# Mapmaking Discussion & Philosophy (WIP/Critique) > Town/City Mapping >  City of Kingkel

## MistyBeee

As requested a few days ago, here is some WIP pictures about one of my current commission : the City of Kingkel for Laura Mair.

Kingkel is an important city in Aetherin, a continent that was cartographied by DanielHasenbos here :o)

The city needed to show two distinct areas : the "old town" North of the river, with several poor areas, medieval look, twisted streets, two ranges of old fortifications, etc., and the "new town", South of the river, which is a much modern city with wider and more organized streets and better fortifications.
Streets are slightly oversized (a common trick on Renaissance city maps !) to allow street names later.

I was about to post a cleaner version but had a thought that maybe you would be interested to see the communication with the client too, that includes notes, colored areas defining upcoming drawings (mosty fields, villages and forests), and WIP inserts & text still under discussion. Colored buildings in town are all "special" buildings that can become hospitals, palaces, temples, etc. according to the wishes of the client.

So, as you can see, there is already many work done on the lineart, and I'm now focusing on the countryside areas.
The map is done with Photoshop only, using my beloved Cintiq pro 16 :o)



Some of you saw a very small sampler of a colored version of this map : I colored only a very small part of the city to help my client see where I'm going. I'm not sure if I'll keep color exactly like this later, but it's a first idea though, so here is the current stage + the colored sampler : 



Hope you'll enjoy !

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## ThomasR

That is really stunning ! Your work rivals Francesca Baerald's ! Your client is a lucky one.

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## Ilanthar

Wow... That's letting me dreamy, tbh. This is fantastic. Count me among your fans!

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## Azélor

Very nice!

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## DanielHasenbos

Man, this city is truly amazing! It's very nice to see an overview after all the snippets you've shared on instagram. And it's nice to know we worked on the same project (:

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## Arkidemis

I still don't think I've caught up with how much detail you have jammed into the map. Are each and everyone of those buildings drawn individually? It looks spectacular, quickly becoming a fan of you maps since you joined.

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## MistyBeee

I'm super glad to see you appreciate ! :o)

And yes, __each and everyone buildings drawn individually__. To be 100% honest, I must confess two small exceptions : some of the simplest wells are replicate and a very few boats too, I think... but I'm pretty sure I'll redraw them later, since both are annoying me a little and I'm just one of the worst perfectionnist in the world. 

Also forgot to tell it's an A3 map and the current preview is around 33% of the real size :o)

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## J.Edward

I'm eager to see this develop.

And I love the full logo in your signature.
That expresses my feelings for map making very well.  :Smile:

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## Wingshaw

This looks phenomenal! This is the first time I've seen your work, but you can definitely now call me an admirer  :Smile: 

And as John said, the picture in your signature is very cool.

Welcome to the Guild and please post more of your stuff  :Smile: 

Wingshaw

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## kacey

Really magnificent, it seems we all have a new idol to live up to, even you’re instagram page is full of whimsy and you are now officially my very favourite fantasy cartographer in the world...

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## MistyBeee

Monday morning in my little corner of the world, and a new map making week ahead ! Hope I'll can show you some developements for Kingkel, or maybe another project I'm currently working on.

I'm just speechless about your comments (and feel a lot of pressure too now ^^), and extraordinary delighted to see you love what I do (for both my work and signature) ! Let me just send you the biggest "thank you" possible :o)




> Really magnificent, it seems we all have a new idol to live up to, even youre instagram page is full of whimsy and you are now officially my very favourite fantasy cartographer in the world...


I'm pretty sure it's good for my health to blush while eating my breakfast ! Will do my best to not disappoint you #^_^#

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## Voolf

I can only agree with all before me. This is already magnificent looking city. Your sample colour is awesome. I will be watching this very closely  :Wink:

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## MapMappingMapped

Its beautiful!!! I can't say much more. The guild has suddenly gotten an awesome new member!!! This city is beautiful now, and I can't imagine the stunning  look it will have when done..
Seriously, this should get a Cc..

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## Kellerica

*drools* 

... intelligent comment, what is that? Can you eat it? 

