Tolkien Style Maps in a GIS: part 3, Water

“The world has changed. I see it in the water."
In this 4-part series we'll walk through the reckoning of a Lord of the Rings style fantasy map, right in ArcGIS Pro. We map-makers get to breathe honest to goodness geographic life into the seminal aesthetic found in the LOTR cartography, and I think that's a bit of magic just waiting around for us to wield.
The water of Christopher Tolkien is a charming ringed buffer fill technique used by cartographers commonly in the 18th and 19th centuries. In this how-to we will walk through creating a ripple effect to fill the water bodies of Middle Earth, and add our own bit of flair by adding some dashes to the water rings and creating coastal hatching. We'll also make optional dark versions of the water.
Fantasy mapping for fun? Making custom D&D maps with read data? Mapping your municipality in an eye-catching and exciting way? Give it a go!
Here is a link to the graphical assets I made in this video if you'd prefer to use mine: adventuresinmapping.files.wor...
0:00 Rapturous into
0:16 Tolkien's water reference
0:50 Review of the previous symbols
1:16 Wavy scratchy rivers
2:56 Water tint
3:54 Coastal rake
5:38 Water line ripple ring things
6:54 Dark water!
7:33 Oceans
If you just can't get enough fantasy mapping, check out Wes Jones' channel, where he teaches you how to draw them from scratch: / @fantasymapping
Check out some other social channels where I share how-to's and updates on random map adventures:
adventuresinmapping.com
www.esri.com/arcgis-blog/auth...
/ john_m_nelson
/ johnmnelson
/ johnmnelson
Music: Venkatesananda - Jesse Gallagher

[@rolandpomana6192]

Once again… fantastic!!! That dark water mode is awesome.

[@JohnNelsonMaps]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@JohnNelsonMaps]

here's a link to download all the other textures I make in the full video series: adventuresinmapping.files.wordpress.com/2024/02/onestyletorulethemall_assets.zip if you just can't get enough fantasy mapping, and would like to draw maps from scratch, check out Wes Jones' channel, "Fantasy Mapping" www.youtube.com/@FantasyMapping

[@gisseeker7762]

After so long, I found a real cartographer on YT rather than a graphic designer. Love your work sir

[@JohnNelsonMaps]

Thanks!

[@altasilvapuer]

WHOAH. Dark mode lakes are gorgeous!

[@JohnNelsonMaps]

Fun right? Thanks!

[@chrisroberts5299]

Absolutely brilliant. I’m blown away

[@JohnNelsonMaps]

thanks Chris!

[@Faanvolla]

Looks so cool! Excited for the next one

[@JohnNelsonMaps]

thanks! fourth and final video comes out tomorrow. in it i'll go over data sources and how to apply the style.

[@davidfairchild8566]

The coast line effect was awesome! Gonna use this at some point.

[@JohnNelsonMaps]

fantastic! you can find the style in the linked zip file if you want a head start.

[@anar3995]

Beautiful!!! Thank you for sharing! I dont know how harder/possible It might be to do It in qgis

[@JohnNelsonMaps]

thanks!