Map of Wilderland
Ever want to take a scenic trip through the misty mountains? Fly around on eagles?
I know I’d love to see the overgrown Mirkwood forest, even if it meant getting chased by vicious spiders. And riding barrels!
Tolkien’s fantasy gives us all an escape from the hectic modern world. In these difficult times, having an escape is a good thing. I think we should all be grateful for fictional worlds that allow us to take a break from the real world.
I love the detail Tolkien put into this map. It’s totally functional. It feels like you could use it to get to the Lonely Mountain.
This is the map from The Hobbit. It shows terrain that Bilbo and the company passed through on the quest to retake the lonely mountain. This map was drawn by JRR Tolkien in 1937.
I redrew it again as a master copy. I want to get used to the way that Tolkien depicts landscape in maps. These aren’t meant for sale, just to pick up some of his techniques and gain a better appreciation for the work.
Lately I noticed a ton of interest in a post I did a while back. It was the map of Middle Earth in the First Age. I always intended on doing a finished version of that piece, with a fully mapped out landscape. Since it seems like there is some interest in that, I may be working on it soon. Consider this one a practice.
Smaug, new mascot for the Republican party
For this drawing I used speedball dip pens and windsor and newton inks. I think Tolkien was using similar materials. I want to get as close as I can to his method, to get the best results.
Alright, I’m going to switch gears here and give a personal update. If you just came for the map, thanks for stopping by and check out my other stuff!
Whew, 2020 has been crazy, has it not?
I haven’t been posting much lately, and I’m sorry about that. I got called back into my store and have been working non stop. This summer just flew by. Mostly it was trying to get people to wear masks as they rush in to buy every piece of equipment we sell. Lemme tell you, people are crazy.
On the bright side, I’ve been going out with a great new girl and we have been having a great time. We’ve been making the best of the pandemic.
Birthdays in 2020 are weird! I don’t know why we even took our masks off for this shot it would have been more realistic to have them on
This year has been a roller coaster for me. It has definitely not been a time of artistic inspiration. At times like these I’m glad to have fictional worlds to escape to. Thank you, Tolkien.
What fictional worlds are you escaping into? Let me know in the comments
Thanks for reading,
Samwise son of Timfast
SCL