*drools more*

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## rdanhenry

This is really very nice and I love this style of town map. You are missing the 'g' on 'buildings' in the red text on the right hand side box (though that looks like it might not even be staying) and "cemetery" is misspelled twice. Otherwise, I can't find a thing to criticize, though the color sample promises an even nicer version to come.

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## Pixie

There's been a lot of praise and I can only join the chorus about this (and the drooling band).

A quick question, out of sheer curiosity.. What is the size (pixels wise) of your original file for this beauty?

... sent from mobile ...

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## MistyBeee

> I can only agree with all before me. This is already magnificent looking city. Your sample colour is awesome. I will be watching this very closely


Thank you Voolf ! I'm eager to start the color step but still have tons of details to add before.




> Its beautiful!!! I can't say much more. The guild has suddenly gotten an awesome new member!!! This city is beautiful now, and I can't imagine the stunning  look it will have when done..
> Seriously, this should get a Cc..


Thanks a lot !!  :Smile: 




> *drools* 
> ... intelligent comment, what is that? Can you eat it? 
> *drools more*


O_o ('just my super tiny brain... don't eat it please...)




> This is really very nice and I love this style of town map. You are missing the 'g' on 'buildings' in the red text on the right hand side box (though that looks like it might not even be staying) and "cemetery" is misspelled twice. Otherwise, I can't find a thing to criticize, though the color sample promises an even nicer version to come.


Haha, yep, you spotted my super weak English. Fortunately, all of this is just temporary notes to help the client see what is the meaning of the current sketch, and what I'll add on the map on the next steps. However, thanks for getting my attention on this : "buildins" was an inattention (I have this bad habit to make my sketches and notes at the end of a very plain day when I'm already half asleep  :Neutral: ) , but I was absolutely sure it's "cemetary"  :Laughing: 




> There's been a lot of praise and I can only join the chorus about this (and the drooling band).
> A quick question, out of sheer curiosity.. What is the size (pixels wise) of your original file for this beauty?


I'm glad you like it ! 
The map is 4961x3508px for now (A3/300dpi), but I wonder if I won't expand it to A2 and add a large frame with more text, coat of arms for the different guilds, maybe a global situation map ? I have growing expectations on this map ^^'

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## randigpanzrall

Hi Misty, congrats, your Works are damn good and absolutely beautiful. Hard to find such talent...looking forward for Things to come. Can you tell me, what drawing Tablet you are using? Best regards to Alsace

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## MistyBeee

> Hi Misty, congrats, your Works are damn good and absolutely beautiful. Hard to find such talent...looking forward for Things to come. Can you tell me, what drawing Tablet you are using? Best regards to Alsace


Thank you Randig !
I work with a Wacom Cintiq pro 16 (but I have to send it to repair today so for a month I'll have to go back to my old Cintiq 13hd  :Crying or Very sad: ).
Greetings to Germany !!

=

Guild, it's time for a new work in progress pic about Kingkel !

This week I finished the lineart of the countryside : hills and forests, villages along the wall, fields (and tons of beehives  :Very Happy: ), mills...
I started working on the river but it's still very rough and I'll probably rework it before I continue to the lake.
I also drew that strange beast in a heraldic style. The pitch from the author was "_Something that has the head of a leopard seal, wings of a bat, body of a horse, back legs of a lion, and scaly like pangolin_" : quite challenging to me since creature are not my speciality, but at the end it was pretty fun to do ^^'
Now it's time for the frustrating step : refine and correct what I don't like, add texture and details where it's needed \o/

### Latest WIP ###

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## Pixie

This city map is so so good that every time I look at it I need to struggle hard with a sudden urge to quit my day job... (so that I can have 12+ hours daily on a drawing tablet and pursuit something like this)

But I know I would never be able and I have bills to pay. Thank you for sharing this with us MistyBee 

... sent from mobile ...

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## Mouse

Amaaaaaazing!

I think I need to give up trying!

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## MistyBeee

> This city map is so so good that every time I look at it I need to struggle hard with a sudden urge to quit my day job... (so that I can have 12+ hours daily on a drawing tablet and pursuit something like this)
> But I know I would never be able and I have bills to pay. Thank you for sharing this with us MistyBee


Thank you Pixie ! 
I'm one of those persons who think there is no talent, just work, so I'm sure you would be able to make something similar ! However I must agree : you would definitely need to quit your job : I'm just horrified to see how much time I already spent on it, and I'm so freaking far from the end...!  :Razz: 




> Amaaaaaazing!
> I think I need to give up trying!


