# Gallery > Cartographers Choice >  Crypt of the Mad Monk - by DevinNight

## ravells

*Map* (Click to enlarge)




*Created in:* Photoshop / Illustrator

*Review*

Our first dungeon map! I'm so glad that when it came, it was this one.

A good dungeon map needs an incredible amount of detail and coherence and it's all here. Every element (note the number of different corpse symbols) has been drawn by the author of the map himself. This map is a hymn to the good dungeon - every room tells a story, the lighting and the elements are consistent, telling of a single hand which drew everything. I love the flash of orange at the top. 

*DevinNight says:*_I started work on this map by googling crypts and was lucky to find a national geographic article on the crypts in Sicily. They have all these corpses on display and the crypts are open to the public. It seemed creepy to be able to walk down halls and go into rooms filled with corpses. 
I wanted to make a map that seems inviting yet slightly claustrophobic and a bit more fantasy like with the carvings of the demons supporting the walls and watching people as they go past.
I did a quick sketch on paper of the layout, I can't say I put too much thought into it. Just got some shapes in there. Then the sunken room to the north needed some good lighting to show that it was sunken. My original idea was to have a demon-like creature coming out of the wall and hanging over the walkway there.. but that would have been confusing. 
I always knew that the secret tomb would be much cleaner looking, but that is where I picture the final confrontation to be.        _ If you look at the WIP thread it started from the image below.

This map is an entry for a contest hosted by I.C.E. Enterprises...somehow I think it's got a very good chance of winning.

Thank you DevinNight for showing us how you made this map with a detailed WIP. 

Brilliant stuff!






*Original thread* 
Click here to view the original thread.

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## Gandwarf

Good choice! This is an awesome, awesome dungeon map. One of the best I have seen on this forum, ever.

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## ravells

Me too!!! Fantastic, isn't it?

The texturing of the floor tiles alone has me salivating.

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## torstan

Excellent call Ravells. This is a real stunner and deserves all the accolades it gets.

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## Sigurd

> Excellent call Ravells. This is a real stunner and deserves all the accolades it gets.




I think this map is so good it engenders spontaneous virgin births in Llamas and Goats!


And I already know Torstan Agrees!  :Razz:

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## torstan

:Smile: 

I should have known that would get me into trouble....

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## Bohunk

Not a big fan of the dungeon maps in general, but this one floored me.  Wonderful!

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## DevinNight

Thanks a ton guys. I appreciate the great.. and funny.. comments.

I'm learning just through osmosis of all the great talent on these forums.
Thanks to the guild.

-D

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## RZN

:Question:  :Exclamation:  This is a fun one laddy!! The art and detail are amazing!! Very nice.

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## ravells

History has been rewritten!

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## Bohunk

> History has been rewritten!


Wait, I could have sworn...ah heck, I must have dreamt it all.

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## loydb

That's a great map! I like it so much, I'm going to use it this weekend!

In support of that effort, I made a printer-friendly version of the thing (changed the background to white).

It's available here (Devin, I assume you're cool with this -- if not, I'll take it down).

http://www.blankenship.com/images/cr...-white-bkg.jpg

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## Ramah

Beautiful map.

I know diddly-squat about these games and so usually avoid the threads dedicated to their maps because I have no qualification to comment, but I do know a fine piece of artistry when I see one.  :Smile:

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## DevinNight

Loyd you have entirely ruined my vision....  :Smile: 
Actually the white background makes a lot more sense. 
I should change the PDF version on the ICE site so that people printing it don't waste a lot of ink.
Thanks.
-D

And thanks Ravells, if you ever get a job erasing memories you will do well.

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## loydb

> Loyd you have entirely ruined my vision....


Np. I'm going to go scribble on some Rembrandts for lunch...

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## cmnmd

Nice work, indeed. There is good contrast all around and all of the details are easily made out. Good use of line art and subtle texturing. I really like the wrapped corpses/mummies. It is always okay to reuse elements in another room. Flip them around, and add some grunge to make them just a hair unique. I used the same chair at least 20 times on one Flip mat I did for Paizo (Waterfront Tavern. It's a good one). I might jump in on one of the challenges when I can spare the time. Keep up the work.

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## Still_Pond

This has raised the bar for all dungeon maps.  Thank's a lot  :Mad:   Now the rest will seem dull and drab by comparison.

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## DevinNight

Thanks guys, I appreciate the nice comments.

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## craggles

> This map is an entry for a contest hosted by I.C.E. Enterprises...somehow I think it's got a very good chance of winning.


I agree - it definitely deserves to win!   :Very Happy: 

...but I'd better come second or I'll cry!  :Crying or Very sad:

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## DevinNight

Hey craggles,
Thanks. I looked at your stuff when your map showed up in the contest.
Your entry is real nice and the extra work you did on the presentation is great.

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## craggles

Thanks - I try  :Wink: 

But seriously - as soon as your entry showed up in the contest, I knew it was a winner! There's nothing I could have done after that really... but there is the next map contest coming soon (as soon as they realise that it's well past the 2 week period to announce the winner)!

I really loved the hand drawn elements on the map - it makes it stand out from the crowd! (as well as being excellent)

...expect some style borrowing for the next contest.  :Razz:

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## Gamerprinter

Hey, Craggles, just noticed you as a member here, glad to see that!

I think Devin has the win this time around, we'll just have to see what the judges think.

This might be the last I.C.E. contest I participate in, as I don't really need anymore I.C.E. stuff for prizes. Though I might participate if they do a Spacemaster contest - might like to try a sci-fi map for I.C.E. if available.

Good luck, Devin (Craggles too.)

GP

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## armoredgear7

You sir, have inspired me to use my tablet more often. The line variation on the corpses is fantastic.

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## sephirith

I hope to be able to PM you soon! That is so amazing =D

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## Port Paladine

Kudos on the texture and elements

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## DevinNight

Thanks. I hate to imagine how deeply this post was buried. It was just chance that I saw your post on it.

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## Zenfar

Crazy good!!  Love seeing the graph paper starting point, ah the memories...

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## Maisius

Magnificent looking dungeon, it was greatly appreciated when I needed one for a D&D game, and my son will now used it far a Pathfinder game.

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