Wednesday 1 February 2012

mapping


Dart map, originally uploaded by Dru Marland.

Here's a map of Dartmoor in the 14th century, at the time of the Black Death. It's for Deborah Harvey's novel Dart, due to be published this year. It was fun to draw, once I'd worked out how to go about it- something vaguely in the style of a mediaeval map, and those brightly coloured postcard maps that you used to get in the 60s.

A useful tool for getting the perspective right was Google Earth, and a fun by-product of using Google Earth is goofing around on the flight simulator that's available in the tools options. Flying under the Saltash Bridge in an F16 is great fun, and one unattended by the risk of a knock at the door from the CAA. Very unmediaeval!

7 comments:

  1. Google Earth is fun...and that is a lovely illustration!

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  2. Google is literal while map making is an art... Love it.

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  3. It is clever of you to think of using Google Earth for this. Funny to think it was for a medieval map!

    Love the hares and nice sea monster too.

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  4. I love the mappe. Now I'm going to waste half the afternoon playing around with Google Earth...

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  5. Thank you, everyone! -Gwynneth,I have to report that I finally managed to land the aeroplane on Mynydd Maen. Take off was quite exciting, I must say! rather dreamlike, that silent floating over the landscape

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  6. You'll have to come back for a real walk up there!

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