Thanks Mouse, but don't give up !!  :Surprised: 

=

So, so, just talked with my client and she's ok for going to an A2 version of the map ! I'm very glad since I think it will really highlight the map itself. 
I made a quick preliminary sketch about how to fill the border : not perfectly balanced for now, but it's just a first rough to open the brainstorming. Any ideas are welcome !  :Smile: 
(Coat of arms sketched from the one DanielHasenbos drew for the same world and client here  :Smile: )

### Latest WIP ###

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## Caenwyr

This is seriously awesome. I've been following its progress silently for a little while, but I can't keep quiet any longer. This is awesome!!  :Very Happy:

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## MistyBeee

> This is seriously awesome. I've been following its progress silently for a little while, but I can't keep quiet any longer. This is awesome!!


Hehe, thanks a lot Caenwyr ! 

=

It's been too long without an update for Kingkel and I can't resist to show you the map with the first shadows (a second pass of shadow+light is to come) and the base color layers  :Smile: 
Colors for the gardens and country are not started yet and I'm not totally sure about the color of the fortifications, but I'm just focusing on the town itself for now. 

Hope you'll like it !  :Smile: 

### Latest WIP ###

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## Wingshaw

I am a professional urban planner and designer and I am an enthusiast of city maps, and I have no hesitation in declaring this one of the best - if not the best - fantasy city maps I have ever seen. And it's not even finished yet...

I can't wait to see the final product!

Wingshaw

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## Naima

Wow  looks fabulous ... So many details and the Inclination of perspective seems unique to me .

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## ThomasR

It's so good it's painful to look at !

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## MistyBeee

> I am a professional urban planner and designer and I am an enthusiast of city maps, and I have no hesitation in declaring this one of the best - if not the best - fantasy city maps I have ever seen. And it's not even finished yet...
> I can't wait to see the final product!


Wow... I'm honored, Wingshaw ! Such a compliment from a professional means a lot to me !  :Blush: 





> Wow  looks fabulous ... So many details and the Inclination of perspective seems unique to me .


Thank you Naima ! 
The perspective is inspired from the Braun and Hogenberg maps (for example this one) in their _Civitates orbis terrarum liber primus_, and I found my own technique as far as I was drawing tiny buildings  :Smile: 





> It's so good it's painful to look at !


Hmm... I wonder if I'm bad for the health of the Guild members ?  :Razz:

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## Narc

Before registering on this forum I thought to be someone with patience.

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## - JO -

On top of being one of the best illustrationist, you certainly are a master of perspective ! Such a talent !

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## Ilanthar

More and more impressive!

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## MistyBeee

> Before registering on this forum I thought to be someone with patience.


This one is special, I must say. I would have bet it would become boring, but actually it's really not. Working on this map, restarting from scratch at every new layer has something hypnotic and pleasant. I'm pretty sad to know it's almost done ^^'





> On top of being one of the best illustrationist, you certainly are a master of perspective ! Such a talent !


Ohh... Don't make me blush ! I definitely don't see myself as good at illustration. It's just... you know... trying, failing, trying again and being insanely stubborn. Something like "_fake it until you make it_"  :Blush: 





> More and more impressive!


Thanks Ilanthar ! Let's see if the next step works too  :Smile: 


=

It's been a while since the last update : my schedule changed with an unexpected commission, and as I have no specific deadline for this one, it's always the poor Kingkel which falls at the bottom of the list (don't imagine I'm lenient : the commissionner still doesn't have the information I need for the upcoming steps, so I'm not late !) ^^'

So what's new on this one : drew tons of details on the line work, adding texture to the streets ; finally worked on the countryside color & relief ; added the last shading layer on the buildings. Just one more light layer and I think I'll be done with the city itself !

