How to create illustrated maps

1. Intro: Hi, I'm Francesca, Any talent illustrator and so first bottom designer based in the UK Do you like you stated maps? Maybe you are an illustrator and he wants toe the skill to your portfolio. Or maybe you just want to illustrate something for your house or you want so an drone your wedding invitations. Inserted maps can have so many different uses in this class. We will learn method to create instated maps that combine on a logic. What color, in my case. But you can use any medium you prefer on the Giselle illustration. We will start by understanding Warmup East and its key features. We would plan what to include the location and the icons to represent them. We will also talk about funds choosing a color palette, finding reference ex cetera. The fun part will be to illustrate our Eichel's and met the ground with any medium you like . We will then digitize them in for a shop and we put together on the map. The project for these class is to create your own illustrated map and publish its on the drawing travel. If you're not familiar with it, maybe you know the famous website the drawing cook. Later last year, they opened a spinoff website dedicated to illustrated maps. So it's going to be an amazing opportunity to share your good, just not there. Who knows what can come from there in this class, I show you how I make my illustration and how to digitize them. But it's not a proper with her colonization class. So maybe not every single brushstroke will be explained cements for for a shop I will use for a shop to digitize my map and put it together. So if you don't know how to be decides you're in frustration. I recommend you to take my skip share, plus how to digitize your artwork first and then come back here So you will have all the tools to follow along with us in this class. And if you have ever wants to illustrate the map in this class and provide you with all the tips and tricks to start and succeed, so if you are ready without any further ado, let's get started 2. Materials: before diving into our class. Just talk for a moment about materials. So these classes about the method that means that you can use whatever material you prefer to obtain. The final result. I'll give you a quick work from the materials I use for illustrating map so you can have a pretty good idea off the possible materials involved. First of all, of course, a computer with for a shop. And if you don't have fur shop, I will put a link with the seven day trials for free in the about section of the class, and then you need a scanner or just the phone. If you're phone, it's a good one. You can pick picture off this single icons and background with the the front, and I would use also a printer for printing out a map. But you can just go to any print shop to have it printed. You don't need to have your own printer, and then the material there are chronological and now digital. So I'm going to use the council Excel, a quarrel paper that its a 300 GSM paper. Then I'm going to use my was there colors. So my preferred want are the Winston and Newton. But I also have Della, Roni and My Mary and some other different brands. Um, I'm going to use also a bulletproof white, the PhD doctor Martins. I'm going to use brushes, deeper tower water, everything that you need for making. Ah, watercolor illustration cause my technique. It's watercolor, but of course, you can use brush or whatever other think. Technique. Eli. Some few other things that I'm going to use for creating the street Potter. It's a treating system. I want to have a pretty good quality butter on the streets that it's pretty really sick, so there is no point in drawing it without any kind of health. So I'm going to use carbon paper. It's mine. Way go to favorite least off. Other things you may use are tracing paper, but it's the semi transparent ones or a light box Wherever meth. Wherever the three, it's much easier for you to get to get on with. I think it's perfectly fine, So that's basically all the different things you need off course. You can apply the same system that I'm going to explain to you for doing something that is purely digital, but I think that this communication off on a logical in digital system is going to be much more interesting and a little more particular toe short people. 3. What's a map?: before diving into our map is important to observe some actual maps to better understand their common elements. I'll try to be as quick and concise as possible, but knowing this topic, it's important. So bear with me all, and you can find a lot of information about cartography and all it's proper features. Our aim, though it's to create an illustrated map so we don't need to become professional cartographer. But we need to understand the elements that makes a map. And so the common elements you can find me the most of maps are a purpose. All maps have one we can call it also a team in our case, and it's the first thing to define because it influences every element off the map and the map layout itself. It's a title that that match the purpose off the map. It should be in a large font, descriptive enough to explain the purpose and make it easy to understand the audience to the audience. Customer clients. And of course, it should be easily identifiable at the title. It's scary indicator. This is an element that is optional, not necessary for a noose treated map that have a pure artistic value but can be useful if you want to illustrate a map that is going to be actually used for trail and events, a city or a region promotional campaign, something that people will hold in their hands and use for your orientation orientation. It can be an arrow pointing north or compass rose, and it can be optional in illustrated map, considering that by convention northeast toward the top of the map. But in terms of aesthetic compass, rose and errors are super cool to illustrate, and they can add a lot off style to your map. Besides, they can be very helpful to feel some areas so and by less the composition effective design . The maps elements should be equally spaced without areas too crowded or to empty. It should be clear. And to achieve a good visual balance, you can rearrange the Eichel's and the text change sites. Use different funds from sides or colors visually Erkki, meaning that text line etcetera should have a Yorkie based on importance. The more important a place is for your maps purpose, the bigger the text, the line, the icons should be the less important this Moeller these are all features that are pretty common toe find in illustrated maps, but there are a few more feature that are more typical off technical maps and can be nice to know them so you can evaluate it. Includes in yours or not. Border. All the physical maps have a border, at least you to the sites off the paper used, but you