How to Create Fantasy Maps for Your Worlds

Fantasy worlds need fantasy maps, and in this post, we’re going to talk about how to craft a map for your world. Every time I create a map, I begin with focusing on what locations I want to include, and what I want to tell about these locations. What should someone glancing at the map notice about your world? What do you want to tell them? “Show don’t tell” is quite literal when it comes to maps, so let’s have a look at how you can craft them step by step.

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A post shared by Amaris Emersleben (@silvermaranth)

Style

Consider what style would look good on your map, and what genre your project embraces. “Dark fantasy” will not look like “steampunk”. Get inspiration by viewing concept art and maps of other fantasy worlds before deciding on a style.

Software and format

I used Canva’s free tools to create this map, which was surprisingly effortless, but there are many tools you can choose from. Before deciding on a tool you should consider what format you need your map to be in. Depending on whether your map should fit smoothly into the vertical format of social media or should look good on a screen, you should first decide on what size your map needs to be. If your fantasy map doesn’t fit into the confines of, let’s say, a TikTok video, consider slicing your map into several smaller maps for sharing, or only including the protagonist’s main location on your main map.

Creating a fantasy map

When I created this map, I started with some quick outlines to define the boundaries of the kingdom. Next, I decided on where to put the City. If you already know your fantasy world, think about what locations are the most important. For example, in the map above, everything in the story happens in the same city, so the city is easily visible. If you need inspiration creating your fantasy world, maybe this post about world-building will help.

I always work with several layers so that you can remove and add them easily. In fact, the fantasy map above is made of (taking a break from writing this and consulting Canva) over 200 layers. If possible, export those layers without a background so that later, you can easily change parts of your map.

Now, let’s start working on your fantasy map for your book, concept art, or video game. What does your fantasy map look like? Did the exercise help you? Let me know in the comments!

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