Drawing Maps Like Tolkien!

Check out the One Ring Starter Set from Free League Publishing.
In this video I'm using Strathmore Bristol Board (300 series, vellum) paper, a Hunt 104 and Speedball C-4 nibs, and Winsor and Newton Black Indian Ink.
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[@yourvegetarianmom]

"And ink's already all over my hands..." I mean, you aren't really dip pen inking if you don't have ink smudged all over your fingers. Nice job on the map and nailing the style. Also impressive line control on the borders.

[@mapcrow]

This is my favorite video you've ever made! Gorgeous work!!

[@bumblehoney7206]

I didn't give a crap about making maps but your channel has given me a newfound appreciation, you just have a great way of talking about the art of it all

[@EricfromBloatGames]

Turned out great! I love digital art but there's something so satisfying about creating a piece of analog art that you can hold in your hand. Great video.

[@sw33n3yto00]

You definitely have more patience with nibs than I have ever been able to accomplish. This map is amazing.

[@c-mac3869]

This is a really beautiful look to fantasy maps

[@taranthyll]

Great map! I think the lettering turned out really well. I love using Crowquills, and a tip I picked up from Walden Wong, an inker for Marvel and DC comics, is to use an eye-dropper to load your nib instead of dipping it into the ink. This avoids all of the issues you mentioned and keeps your nib from getting gunked up. Once you try it you'll never go back to dipping.

[@edstahl9802]

ABSO-FREAKING-LUTELY AWESOME. I love your videos!

[@thenbdm]

How fortunate! I was just debating whether or not to make a Tolkien style map. This really convinced me to give it a go! Thanks JP!

[@MacAttack001]

That is a beautiful map! :)

[@jabbathehutt888]

This is so wonderful!

[@randomwatermelons6542]

Dang that is amazing, I would love to see a city map using this technique. Thanks for the great video!

[@SifuMarcusMartins]

Another amazing map. Great work, as always.

[@fayerocks]

One of the best maps of yours, very well done!

[@joshbingham212]

It is so satisfying to just watch you ink in the map, well done JP!

[@DeathCatInHat]

Love the map and I compleatly agree on all the box sets. I recently got my hands on the box set for Magical Kitties Save the Day and the two Mausritter boxed sets are on the way. I can hardly wait to get them.

[@rendonor5070]

This is wonderful! Good job ✨️

[@Wuschli]

Your map is gorgeous! Thanks for sharing the process. Now I am tempted to try inking like this myself. Great work

[@TAMaps-zo4ey]

Got like 2-3 sets of quills, including some glass dip pens. I was planning to use them for quality maps.. I finally got an order where I would love to use these, around 20 A2 maps that need to be made before August reaches... Unfortunately mastering ink&quill mapmaking takes more time than I got so I would stick to fineliners for now. But your insight on drawing using ink and quill is really helpful! Keep going!

[@SuperAverageJason]

looks absolutely amazing! I dig it!

[@sdcwarzone]

Wow...Amazing job. I think its hard enough to do my own style of anything let alone copy someone else's. Well done!

[@joshicus_saint_anger]

great stuff as always!

[@donneal1352]

That is so cool. Thank you for your time.

[@TheWrathfulProser]

This is amazing! BTW to help dry the ink you can get a rocker blotter for a few bucks on Amazon. You can put thick paper in there or paper towel to soak up extra ink on the paper. It also makes you feel like a ye olde cartographer or writer!

[@juliocesmez]

Loved this! Will definitely try a quill

[@DrBrule-ht2ms]

Just got this in my recommended without ever seeing your channel before, but I thoroughly enjoyed the video. Fellow artist, fellow Tolkien nerd, love the narration and I like your style. A well earned sub.

[@sethusk]

Phenomenal!

[@digvag7648]

This is so cool 🌞

[@derkapitanzursee26]

Hey JP Coovert, first up I rly like your Videos sooo soo much and you rly helped with my Mapdrawing. I just picked up Mausritter and asked myself what is a good way to draw a Mausritter- like Hexmap. A video with that topic could surely help me out so much. Thanks ;D

[@TheVioletMaze]

Love that you put that real nice border, just like how you were inspired by the borders of that map book you recently reviewed. I never used a pen like that before, but after watching this, I definitely want to! Thanks for demonstrating how to use the pen!

[@JPCoovert]

Thank you for noticing the border :)

[@-adc]

If anyone is looking for a quality piston fountain pen that won't break the bank (no dipping, easy to refill) I highly recommend the TWSBI Eco. I have been carrying an Eco in my pocket for a couple years now, and never leave home without it. The only down side is that now when someone hands me a BIC to sign something it feels like a caveman making crude scratches in the dirt... ;) I have used Platinum Carbon Ink, which is not cheap, but is totally worth it. It is a true black, dries rapidly, is actually waterproof, and the carbon particles do not gum up even my ultra-fine nibs.

[@-adc]

I got (back) into pen and ink stuff after taking a 10 year sabbatical and doing all digital and other stuff, and I love it so much. (FWIW, this isn't a knock on digital artistry at all.) Since my day job is doing development and design (on a computer), I actually feel it is therapeutic to pull out the pens and inks, watercolors, etc and draw or paint.

[@-adc]

Also +1 for The One Ring. I love the set and the quality, lore, artwork, etc.

[@JPCoovert]

Yes! I always try to have some sort of project going that isn't created on the computer. Otherwise I would go insane!

[@zzodysseuszz]

If you used a Maru nib you wouldn’t need to worry about direction

[@mapcrow]

I like Higgins Black Eternal Ink, but I'll leave the bottle open for 2-3 days to let it thicken up a bit more. Doesn't drip as much.

[@JPCoovert]

Yes! That's what I use for brushes!

[@Kay22-325]

Do another sketchbook tour plzz

[@danbutcher8879]

Nice work. You need to watercolour it, or import and photoshop it

[@typoholic]

Your map isn’t the same as the other, but it’s certainly no less lovely.

[@benjipixel1438]

fun fact: Christopher Tolkien made the maps, not Tolkien himself

[@Cubannerd]

You might need a different ink. there are ones that dry pretty fast.

[@JPCoovert]

It's gotta flow though! Don't want the nibs getting all gunked up :)

[@Cubannerd]

@@JPCoovert there's an ink manga artists use that is really good for this kind of work. Deleter Black 4 Manga. They have one that dries fast and it can be use with watercolors. Winsor and Newton inks are great for calligraphy but they get wet again when you use watercolor on them.

[@JPCoovert]

@@Cubannerd Ohh, good to know!

[@zackariahmayhew8324]

Nice map but getting ink stains on you mess up your drawing come back and tell me how it feels to use paint instead of ink trust me I've been there