Now... phone is a terrible, treacherous tool, you know ? Yesterday evening, I was innocently chatting with someone by phone in front of my tablet, and while my brain was occupied, my hand started drawing hundreds of tiny people in the street. And now, I have half of the map populated with 10px tall Kingkelers. What do you think, Guild ? Do you love them and are they a great addition, even that small ? If yes, I'll fill the old town with them the next time I get a call  :Wink: 

### Latest WIP ###

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## snodsy

Wow this one is stunning. Such detail at this scale. You could get lost in this map for hours, great job, look forward to seeing it finished.

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## - JO -

Fantastic work ! 
For the inhabitant, I must say I can't tell... even if I zoom in your map, they look 2 pixels high.
So the "impression" of having people walking the streets is good, but to really tell, I should have a better resolution map to see how they look (generally speaking, of course...)

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## tainotim

Such amazing work MistyBeee. It will be hard for anyone to compete against this for the annual awards next year! Already a winner. 

For me the only things I would like to change is to just keep the map plain, without all that extra surrounding ornamentations and information. I think a true masterpiece should speak for itself, and this really is a masterpiece. To me decoration is just unnecessary distraction from the jewel in the center. Often I find that the best maps are the once that have the least writing on them. 

Looking forward to see this finished.

Cheers,
Karl

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## Voolf

Agree tainotim. Only the greatest of the greatest of city mapping can compete with Misty map  :Wink: 

Misty, where do you get your ideas for more complex building (like castle etc) ? Or do you draw without any refference ?

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## MapMappingMapped

Totally loving this. Great to feel like a bird soaring over the rooftops...

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## MistyBeee

> Wow this one is stunning. Such detail at this scale. You could get lost in this map for hours, great job, look forward to seeing it finished.


Thanks Snodsy !!  :Smile: 





> Fantastic work ! 
> For the inhabitant, I must say I can't tell... even if I zoom in your map, they look 2 pixels high.
> So the "impression" of having people walking the streets is good, but to really tell, I should have a better resolution map to see how they look (generally speaking, of course...)


Thank you Jo !  :Smile: 
Quick closer view, just for you : 






> Such amazing work MistyBeee. It will be hard for anyone to compete against this for the annual awards next year! Already a winner. 
> For me the only things I would like to change is to just keep the map plain, without all that extra surrounding ornamentations and information. I think a true masterpiece should speak for itself, and this really is a masterpiece. To me decoration is just unnecessary distraction from the jewel in the center. Often I find that the best maps are the once that have the least writing on them. 
> Looking forward to see this finished.
> Cheers,
> Karl


Thanks a lot Tainotim ! As a big fan of your city maps, it means a lot !!
That's an interesting feedback you submitted there. Most of the people I talked with agreed the wider surrounding was a better showcase, so it's great to have a different point of view. I'll try to not lost the focus on the main map while working on the border, but it's now a request from the client, so I'm not totally free. 
However, I already planned to prepare a first version of the map without the informations, so I assume at the end, we'll probably have the two versions  :Wink: 





> Agree tainotim. Only the greatest of the greatest of city mapping can compete with Misty map 
> Misty, where do you get your ideas for more complex building (like castle etc) ? Or do you draw without any refference ?


Thank you so much, Voolf !  :Blush: 
For the ideas... The client sent has specific styles in mind for a few buildings and sent me reference pics : old town/North castle (1 on the map) is roughly inspired by the Dover Castle, new town/South palace (2) by Whitehall, the University (3) by the University of Edimburg and finally I had to draw something similar to the Mausoleum of Tor de Schiavi (6). 
As far as I can say, all the others are from imagination, but I sometimes look at a... _starting point_ from something I saw in reality (I always have an eye open on architecture when I travel or even in my own area and I have ton of weird pics in my phone ^^'), or in a book, or on the web. A good example would be the cathedral (5) : I got a picture of the Portland Oregon Temple and liked the spire, which was the starting point for Kingkel's cathedral, even if at the end it's difficult to identify a common point ^^'

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## XCali

MistyBeee... Your talent knows no bounds. Thank you for enriching our lives by showcasing your maps and inspiring us to know that nothing is impossible if put your heart and mind to it. *High five*  :Wink: 

(How long have you been busy with this one so far?)

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## Voolf

Thanks for the answer Misty.