can add a decorated border, agreed one Exeter leaden. If use symbols or culler coats, you may need a legend. There are symbols that are worldwide known represent a specific thing so you can avoid or meet the legend, but sometimes can be nice to have want what? More informations without Blatter. The mop itself map credits things like Name of the cartographer days off the map that a source, etcetera in an illustrated map can be the signature of the artist. For example, Locator map. It's a map in the map can refer to a bigger area or to his mother. One, for example, in a caramel map. Could be is more area with a UK map toe. I light with a lighted where the Cornwall actually ease, or an enlargement off the Shealy Islands so Yeah, just toe place something that it's, uh, not including the map itself, but it's important for understanding the map. So now let's see these, in a few example maps to make it everything more clear. The 1st 1 is this one that it's a corn harvester map. And here, as you can see, let's see if Okay, um, yet the title It's here, it's very clear. It's a Miss Cardinal 158 days out and activities. And there is all the activities and the possibilities for the days out. There is a skill indicator that it's located down here. Um, there is no orientation here. There is not a proper border except the the physical one. There is a legend off course here. Um, there is also the name of the cartographer that is very, very small one here. And, um, these two locator map here the eyes of ceiling here and you came up here so one for something smaller. So there is a different, um, ski and something that is seriously bigger, and they just reduced to include in terms off effective graphic design. It's not the best one, cause let me zoom in for you. I'm so sorry for this really light, but I cannot control. So their areas like these new key you can read nooky, but it's above a railway line. And I mean, it's not the most easiest way to read it. Um, beside that I mean, the things are pretty Wells base, so it's not always easy to read, but for the rest, it's OK. And the visual Yorkie. Yes, it's here. So the biggest cities are returning with biggest funds, and the smallest one with the smaller funds and big streets are highlighted in a better way than the smallest and so on. And yes, the purpose. It's definitely clear here because the point is to show all the spots and they are only stood and it's very, very clear moving on. We have these two maps that are too. Let me zoom out. Okay, so there are two maps off Nottingham and they are interesting in my opinion, because they may look a bit alike since they are both of Nottingham. But they are picturing two different things. And once the Nottingham trade so explored nothing, I'm landmarks in attraction and the other one, it's not a gun independent shopping trails. So there are two very different topics. Probably the graphic studio that that designed them is the same. There is nothing specified here, so we don't have anything that can make us understand who, uh, demonstrated these. But the graphic it's pretty See meter. Um, and but they are different because they is pretty clear. The title is clear and purpose. It's definitely very clear. So there are here. It's the lack of everything. Re didn't have any skin indicator. No orientation. Uh, no board there except the physical one. There is these alleged, though here, as you can see, with the very busy key things like Information center and where there are steps that are steep. So especially for of people with reduced mobility, it's important to know. And the ridge no locator map. There is no off credit, the effective design in its present. I mean, it's it's clear the I made my own way, that it's one of the biggest streets. It's written there, being and mold, and you can read it easily. Why? The other street is most one, especially the yard and the smallest. The lane or the Mullahs Street are written with a smaller funds, and they are the main trail. It's highlighted, so everything it's pretty clear to understand. So the visual year kids find the layout, its particular or the monuments are positioning are located on the side, so you can easily understand the 14 or these 15 and so on. And so the purpose. It's definitely very, very clear. And the same thing goes for this one. So I'm just gonna just they quickly show you. So they're structured in the same way there are. There are the same things and there are the same features. I mean, speaking off the map. So there are There is the legend. It's here, but there is no board there, nor intentional skin indicator. Um, no up credits, no locator map. The effective graphic design it's It's so gentle, effective, and the visual year key. It's maintain and the purpose. It's definitely very clear. So let's move on and his one. It's a map of bath, and here it's funny because it's around one, and I'm always very attracted by different shapes of map. So this one, it's rounded. That means that there is a disclaimer that says that something maybe not perfectly accurate in terms of distance due to the scaling things and that the circle ourself but there is there is the located skin indicator that is, the orientation here is, of course, the legend on their the border. It's actually presented its here. So you have all the different agreed here, so you can definitely understand where these things that you are looking at there is the visually Erkki. It's maintain that is the bold phones here, and that is different colors for different type of attraction. So it's very clear and in the same way the effective graphic, the graphic design. It's very effective, and the purpose? It's different. Three clear. I mean, it's it's a Beth map, so it's very general. There is all the location finder, the car parking, the most important to receive permission. So definitely, very easy. Want to follow? Um, I want to show you this one because it's strange that this map it's one of the exception off the rule off the Northeast, always pointing oops, upside down. It's always pointing north. I mean, the north is always on the bottom off the page. This time the North is here. But because that's due to the shape and sides off Manhattan that it's as this very distinctive system off streets. There are parallel and perpendicular streets, so there is no point in turning its in the property north sense, while it's so easier to read it this way. So just for showing you something that can be and captain, and there is also a funny note here, I'm going to zoom in so you can see it. It says Mop is not to scale, and that's because probably there is a lot off, especially in the downtown. It's going to be very tricky otherwise, to show all the different streets and everything. If you put these on a scale properly because they're very, very titan and otherwise it would be impossible. Terrain