Gate of the Crowns

NEW MAP!  This is a map of the new city quarter. But first...

I HAVE A KICKSTARTER!

On Feb 3rd, I launch a Kickstarter for Zinequest 3!  It's called Old Roads, and it's going to be a zine of all new maps!  These maps will be kept separate from this project, and will not interrupt my weekly map posting here.  Please swing by the link and follow the project to get notified when it goes live!

BACK TO THIS MAP

There are two Boroughs by The Gate of Crowns:

• The Blue Borough, where the court and upper class desperately cling to power in the shadow of eldritch doom!
• Short Wharf, where the seadogs and smugglers slug back grog and swap tales of hidden treasure.

Again, as with all my maps, it might be more useful for you to think of this map as a menu of ideas.  Still, I did put this map together with some thought to ecology and narrative with The Gate of the Ass from last week, which is just off-page to the left.  These city maps are stretching my imagination, and I always seem run out of ideas half way through penciling process.  But honestly, that's the part that I love, these big blank spots that can surprise me later on.  I'll go for a walk with my sketchbook and listen to music or a podcast and just let my mind relax, and usually I'll have 3 or 4 promising ideas by the time I get back home.

The Short Wharf and coast is based on Gloucester, Massachusetts because that's the coastal area I have seen most often.  It's fun to play with memories and little inside jokes to myself when working on these maps.  If it makes me smile, it probably goes on the map.  I enjoy commercial work, but nothing beats the freedom of just jamming out on a piece that no one can tell me what to do with.

See you next week!