# Mapping Resources > Mapping Elements >  Sketchy Map Symbols and Magic Circles

## StarRaven

EDIT 4/8/2014: IMPORTANT!
*These brushes were initially released under a noncommercial license; they are now free for any use -- including commercial works -- with the sole condition that you give credit where credit is due when convenient. If you use these and post the art here or on a website like deviantART, just mention somewhere in your description where you got the brushes so that someone else can use them if they like them. That's all I ask! Thank you for all your support. <3*

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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So, I was unexpectedly busy, blah blah excuses, and I was going to wait until I had finished the circle things too and put them in the same set, but then I realized that was stupid so here they are:

Download Here
I'll get to those creatures; I completely forgot them! Any suggestions for what kinds of creatures? The ones in the example are a hydra, a griffin, and alphyns. And I can't have a set of monsters without a sea dragon, of course.
Also, sorry to link of deviantART instead of just uploading here, but that way I only have to upload to one place if I change the file....


*Original Post:*
So, I'm working on a new map and a new set of brushes! So far, I'm working on basically the same elements that are in  my previous set of brushes, but since I've got a tablet now, they're drawn by hand instead of by mouse! (I think they're a lot better, too.) Right now I'm making the terrain blocks based on Ramah's tutorial which have been really useful, and trying to think of some different building shapes for the little town icons. As soon as I'm done with that, I'll compile the brush set and upload it here.

Here's what I've got so far:
(image removed to avoid redundancy)

Some other things I think I want to add to this set are some embellishments like the creatures on this traditional map:


I think I'd also like to do a set of the magic circle designs like the one in this map (in the ocean) -

- and I'm curious to know if anyone would be interested in them or the wonky font I used to make them. (The font could use some changes - there are some ugly symbols in there that just didn't work out and I need to fix them up, and maybe add some more.) I'm also looking at making a more elegant set of symbols (since most of these are very thick and blocky and not all of them match well.)

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## ravells

StarRaven, these symbols look beautiful! Please, if you have a mind, post the brushes up in the mapping elements section - I'm sure the community would be very grateful!

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## jtougas

Awesome !! A great addition to anyone's brush collection  :Smile:

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## RobA

Welcome back!  It's been a while.

Thanks for the new symbols!

-Rob A>

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## rdanhenry

Very nice. Monsters and beasts and birds and such for decorating would be cool, too.

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## Naeddyr

These are delicious.

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## StarRaven

I'm such a flake sometimes. :Shocked:  Sorry about the wait. Here's the first bunch! (In the main post, so as not to lose track of everything.)

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## Sifaus

I wrote to deviant to, i didnt see city/tower/castle brushes. :/ Did you forget to add them or is it becouse of me?

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## StarRaven

Sifaus - I did! I had some problems at one point and Photoshop crashed, and I forgot to re-add those to the brush set.... I'll have it fixed in a jiffy! Sorry about that!

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## ravells

You have all the makings of a genius artist, StarRaven! <g>

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## NeonKnight

Man....if only those images were saved as individual PNG files with a transparent back ground  :Frown:  (For CC3 of course)

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## RobA

> Man....if only those images were saved as individual PNG files with a transparent back ground  (For CC3 of course)


I think abrviewer can bulk extract: http://abrviewer.sourceforge.net/

There is another one, abrmate: http://www.texturemate.com/abrMate but I've never used it.

-Rob A>

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## StarRaven

ravells - Thank you so much~

NeonKnight - Hm. I put them on a single transparent PNG file, but I didn't think to put them in separate ones. I'll do that when I put a few new brushes in the set. (I'm working on them now.)

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## Diamond

StarRaven: Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for posting these.  Check out my entry in the current Lite Challenge if you get a chance - couldn't have made that map look half as good without ya.

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## Port Paladine

just what I was looking for! thak you thank you!

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## Port Paladine

Yes, the magic circles make a nice addition to the map. I have made lots of maps and lots of pics with magic circles but have only put them together a few times. I was going for more of a eye candy hand out to players and less of a functional map at the time. But the two elements _DO_ work well together.

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## wally-d-feed

These are by far the most adorable fantasy mapping brushes I found on the web so far

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## StarRaven

Thank you for all the lovely comments! Sorry I haven't been able to get to all of them.

Added some bigger town icons, and added in the jungle blocks which were apparently missing.  :Shocked:  The original download includes these, but they are available by themselves here:


Download

I also finished the font for those circles. I'm making some up, but I'm trying to decide on a good size for them. Any suggestions would be really helpful. When I've made a couple of them, I'll put them up here with the font. Shouldn't take more than a couple days, but I've said that before, heh.

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## wally-d-feed

Thanks for the efforts. My maps wouldn't look anything like they do without these brushes.

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## Telarus

These are Great! I may have to use these in my project, which would mean coming up with a few more in the style for some elements. I'll let you know what I come up with!

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## anomiecoalition

Thanks for the brushes.  I've been using them for the current lite mapping challenge here.

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## ready0055

I downloaded these brushes from DeviantArt. Which is a great site btw (for those of you who are not a member, get in there!)

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## L1ghtmare

Hi StarRaven, hi everyone!
I admire these brushes and have been trying to contact StarRaven for a while now. Has anyone been in touch with StarRaven lately? If somebody knows how i can contact her please write me a PM!
Thanks in advance.

Keep up the good work StarRaven  :Wink:

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## Valkiery

This is awesome, Thank you!

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## StarRaven

Changed the CC license on this! Thank you for all your support and please continue to make wonderful works and have fun. <3

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## Slylok

oh these are just delightful  :Exclamation:  Thank you for sharing StarRaven  :Very Happy:

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## jlacus

These are fantastic brushes! Does anyone have tips on converting them to vector? Is it better to replicate the "sketchy" feel, or focus on the essential lines? I'm new to vector graphics and want to port these brushes into Adobe Illustrator symbols for my experimental project. So far, I've played around with the Image Trace tool and hand-tracing with the Pencil tool. Advice from experienced vector people would be welcome.

Thank you for creating the art, Starraven, and giving us permission to play with it.  :Smile:

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## jslaw06

Hi StarRaven. Just wanted to say thanks for the awesome brushes. I used them in a map I've just finished for an RPG campaign and I think they look fantastic. Would love for you to have a look and see what you think.

https://www.cartographersguild.com/s...ad.php?t=34881

Thanks again!

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