things, Um, so let's move on to another one. I'm trying to be very quick and not kids not be too too long in my explanation. Eso Let's zoom out because this one is pretty big disease from fourth Williams and the area nearby Fort Williams. Of course, it's it's called Low Cover, and this one. It's a very illustrated map, and it's illustrated in the most technical sense of the way in what I want to say. It's the fact that you can actually enjoy the very nice illustration, but also provide a lot off very precise information in terms off. Let's see restaurants and information points and the the train station and all the different things that you can find in the area. And it's very nice for me to me this map, because there is also something that it's not necessary or mandatory in a map of the deeds , for example, the typical animals that are in the area. So there is this butterfly here. There are the deer over here that is the eagle, and there is a lot off. Also illustration off plans and so different things that you don't need to have in a math like that. Is this guy that it's like cycling somewhere so you don't need to have all these different elements, but they convey a very beautiful sense off administration in the mix. All the, uh, met very interesting to look at, and it's really nice because there is a lot of different colors, the color matching, it's it's pleasant. Theo Element itself have kept the proper color, so the lobster is a lobster color. Sometimes people like to change the color palette and to have restricted color palettes to be more tone on tone and more aesthetically pleasing. And we're going to talk about these in the lesson about phones and colored and choosing the color palette for your maps. But this one, it's very nice and very detailed. And on the backside of these, there is the fourth weekend smell. Let's zoom out. So the fourth Williams map, it's, ah, detailed map off a specific area in here, and it's very detailed. I mean, you can see all the different buildings you can see. There's more places the best of this. There is a lot of restaurants, cause here we have all the proper information. We don't have the North eso the your intuition, and we don't have the scale indicator. But on the other hand, we have a lot off very precise information about the streets where you can find all the basic stuff. And there is, um, a border. And since we have all these local activities around the map, they are market and you can find easily on on the map itself. So the purpose. It's pretty clear in this case, so it's going to give you an idea of the area you can follow along and especially you can go and find the shops in the area. So that's this one of the purpose that them up can have. And last but not least, this map is one of my favorite for opposite reasons, because this is a stealing map. As you can tell, I live in the UK the most deployments are UK MEPs. Um, this is a ceiling map, and as you can see here, it's the There is nothing here. I mean, we don't have I have to see from being honest that this waas in the middle off a magazine, you can have the permission point. So a lot off these places and other type of information, like here we have the numbers, and here we don't have any. There's a part year off a legend, but we don't have the most of the legend cause it's meant to be spread out in the entire magazine. But but this one, it's 39 scares. There is, um, one feature that it's very unique, and it's the fact that you are not watching it from like a bird fly, but you are watching in perspective like you wear on the heel in front, off the the hell of Sterling. So it's It's very funny, and it's very unusual for the step of maps. The map itself. It's really simple. You don't have a title. You don't have a scary indicator. Reasons have orientation. Borders except the physical One seasons have a property agent on the map. There are no map credits. There is no locator map. The graphic design. It's pretty effective, and there is some kind of year key. It's kept because you have these places that are the most interesting places and the most sightseeing. There are returning this kind off yellow banner so you can read it very clearly, and the biggest streets are highlighted with bigger funds. So it's It's pretty easy to read it and to understand it, even if there is no title on it and no purpose clearly explained. But I mean here, the purpose just to give you an orientation is sibling. So I think this one is pretty nice and different type off maps that you can have compared to the other ones that are more center that show you before? Um, so I hope that these quick review off a different type of MEPs. Existing maps can can have helped you to understand the the concepts that I was explaining before, so the elements and the features that you are supposed to find in a map. And I think that this is important to you because you can decide more willingly and more informative. Lee. What wants to include what you don't want to include what it's fun to include and what it's not necessary. So I think that it's going to help you out when your own map. So now that we have explained what a map is, it's times to start planning our own. 4. Planning: the first thing to do it. So starts deciding our mop steam. So I have Herbert least of possible themes if he wants to use it. There are dozens of different options, so you can go for something like city, a neighborhood, your childhood city. I mean, that is so many different things. Um, you can go for some things very, very specific, like food map Or maybe the best local market off your area or the flea markets or the best beauties or Bubs or some these in one city, for example, or a three day 18 eri in city or in a countryside. I mean, the possibilities are basically, unless it's just up to you. Which kind of theme you would like to have for your map. Once you have decided your theme on for me for the purpose of this class, I'm going to do a map off London, and I'm going to give to a friend. So it's going to be him up off a trip that she recently made in London. So I'm going to represent the place where she have bean. So there are a lot off very typical places, like sightseeing in this kind of stuff, but also something that are like the legal shop legacy that is probably not one of the most iconic things in London, but was something that she enjoyed. So I want to into it. So the first thing to do is so make least off the places that you want to include in your Met. And for doing that, you start just with very simple process off brainstorming. So you starts writing down everything that comes to your mind that it's related to that city and you want to picture it. So for me, it's going to be the most iconic things that she saw. But for you, if he wants to do I know a foot tour off Sheridan, you will start to think about