# Mapping Resources > Mapping Elements >  Blaeu: A Free 17th Century Cartography Brush Set for Fantasy Maps

## KMAlexander

Hey, hey, heyyyyyy, Im back!

Today I am releasing Blaeu, my seventh free cartography brush set for Photoshop (and GIMP) based on the engravings of Joan Blaeu taken from Terræ Sanctæ one of the maps included in the Klencke Atlasone of the biggest books in the world! (Worth Googling.) As with all my brushes these are free to use for personal or commercial work so have at em!

Hopefully, someone finds these inspiring! Let me know what you think. I'd love to see what you make with them, and please feel free to share this anywhere appropriate.

*You can read more about the set and download it over on my blog.*

Detailed example:


Some of the symbols:


Blaeu in use:

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## Rwhyte

This is awesome! I really like the shadows cast over the ground. Nice work on all of these. Looking forward to exploring all the elements.

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## KMAlexander

Thanks! I like those shadows as well and worked hard to preserve them.

This is one of my favorite sets so far. I like how Blaeu was clearly working within a system, but each sign has a different look and feel. If you look at the cities, they follow a pattern, but the towers and buildings are all different on each. It's great.

A big reason why I include a whole bunch of the same signs is to allow modern map creators to produce a map that doesn't look machine made. Avoiding repetition is a huge part of that.

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## markem

I just went and downloaded these. They look wonderful! So wonderful that I bought one of your books! :-)

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## KMAlexander

Thanks, markem! Can't wait to see what you make with them.
I actually just finished up the first draft of my latest manuscript, which in turn freed up a little time, so I am hard at work on my next set.

Also, thank you for picking up a book. I sincerely hope you enjoy it.  :Very Happy:

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