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## Pixie

You haven't drawn horse carriages.. pfff, and half the city is misteriously unpopulated.. pff. Seriously, Misty, is this the best you can do?  :Wink:   :Very Happy: 

(Love it!! in case you don't get the joke)

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## - JO -

Ok I see ! They are really little  :Very Happy:  !
But I like the way you managed to draw sometimes two legs. I think they give lives to the whole city, but I'm not sure your city needed life : it's gorgeous anyway !

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## MistyBeee

> MistyBeee... Your talent knows no bounds. Thank you for enriching our lives by showcasing your maps and inspiring us to know that nothing is impossible if put your heart and mind to it. *High five* 
> (How long have you been busy with this one so far?)


Oh, uh... I'm surely doing my best. At least, I try to  :Blush: 
(My time tracker is saying 187h18 exactly. _But_ for some reason I didn't counted the time spent for base color layers (all houses in white, all roofs in red, etc.), so it's a 'little' more). 





> Thanks for the answer Misty.


You're welcome, hope I helped  :Smile: 





> You haven't drawn horse carriages.. pfff, and half the city is misteriously unpopulated.. pff. Seriously, Misty, is this the best you can do?  
> (Love it!! in case you don't get the joke)


Actually... there is a few carriages (but not much because I hate drawing them ^^)  :Wink: 

Sometimes, this map reminds me those kind of insane art by Hiro Kamigaki where you have to find 5 gold cup, 3 dogs, a lion...!
(And a big thanks for the rep, even if you don't love the map ^_^).





> Ok I see ! They are really little  !
> But I like the way you managed to draw sometimes two legs. I think they give lives to the whole city, but I'm not sure your city needed life : it's gorgeous anyway !


Hehe, I just realise I drew them like the chinese character for "human", so they have long legs but no brain : don't trust them if they speak to you, they're not smart at all  :Wink: 
(And in case this would produce a misunderstanding : I'm not Chinese and don't know Chinese ^^. But when I was in university, I had a hand injury and had to find a way to take notes with a minimum of efforts, so I learned a few basic Chinese characters : human, big, small, etc., and then created ton of personal symbols, codes and finally when I look at my old lessons now, they look like cryptography, and I'm definitely the only one who can read them ^^').
Still not sure if I should populate the town or not. I'll do a print test to see how they look like on paper, this may help  :Smile:

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## MistyBeee

I just can't believe it, but I think... the map itself is done. With last shadows & lights, tiny people everywhere, a surprise island requested by the client... and a temporary title & compass for this "non-informative" version. Ooooh... yep, I think it's done  :Surprised: 

Hope you'll enjoy !  :Smile: 

### Latest WIP ###

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## Narc

Une carte magnifique Misty ! Avec tellement de détails...

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## Caenwyr

Um... I seem to have missed some updates on this. This is just gorgeous, Misty! Sheesh, I'm jealous!!  :Very Happy:

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## Neyasha

This is an amazing map and I love your colors. I don't know how you find the patience for doing all this details. Very impressive!

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## MistyBeee

> Une carte magnifique Misty ! Avec tellement de détails...


Merci Narc ! 





> Um... I seem to have missed some updates on this. This is just gorgeous, Misty! Sheesh, I'm jealous!!


Haha, thanks Caenwyr ! ^^'
To be honest, I'm not sure the process was that interesting, so you didn't miss so much ^^





> This is an amazing map and I love your colors. I don't know how you find the patience for doing all this details. Very impressive!


Thanks a lot Neyasha ! I'm glad you love the colors, since I had some difficulties to find the best balance (and I don't know why, the roofs looks almost pink when I print it... not sure if it's my screen or my printer  :Frown: ). It was a pleasure to draw the line work, but I'm happy I don't have _one more_ layer to add : I passed 6 or 7 times on every single building ! ^^'

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## QED42

Looking outstanding as always!

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## kacey

Stunning, and a really lovely color palette, this turned out beautifully.

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## MistyBeee

> Looking outstanding as always!


Thank you QED !  :Wink: 





> Stunning, and a really lovely color palette, this turned out beautifully.


Aaah, thanks Kacey ! I hope to see something from you soon !  :Smile:

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## OldEarth

Beautiful!

That's so gorgeous, just taking in all the details you've included!