all the most famous dishes or specialty foods or local food off that region and starts to listing them out. Or if it's something like your childhood places, you're going to start from your house and then move on to your school or the park where you used to go with their friends, all this kind of stuff, so just are so lift them out and I'm going to include something like Piccadilly Circus something, I guess it's will be very popular. Trafalgar Square. Just a very, very basic idea of brainstorming. She went to the National Gallery, and I prefer to start with a more extended lease of things rather than just narrowing them down, because I prefer to have the option to choose later on what I'm going to include and what I'm I prefer toe don't exclude because it's I think it will be easier for me to have more thing to choose from rather than if you So She went to a garden on toe, the British Museum. She was seeing a lot of places. That's that's why I thought was very interesting to do this type of thing. And she went also to something to never in fancy fancy, probably so offensive by the very nice place that I suggested Hair. And I know I know that she loved it, and it's a speakeasy. So it's something that it's not properly the most common thing, but it was a detective themed one, so I know that she was think will be so I have to put it on. I includes these also because I want to show you something in in a moment. So let's stop like please, for now and then I'm going toe fish hold my least, but when it wants to points out now, it's just that after you listed out everything you want to include, you need to start to think about the iconic things off the spot so you can translate your place you in element and in a specific icon that you can represent. So, for example, Trafalgar Square has a very famous Nelson uh, column. I guess it's called, and the National Gallery has a very typical building structure, so maybe it's not the most correct or proper names. Call it, but for me it's particular. There is the column and everything. So it's something that it's reason it's more with me and here a little slower. For example, a block, elegant block. It's something that this that's it, and I don't know if I'm going to include Corbyn Garden as well, but I'm thinking about something about it and Kings cross, for example. I know that she went there for a reporter, of course, so I once include the 93 quarters sign or something inspired to do it and, for example, the Aaron and Evans and Peel detective agency. I'm going to use a magnifying plans. Magnifier, magnifier, lens. I guess it's called to represent it. So you just leased everything that you think it's a subject that he wants to include and then try to think about something that it's really the core of it. For example, for my illustration about Cornwall, I included that tinted ill custom and the structure. It's pretty spread out across several deals around. So what I thoughts would be nice to used for presenting. It is just, Ah, very famous station off King Arthur. But it's there. So I use the statue instead off entire vision off the heels and with just the ruins spread all over them because I thought it was more fuck used and just something that was very, very iconic and easy for people that new the region that know the region to know what I'm talking about. So I just figured out something that it's clearly a message for the people that are looking at your map to recognize the place. My friends also told me that she was super enthusiast about the English breakfast and fish and chips. So I think that'd be nice as well to add a couple of for administration. But it's something that I love to do and to include them and place them where she wants to eat them, actually, so it's going to be something that can add a little bit off interest. And I mean English. Breakfast and efficient ships are something that its very iconic to London as well. And I think that when she were going, she's going to. So I look at her map. She's going to remember also this kind of fun facts about that trip, So that's why I want to include them. Lizzie's her trip to London, so that's not the most famous London highlights. It's not or the city sightseeing. It's not a food store. It's a different thing. So just try to think in terms of what you want to represent and sick on the theme. Focus on what you want to include. So if you have decided toe include just the city sightsee food, it's not something that has to do with it. If it wants toe make your own personal your best places in London, it doesn't need to be just the city's icing. They can easily be your favorite food spot. So just be clear with the theme that you want so uh, illustrate and then missed on that, just make a list of what to includes and find a nice way to translate it. 5. References: when we finished our least off all the different places you will places for elements we want to have in our map. The next step is suffering the references, so sketch them so for finding the references that are several ways the 1st 1 Of course, if you are still there, you can go and sketch it. Live, for example, like some very nice you're been sketching. If it's a place where you have mean you're probably your own photos of it. So using your own picture it's always the easiest and the Mosses Safeway and also allows you to have maybe a particular angle or to have included some details that are meaningful to you or this kind off. Lovely details like for architectural stuff, etcetera. The last option off course, because you won't probably illustrates some place for someone else or ah, place where you have never bean yet, but you will drop to go. So in this case, the easiest thing it's to go over the Internet. But for finding online references, you have to keep in mind that there is a copyright on all the picture you find online, so if he wants to use it especially if it's just for your own home, where no one else is going to see it. You can use rather picture you like, But if you are planning to share it or sell it and I mean also share it on socials or any other mediums, you have to keep in mind that you need to find something that it's labeled as creative common license in the CODIS CC zero. That means that the picture it's totally free, the the owners of the rights. It has given anyone permission to use it for any kind off purposes, including the commercial purpose. So I'm going to provide at least it confined it in the in the about section of the class with websites there are full off copyright free images. But in any case, please check. There is the creative common licensing or the CC zero coat. So you're going to be on the safe place in terms off. Use your map once you have all your reference. My advice is to put them together in a motorboat so you can have all of them in one place. To do that, I open any three sides document for a shop because a tree is the sites off my watercolor paper, so the proportion will be as close as possible, and I select one or two picture for each item, then I around them trying to feel the entire paper area and a skill them accordingly. You can go through your images folder, as you know straight, he said of creating a mood board is just a matter off personal preference. 