A RL Map of Skyrim

Okay, by request of someone I find likeable ...
TESO sent me an invitation for a "Welcome back weekend". Tomorrow I will have a look for it. But I doubt they can wow me. TES games always were ONE STORY - ONE HERO. Not 1.000.000 heros. Apart from that I love TESV: Skyrim so mutch. The Map of Province Skyrim hangs at the wall next to me.

I play it in survival mode (Frostfall, Real Needs, no fast travel and stuff). A few weeks ago an idea came up to my mind: How would that map look like if the Dragonborn used it for several years? Originally drawn by a medieval cartographer on linen, maybe supplemented by the owner with pencil and ink, used, some blood stains (wich is inevitable if you are the Dragonborn), lacerated seams, often folded and unfolded, burned holes from sparks of using it in the evening while sitting near a campfire in front of a tent, planning next day's journey.
Well, I don't want to use ink and an old bed sheet to start with it and draw it by myself. I prefer to use the original appearance. So I asked for printing on linen at my local printer shop. No problem 18 Euro. Fine! Scan my original map from Bethesda at 300 dpi? 9 Euro. Sounded okay for me. Alea acta est! The Scan:

I started with cleaning the map. I want my own fonts and inscriptions. I don't like the big emblems of the main towns, I want ALL roads and paths and some other things. Btw. ... dashed lines are pretty unusual for old maps. And well-rounded splines as borders were unusual as well. I must change this. And I will make an english version, not that german version with english underlines. And I want to fold my map on my own way. No need to fold it to fit to a DVD-box ;-)

Well, looks good so far. Some emblems have to be removed. But all the text has gone ... ready for a new one!

 

And btw. ... I am an old cartographer. Is anyone in here old enough to remember "HEART OF AFRICA"? LOL!
Afrika05.png

 

Okay, okay ... rounded dashed lines WERE used in middleage. I made a small resaerch today.
Looks damn close to the original Bethesda map. I will keep the original borders than. That means less work for me ;-)

 

Now wich font? I don't like the one from the original map. I was thinking about some celtic letters or the very old Unziale. Finally I decided to use a font typ from the end of the 8th century: Carolinic Minuscles:

 

A first test with new roads:

 

Hehe ...
http://www.r-steger.de/Bilder/Kleve Ravenstein 1645.jpg
I live beyond the right border of that map ... ~60 km east at the river Lippe in Lippstadt. Uden (Vdem) is our sister city ;-)

 

Not much time spent with this map (TESO ... ***roll eyes***). But the longer I look at my "improvement" of the roads the less I like it. The roads above look too artificial. They don't fit to the original apearance of the map. I will replace the hamlets and the text only.

 

Sorry for necro ... but I thought I should post what I really did with this project. It is not one of my many unfinished projects. I grabbed an interactive map I found in internet (the map is still there but no longer interactive: http://www.gamebanshee.com/skyrim/mapofskyrim.php#null) and asked for a print on linnen at my local printshop. Costs were ~50 Euro ... bahhhhhhh!
But it's really cool:


It feels good to touch a textile map. I will put it to the driver seat of my car soon and ride it a bit. Just to make it "used" ;-) Not really an idea yet how to applicate some blood stains without destroying it partly. Probably I can make some bloody fingerprints ... But I will test what happens when I treat the rim with a lighter. I mean "The Dragonborn" has constantly to deal with fire-breathing dragons. Her linnen map shouldn't be unhurt. And I will make my own entries with ink and penholder.

 

I'm not sure if the print is water-resistant. Will check this out. For blood fingerprints I will simply use red Revell color. But I will try it at paper at first.

Not bad. I will practice this a bit. Looks promising.