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## Weery

Really incredible. You keep setting the bar higher and higher Beee  :Very Happy:

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## ChickPea

This is simply stunning! Congrats on finishing, Misty. It's a masterpiece.

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## Diamond

I'm really stunned, to say the least.  The amount of thoughtful design work is staggering.  You are truly amazing, Beee.  I may have to commission you to do a city map for my own novel-in-process.

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## MistyBeee

> Beautiful!
> 
> That's so gorgeous, just taking in all the details you've included!


Thanks OldEarth, and for the rep too !!  :Smile: 





> Really incredible. You keep setting the bar higher and higher Beee


Can I confess it's a little scary to think about this ? What goes up must come down ^^'





> This is simply stunning! Congrats on finishing, Misty. It's a masterpiece.


Thanks a lot, ChickPea ! There is still many to do on the border but I'll have to take a break to focus on some other commissions, unfortunately. I would like to work on Kingkel forever  :Smile: 





> I'm really stunned, to say the least.  The amount of thoughtful design work is staggering.  You are truly amazing, Beee.  I may have to commission you to do a city map for my own novel-in-process.


Aw, thank you so much, Diamond, for the kind words and for the rep ! I would be amazed (and a little intimidated ^^) to collaborate with you on a city map ! You're welcome anytime  :Smile:

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## DanielHasenbos

The city looks absolutely amazing! I'm pretty sure it's going to be one of the next Cartographer's Choice maps  :Wink:

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## J.Edward

> The city looks absolutely amazing! I'm pretty sure it's going to be one of the next Cartographer's Choice maps


I agree - this one totally needs to be a Cartographer's Choice map. nods.

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## aeshnidae

I'm late to the party but WOW! So many beautiful buildings and other details! The river actually looks like it's running. (And your roofs don't look pink to me. I did a test print and the roof color matches what I see on the screen.)

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## SteffenBrand

This is incredibly outstanding, wonderful piece of craftsmanship. 
You can be proud of that, what a (hopefully) happy client! 

If I could rep, I would. It's a good sign  :Very Happy: 
Best wishes, Steffen

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## Ilanthar

This wonder let me dreamy once again  :Smile: . This will be the a model to follow for most of us, I suppose.




> I'm pretty sure it's going to be one of the next Cartographer's Choice maps


I can't see a reason why it won't be.

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## MistyBeee

> The city looks absolutely amazing! I'm pretty sure it's going to be one of the next Cartographer's Choice maps





> I agree - this one totally needs to be a Cartographer's Choice map. nods.


Thank you so much, Daniel & John !  :Blush: 
I'll make a Finished map thread soon, just need some time for two picky edits, and a cooler day to find my motivation !





> I'm late to the party but WOW! So many beautiful buildings and other details! The river actually looks like it's running. (And your roofs don't look pink to me. I did a test print and the roof color matches what I see on the screen.)


Oh, thanks a lot, Aeshnidae, that's helpful ! So it may be a problem with my printer and not with my screen, as I suspected. It's a _new_ one (hum... several months... maybe a year... time flies...!) and I don't master it for now. Maybe it's because of the paper, wich is from a different brand. 
I'm especially happy you love the river, since it was maybe one of the hardest thing to draw on the map : I tried different styles and this one was pretty new to me ^^





> This is incredibly outstanding, wonderful piece of craftsmanship. 
> You can be proud of that, what a (hopefully) happy client! 
> 
> If I could rep, I would. It's a good sign 
> Best wishes, Steffen


Thank you Steffen ! 
Happy client, I hope so, but happy map maker for sure ! It's so rare and fantastic to get a commission like this. "No deadline and feel free" : how could I ask more ? I'm just so lucky  :Smile: 

-
Edit : oops, missed Ilanthar, hidden in the next page ! 




> This wonder let me dreamy once again . This will be the a model to follow for most of us, I suppose.
> I can't see a reason why it won't be.


That's an amazing compliment, thank you !!  :Blush:

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## MapMappingMapped

I certainly think it will be a Cartographers Choice of legend... So beautiful... You really are talented. The whole thing is as detailed as shards of coloured glass!

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## LizardInk

Oh my gosh. Speechless. Your work is so exquisitely stunning, and I'm in serious awe right now. Well done!!

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