6. Reference map: another reference. We're going to need easy reference map in order to simplify the task. I'll show you a very easy way. Just open Google maps on your browser, then click on your places and open the map step, then click on creates a map. Now you have been redirected to new websites with a fully customizable man name. It's as you prefer in my case, of course, is going to be London and then starts to search each place and click on the abdomen bottom on the bottom, off the places in the box. The fourth color off JI attacks is light blue, and I find it too similar to all the other Google Maps cycles, So I change it with a bright red. You can use a color coding system to help differentiate neighborhood or any other group off places you want to cluster together. Another option you have to customize your map is so open the individual style tub and change the set labels with name so you can see the name of the place next to the JI attack . Once you have added all the place to your map, you can use the base map tab toe. Evaluate which kind of map you prefer. Just try them out and see your February. Come on, then, pick on Prevue in your tub open with a preview of the map, you can collapse the legend toe, have a full view. And now these this thing, it's to zoom in or out to have the closest view with all your place inside the screen. And since I have a MacBook, I use the key combination. Common plus shift plus four two Great as a screenshot of the map. So this way you will have your full map ready to work. 7. Define fonts & colors: one very important element that I like to define when I'm blending my map is the front, so you know that you are going to have some texts at some point in your map. It can be just The title can be the name of the city or the place, the names of the streets or rivers or monuments, whatever. But it's unlikely that you're going to have zero text on your map. So since the text matters and as we mentioned earlier, the text needs to be clear and neat, easy to read and possibly has some kind of your key so you can have a bigger phoned for important things and a smaller phones for less important things, you need to have a pretty clear before I mean for me, it's important to have a particular before start, so actually illustrating the map. So there are basically two different things that you can do in terms of text one into off course, use your own and writing and the other one, it's the EU's phoned eso. I prefer personally to use a fund. I have printed out basically a directory with all my Hendrickson funds, and this is something that I really find useful for me because even if on for a shop you can definitely have a preview off the phones you have, it's not so easy for me. Toe, uh, find them through the huge amounts of funds that I have in there. So for me, it's easier to have just the end written ones here and look through them. Another thing that I found very useful is that I wrote all of them in the same side. So I do remember, I think was 16 sides. But as you can see, each one of them has a different, high, different spaceman. So even if formally they are the same sides, they're actually not. And it's something that helps me to understand better the proportion, the thickness and everything about the text. My favorites. One of my favorites in general fonts is the Sunday fund. It's if I wanted. It's free for personal and commercial use. If you want STO have to do something that it's going like if you're making your maps for just yourself, you don't need to take care of it. But if you want to sell your maps or do something that It's a commercial project. You need to check that Also, the phones are available for commercial purposes, and otherwise you have to buy the license for them. So if you want instead to go for your own and writing, there are several things you can do. The 1st 1 is of course, just go. Why? I mean, you can have a very quirky and written phones. You can just written things, whatever you prefer. What? It's unlikely it's that you're I mean, if you're not very skilled calligrapher, it's to have all the letters in the same height in the same space meant. So I prefer to write directly on a white piece of paper cause it's going to be so much easier to scan it after and so just have toe clean and use it without having to concern also about grades and lines and everything that are the comes with agreed it, for example, piece of paper. But, uh, something that you can do it so for having some kind off reference. And if you want to have the letters that more or less look all the same, it's the use a ruler and use your ruler to define a height, and then at least you can sick to it. Teoh. Just write the name of the place or whatever you prefer to, right, And that's one way. Another thing, though you can do it's the use of a light box like these one they're going to place under my favor and some already Beed paper. This one. It's agreed, a five millimeters great paper, and this one is that is a calligraphy kind of paper. And this one it's really helpful if you want to have also things like inclination because you have here. I mean, if you want to write with an angle, it's much easier. And here you have also these two lines here marks the height of the letters. These one marks the features like I don't know if it wants, right, let me think An age, for example. I know that here that is, these parts of the letters news here so much more easier. Um, if you use the light books like this one you can see through so you can use the lines here to write a very nice and well spaced letter letters without worrying about anything you can go for a fool. Words just of letters. But I mean, you can also write your own. Use this type of paper to write just your own alphabet and then just imported and combine the letters on the shop. For example, try whatever words you need to. I definitely find this is an extra level off complication disease. More takes more time and requires more attention rather than just using already existing phone. It's a different type of possibilities. You can use it, or you can just go for something that the red exist. I prefer to something that already exists, but it's my own personal preference and doesn't mean toe has to be yours as well. So just a few tips and tricks if you want to go for your own and writing another important element. All the new student map is the caller. I personally prefer to have Yakin's in the rial