Star Wars influence when I created this set of four posters. Each poster exhibits a infamous line from the Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, the Emperor and Princess Leia and is surrounded by additional lines made famous by those characters. Not only that, but a subtle Imperial or Rebel symbol can be spied in the background.
As one might imagine, I drew a lot of influence from the ‘live laugh love’ line of art decor that has infiltrated millions of American homes, though with a Star Wars twist. This whole set is currently on sale on my Etsy shop as a bundle and would make a great gift this valentine’s day.
“The Force is strong with this one…” as it is with this FINISHED Star Wars Galaxy [Empire Edition] poster! This poster took a while, as it was a pretty intense project to recreate a whole galaxy! But it was pretty fun too and got my creative side working overtime to create something really unique for Star Wars fans.
One of the first things that may pop out at you is the density of star systems in this map, not to mention the subtle difference in colors. This was done to honor both Star Wars’ past under Lucasfilm and present under Disney. The blue specks represent planets or star systems in which remain in legends, but have not yet been brought back to ‘canon’ status under Disney, as represented by the yellow dots.
Also included are the various sectors, territories and hyperspace routes that make travel possible, including even the less frequently navigated hyperspace routes. It’s actually pretty fun and interesting to search for known planets from the films or novels, to get an idea of where in the galaxy these events took place, and potentially how they connect ‘geographically’ speaking.
Likewise, this map has a few infographic style nuggets of information. For instance the white squares represent all known locations that the characters from Star Wars: Rebels appeared with what information made available. There are also a number of larger pop-outs which signify important events in the Star Wars Universe, taken from an Imperial perspective.
One of the challenges I faced when designing this map, was a general question of when this map existed within the Star Wars timeline. After a bit of debate, I decided that the information displayed would sort of represent a period after Empire Strikes Back, but before Return of the Jedi. My reasoning was that this represented a pretty turbulent time for the galaxy, one that I could imagine the Empire’s propaganda machine was in full effect.
As with all of the maps or designs I make, I have put a lot of detail in this map, with many possibilities coming in the future for additional variations of this map. As you may infer, the title calls out that this is the ‘Empire Edition’, and so a future ‘Rebel Edition’ may eventually show up. Heck, there may even be an updated First Order or Resistance poster one day. Time will tell! But until then, you can catch a close up look at this poster by purchasing your own digital print at Etsy.
Leave a comment and let me know if you’re interested in a Rebel version of this map!
With a lot of work, a massive amount of progress has been made! I’m very excited to see this project draw closer to completion. Not only because I have other projects in mind, but because adding the final touches has been a fun journey.
’ll be honest in saying I haven’t had a chance to work on this one in a long time. The problem has been timing namely. Getting married took up a lot of my time! But, on the bright side I’m over that hump now, and there’s a better chance than not that I can reboot this project.
For one, I’m a huge fan of consistency and organization. It’s likely why I enjoy making these nerdy maps to begin with, everything has a home- you just have to find it! But that’s where the struggle began with the Jurassic World island. As some of you may know, I’ve produced a Jurassic Park map previously, without many issues. The island map works alongside both the film and the novel. You can even track the progress of the characters in the film on the map itself if you chose to. It’s fairly accurate and consistent with most other marketing material or references. I’m very proud of it!
Reaching back to my youth, it would have to be Metal gear Solid that had some of the most significant impact on me growing up. It’s in part what fueled my interest in science fiction, history and storytelling...
I can say without much doubt that I’m a Game of Thrones fanboy! Admittedly I still need to read the novels, but with the dazzling success of the HBO series taking a prime and present location in the my binge watching television schedule; I couldn’t help but design my own Westeros map.
Close up of Poster Design
So this map really started its journey back in 2016. Back then I was designing this map for my girlfriend at the time, as a Christmas gift. This was my first real stab at creating a map and it was a semi successful venture in hindsight.
Now, a bit over a year later I returned with new skill sets and new paint brushes. The entire map was designed in adobe illustrator, which allowed for a lot of freedom by designing first through line art to nail down the important details. Next, I moved in with the cosmetic makeup if you will and began adding things like the paper texture, line design and was able to more clearly define the fonts I would use.
Full size map of Westeros on display
Work on the map continued by referencing as much canon material as I could. This involved looking at other maps and certainly the Wikipedia, which helped a considerable amount. Especially when it came to understanding what each of these locations was and it’s purpose.
Ultimately this was a really fun map to work on, and the detailing was really challenging but allowed me to stretch my mental skills to come up with creative solutions.
Hopefully you’ll find this Game of Thrones map as interesting as I have!
It's been a short while since I've gotten a chance to update the blog, so happy (late) New Year to everyone, hopefully everyone's resolutions are still holding strong.
![Star Wars Galaxy [Empire Edition]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/551d5dabe4b0b59995db2b36/1549294732417-U2G0WEXG06U21MD253BF/Star-Wars-Galaxy-FINAL-CLOSEUP02.jpg)