colors or pretty close to them, so just focus on the background color. Here. We need a main color for the map, it color for park and one for the river. I keep my streets paper, white season. We import my map on for a shop. I know that I will be able to change the background color if needed. But why? Changing the U is easy and can be done without losing any textural detail of your Water Corp ain't change the lightness and or the situation can alter the look of them up severely . So no matter which color I end up using, I make sure that it has the same kind of range separation and likeness and want to have on the finish it in frustration. This time I'm drilling between Blue and Payne's gray. I'm pretty sure that I want my parks to be green, but it's watched a few of them out to sea, which shade of green better matches with pains? Great, and I do the same with maybe as well. I ended up choosing Payne's gray as main color plaster hooker's green for parks and cerulean blue for the leader 8. Illustrating the icons: after all our planning, the time to start in a straight is finally come equipped, Miss Claimer, though the nutrition process is speed up, he took me around five hours to complete it. And considering that the aim of this classes to teach you a method to illustrate any map, there was no point in explaining every single brushstroke a mate, so I won't. I always starts by sketching the icons with fancy. Since I'm going to place them on a map digitally, I tend to use any three sheets of watercolor paper, and I just rate each icon almost the same sites. Regardless their re awards scale. I prefer to illustrate, in a bigger scale the things that require bigger amounts of details here. For example, I'm illustrating the Eminem's pack bigger than this hour of London and because it has more details in it to show. And I like to represent my Aiken in a sketchy Styx. That's my personal preference. You can be as the tail as you want is just a matter off personal aesthetic for heavens, for example, I decided to use the style of version off their sign. Wasn't Aiken all the other sex will be a place later using for shop with a digital phones. But I like toe right basic stuff like baker streets and portabello information on the street sign just because for me it's easier to know exactly where the information will need to go afterwards. For round objects, I use a stencil because I, like the circles, look quite precise. And if I try to go totally free hands, I don't think all since that for sure what I do know. It's so outside them, just friends. So the line itself would be perfect, as if I have used extensively for tracing it as well. Electrical straits always something that is Aiken off the city or the area. It's not missus Ricans connected with the purpose of the map itself. Here is the phone box. It's not a place, and it's not a typical food. But it's something so iconic and so relatable to London that I find nice to add it to the back, to have an extra element of interest. And there is always the chance to use it in a funny way. So if you have some extra elements, you think they can be nice just give it a go and make an extra Aiken. In this case, I've used as I was mentioning the phone box, but I could have definitely goes have gone with a double double decker bus. It's going to be it really have been the same effect. In the end, I tried toe all the minor details that can help identify each cycle since, such as the Union Jack on the Tower Bridge or the brick effect on the Tower of London. The fake sex on the newspaper wraps off the fish and cheap and so on. This way, even if it, if the size sketchy, the elements will be easy to recognize, and your role will look more accurate and detailed the next step. For me, it's so outlined. All the icons. In order to do that, you need to use a waterproof eyeliner. I prefer its sights 0.5 or 0.1 something thing and discreet trace the outline. It's not mandatory, of course. I outlined everything. I was straight. It's just my style, but you can go straight with coloring if you prefer beyond my personal style, though I find useful to trace the outline because I can't scan the ultra inversion before started occurring process. This way I'll have a full set of Aiken in black and white as well, and I can use them if needed, just as they are. Or I can think about calling them digitally for other type of project you never know. So I alternate some courage icons on some black and white, sometimes in my maps, because I think it's something that it's aesthetically pleasing and remember, movements toe the entire composition. Another seat for you can just be used. A different color for our clients is that of black. Grey, for example, is always great and is more substance than black. Any color actually can work if you choose it based on your palate. I've seen lovely maps with Aikens outlines in pink. He right? Or in brown, for example, I would personally avoid to outline with something to life like yellow or very, very pale color, like a more apostle light blue, because if it's the tone of your illustration, it can work. But otherwise I mean, the up line should be something that helps to define the tastes and give kind of a structure to your Aiken and if it's too light, like you see White, for example, can be pretty disturbing in this sense. Amando. If your background, it's a very dark shade off, Ah, Gray and your icon are basically very, very dark. Black color could be a very lovely effect to have the outline in in white, so it just depends. But in a general rule, I would stick with some color that can help, actually helped to define you. Outlining self. The front of set is off course to color the Aiken's, even if it wants to be true with the rial colors of the subject. I try to narrow down the number of total colors between five and eight and between two and four for the main colors. Too much colors can be overwhelming and convey a feeling off confusion to your map. Work with less collar is also helpful. Tow you to be more quick and immediate in your administration. A za was mentioning in the mature class, and if you have followed my previous classes, you probably know that I'm a watercolor straighter. So I do all ministrations in watercolor. That's my medium, and it's what I'm using here off course with any medium. These basic journal what rules will work anyway, but each medium have some specific features. So in my case, for example, I know how toe end a watercolor. But I would have to work slightly different, probably in terms off layering and timing for using wash or a Greek so just very minds your medium and work accordingly. So other sense of death building, I suggest to color inside windows and doors in a darker color than the outside of the building for statue and columns to use. They kind of a darker shade of the main color to create shadows will help to reduce the flatten. The flattening effect of the sketch style, if you're using a sketch side is I am living in, said some white areas here and there in the color part, can be present as well. Toe emphasize the sketch effect once finished to call all of them. I use the water critic to correct any smudges on the paper, and I scanned them. I stand them. It's one 1002 100 GP I that it's huge, I know, but that allows me to use my icons on for different sites project without any risk off bad resolution. And that's always my go to resolution for anything that I am straight and I plan to scan and digitize. So this, of course, my personal preference and issue intend to use your icon just for specific sites of map, like your watercolor people sites, for example, you can scan them a 300 BP I straight away, no problem with it. 9. Illustrating the background: Let's move to the background now to illustrate the street part pattern, I print out any four sites map, and I use the tracing carbon paper to transfer it on the watercolor paper. I start with the river and the parks, then proceed with the main streets and the small areas. My goal is to obtain a pretty realistic and detailed street battle. I don't need to reproduce every single street or square, but I want that you overlook is balanced and crazy without massive gaps between streets on areas, I kept checking the watercolor paper to see how the pattern looked like. And as you have probably noticed, I have altered the reference map. I stretched it, and it is likely rotated to fit any four sites. If this would be a proper cartographic work, that will be off course, a massive mistake. But we are illustrating an artistic map so we can handle some creative freedom to adopt the reality to our needs. That being said, though, the rivers and the street must remain with the corrector intuition. So if the river goes from east west, it can ended up going from north to south. Otherwise normal. No one will be able to recognize London in his mouth. You have to find a nice balance between realism and artistic freedom. My personal preference is to have a detail street pattern, but they're just an option. You can represent just a few streets, a couple off parks and the river. It's important to exclude to include landscape details, though, to help people perceive it as a map. But how many and which ones is up to you? I personally suggest to use rivers, see and parks one possible, because they add movement to the street partner that is usually more region and also gives a nice touch off color. If you are color coding them. Somehow, I ultimately the tracing with some pencil drone elements and very mind that the most of the tracing carbon paper leave permanent marks. You can solve them. Maybe it's using an enquiries. Er, he wants that you use for phantom pain, for example. But the friction on the paper can lift cotton or Chelios fiber from the paper and is likely damage the paper itself. So be careful. And if you don't lend to use outline with like a fine liner on your street parter. I suggest you to use transparent tracing paper or a light box with a pencil to trace the streets instead off a carbon. Peter I outlined everything with the water resistance. Find liner. As I do for the actions. I have to include the bridges because I have to illustrate one of them. So it makes sense to show that there is not just one reach in the entire town, but in cities with a lesson on rich, for example, you can avoid toe at them if they're not a good match to your purpose or to our idea. I have added a compass room in one off the blocks, but actually it would have been better if I have illustrated it's with the actions and just call her the block the same way off all the other blocks. I have solved this issue later in for shop using the clone stamp tool. But next time and we'll be smarter and just keep all the elements on a separate sheet of paper. So also the compass arrow. It's an element, and probably it's make more sense to have it with the Aikens rather than on the map itself . After tracing all the outline, it's time to call her. I started with some street blocks. I keep the color quite light, but I add more color on some areas to have a background that it's vibrant and texture rather than fraught. I don't stretch my paper. I haven't fix it toe desk, so I can rotate it and call her all around while the paint dries. This is such a like the layer of color. It's pretty fast process. But I try to avoid Zimmerman just as much as I can and moving the paper. Help me a lot. I used the clean, dry brush or Q tip to remove any excess off paint. It may looks like a tedious task. Three. Color each box individually. By like that, each of them will look slightly different from another. I want to show you, though a quicker way to color your bedroom, and it's to trace the street pattern on a tracing paper or on a printer piece of white paper and scan it. Then you can think an empty watercolor paper with your background color. If for a shop you can apply the street. Parton on the was a car break ground and just change the color for parks and river. The result would be nice anyway, although it will have less structure in each box is so it's going to be less interesting in terms off texture. But it's going to save you so much time. It took me 43 minutes to color it the traditional way. I'm showing you while after removing the unnecessary white street block from the printer paper she that I use for these quicker treek. It took me one minutes and 10 seconds to do the math background simulation for shop. So just keep in mind is option. And now we can go back toe our hands. Pains bedroom. I colored the river and the parts at last, but another option is to starts with them, especially if you are afraid of coloring the parks as three blocks. My accidents when it's right, I scanned the background, saying Resolution 1200 GP I and A Clinton for shop to remove any excess modules or mistake can have happened 10. Assembling the map on Photoshop: After scanning and cleaning your Aikens on the bedroom, it's finally time to put together our map. If you don't know how to clean and separate your artworks in for shop, you can take my class how to digitize your artwork for a full step by step explanation of my process. Here. I'm going to focus on the assembly process off the map rather than technical aspect of using for shop itself. First of all, we need to set up our five to publish on the drawing, cook their specific sites court here too much, so we need the custom sites document. There are 5000 pixel wide by 1875 pixels, high 300 DPI resolution and RGB moat. There is also the doctor to keep in mind. Since the drone cook can select your map for being published in one of their books, you have to mind the for the folding line off the paper, a k a. The gutter, and you have to avoid placing type, not images. Just type within one inch off the center line, so I'm placing some guidelines to mark these area. I then import the mop. My customized Google I add a new layer and I just mark the location of icons. I want to group these way speeds up the arrangement process. I always start with a basic arrangements off the mops features, and then I correct them individually. I duplicate my scan it and clean bed wrong map on the join travel documents. I want to change the overall color. So I select everything about the streets and the park and with using you and situation I turn Ray into. I also add a plain water car background on the left side of the document. I started to God the text from the mark title. I know that I want to add something more than just London, but all starts we need. For now I'll duplicate the layer and I colored the text. You know, they re moving it behind the white one to create a show effect and convey more depth. I import the icons in the document and I start to move the icons around. I use a drop shadow on the icons to make them send out from the background, but it's it totally optional step. Maybe you have noticed that I'm not using all the actions that I have demonstrated. That's because I will make another version off these mop as I mentioning the planning video for a friend of mine. But for the for the purpose of the draw and travel map, I just stick to the most iconic elements of the city. The most important rule I try to respect is to be quite precise, with the actual location off the monuments and places of interest quite precise but flexible if needed for things like Portabello. Considering that we need to keep in each along the gutter, clear from text, I move the Portobello Aiken slightly on the right. It's not accurate, but it works for my purpose. The only thing that I'm going to include there it's the one because basically it's a straight line. I don't think it can count as proper text. Then I imported sticks that I use Sunday phones in a dark shades off grey with the white drop shadow effect. As you have probably noticed, I decided to use the left page for the text, and I want to have the map and we think with the icons on the right this way, I don't have to worry about the guards interfering with the map itself. And that's basically my generally out. As you can tell, I place numbers near each Iker and the experiences text is on the left page. I keep the work Brooke Shadow, also behind the numbers to make them sense out and toe link them with their explanation on the left page rather than with the action itself that has a dark drop shadow set. Now I just start. So arranged all the text several times until I'm pretty happy with it, and you're going to take a while here. There are no specific rule to follow. I think that with business, these layout works well. But when but off course, there are dozens off possible ways to arrange a man and that you don't need to have your physical map on the right and the text on the left. You can have two pages. Let's say full food map. But another thing you can do, for example, is to have your mop on the 2/3 off the paper or 3/4 over the paper and just just the text on the bottom off of the page. There are several ways you can off course modify the overly out of a map. This one, I think, works pretty fine for me. I keep arranging the test, the taxi, different position until I found it balance and moving around the compass Aero to find the best spots, and it's important toe align the text evenly, so I use guidelines to help me with that. I'm back to work on the day title as well. I tried the best off using the same style. They're used for London, but different fund. As you can see, the your point here is to have a nice balance composition. And at this point, if you there is something I don't like, you ve got their area. The passage between the map and they for apart it's too sharp and wants it to be more hidden and more subtle. And then there is to empty space in on the right side of this idol. So I use the black and white version of my actions. I have big to told and ST Michael's because I think they will fit better in the space and place them one off. The last thing I decided if I modify its the background of the text. I use a water color if effect brush and create an even white background with irregular margins. I also removed the white drop shadow since I no longer need them and the very, very last taste to change the title again, he welcome to London. I think that since there are both sides seeing in food, the sides represent better the purpose of them up and the markets done, so it's timeto upload it. 11. How to publish on TDAT: Once you're Muppets ready, it's time to share it. Just go on the drawing travel dot com registered first, of course, and then click on Submit from the home page. You will find all the specification on the right side of the page, so before upload, double check that society is correct. Same is the resolution and the mode like of Jimmy Mode, Total, your Met and not description of and location. The description is just a couple of sentence in about your map. You can explain the purpose of the map or, while illustrate that specific place that's up to you. Check the terms and conditions box and upload. If I once you have done submitted, a banner we'd submitted successfully will appear, and you will receive an email from them within a couple of days. Maximum when the map has been published and it will have a link to share its on socials or with your friends. Three. Made off course at love. If you share your mark in the product section of the class and if you will send me the link to my email, you can see here I will go on your they draw and traveling nutrition, so I can like it on the website. I mean, I think it's amazing when people can share love and appreciation for illustrated maps and for other artists work, So why not help each other? So, Justin meeting may, I would be more than happy to do it. 12. Outro: Thank you so much for taking this class. I hope that you enjoyed it. And I hope that you will have now a new set off skills that you will you will be able to use for any kind of used to the maps. You may want to illustrate if you like these glass, please give me your opinion. Your review. Give me a feedback off any kind. It's more than appreciated for any kind of information. You you may want to ask me and questions if there is something that it's not clear. If you want more information about material reference or anything else, you can write me in the discussion section of the class. All right. Me? Any made at these address And if you're interested in more of my classes, you can follow me. So every time that a new classes available, you will receive identification about it. So thank you so much. And I hope to see you soon. Bye.