I love that a lot of the ideas we see in later videos are already forshadowed in this one in some of the sketchbooks.

@mapcrow

2 жыл бұрын

Yep! That’s what it’s for!

Thank you so much for including a link to a template! After a very unsuccessful googling session yesterday I was relieved by your inclusion of one.

@mapcrow

2 жыл бұрын

You bet!!

@HipHopKitteh

2 жыл бұрын

I was extremely relieved to find the template at the very beginning of the video as well! I'm currently on a Map Crow binge and was immediately craving for some sweet isometric graph paper.

@AlexanderArts

Жыл бұрын

Yeah, nowadays everything on Google image search is "for purchase" I miss when the internet was less monetized...

I'm so glad I stumbled on this channel. Thank you so much for the inspiration! You've encouraged me to finally start sketching some things when all I have has been distant, vague clouds of ideas so far. Not even for games but for art and design in general. I love the process.

@mapcrow

2 жыл бұрын

Sketching is fun!! I’m so happy that you’re going for it!!

Man, discovering your channel helped me so much. You and JP are the first DMs that I found online that are also draftsmen (as I am too), so you guys completely changed the way I create adventures, locations and dungeons. Writing is fun, but for us, visual thinkers, drawing is even more fun! Thank you for your great work and hugs from Brasil!

@mapcrow

Жыл бұрын

Thank you!! JP and I love to hear that kinda stuff!! Brasil has some my favorite RPG artists! Alex Damaceno and Fernando Salvaterra are some of the best!! Cheers!

If you find your hands get ink on them and you smudge stuff around, try getting an old clean sock, cut the toe end off it and slip it over your hand. Then you should be able to rest your hand on the paper without fear of accidental smudging. Another alternative is to use a piece of paper under your hand.

making your own sketchbooks and using them really does feel so very different! in both the feeling that its not fancy and you can use it and also that it feels really exciting to have filled it and be able to hold this completed thing you made!

I like the things you say and the way that you say them. Your energy and creative process is inspiring. Started watching because "draw isometric map", but leaving with "keep all your ideas" and "just try it!?" Beautiful map. Thank you

Loving your work! Thanks for such in-depth tutorials!

Just watching you work put a smile on my face.

very cool to see the entire process

listening to you talk about drawing and the art process is insanely inspirational

@mapcrow

10 ай бұрын

Thanks! I hope you still feel sane enough to draw tho! Haha!!

Now, you are one more fount of inspiration. The maps so cool, and the most impressive to me is that they are drawed in traditional art

@mapcrow

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for watching!! I find traditional work more enjoyable, otherwise, I’d go digital for sure!! Haha

i dont even play dnd but i love seeing you express your passion for your hobby. you put so much love into it creative process and your whole vibe is really dope

Thank you for these videos, this channel, and for you coming into existence!

Kyle you imspire me so much. Every time I watch a video in your channel I can't help myself but to grab a pencil or a pen and just go to create. Thank you very much for all the advices and tips, I appreciate all your work

You're such an exceptional artist! I hope you know this. It's an amalgamation of visuals, interpretation, the phonoaesthetic (I hope I spelled that right lol), everything combined makes your art so inviting and evocative as you like to say.

Great! Thank you for share!

Love your tips and ideas!!

@mapcrow

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much!!

Very instructive. Thanks for the tutorial, Kyle!

@brunoprosaiko5542

3 жыл бұрын

@@mapcrow Excellent! I really like maps. It is very interesting how when we separate the elements of the set, we realize that they are not so complex drawings: a small tree, a mountain, etc., but looking at the composition, the parts make the whole very visually rich. I would like to see a tutorial of you showing how you style elements of your maps. I don't have much practice with an isometric perspective. My attempts were on static things, like box-like houses. Very frustrating. If you can share tips to get around it, that would be great.

wowwww it's incredibly awesome!

Finally found a solid link for isometric templates to print. I am grabbing a pad and hope the scale is the same. So glad I found thus channel! I am just getting into drawing as a byproduct of getting into DIY RPG stuff (ICRPG) and feel like I'm getting free lessons!

this is AWESOME

So talented dude.

Dude.. you're a beast!

Best DM channel I've came across yet

I really like your style yo! -NEW SUB

Love the video! Seeing you plan the map is very helpful. The 20 years of experience tell you when to call it quits :D because there is no end if you don't!

I really like how you aproach your proyects

I met Sean at a Gen Con once and he's the coolest dude. He inspires me to draw whenever I see him on social media. I feel like you're gonna be the same way since you're popping up on my KZread a lot.

Pretty nice.

Vague and evocative!! Just hearing this makes me so happy lol

What is this, and why do I like it so much? Bonus for the Dael Kingsmill reference! You talk about the map not begin tactical, but I think a lot about how to use these sort of maps that way. I think there is a way that something that flavorful, evocative, but also modular enough to be tactical. IDK, I haven't quite cracked that nut yet, but I am interested in knowing more about how you use these maps practically in your game(s). Is it a visual reference and things go into TotM when we need to be tactical, or is it like a small "overworld" layout and you zoom in to a more-crude, on-the-spot map when you need to be tactical. With the proliferation of quarantine gaming, capable VTTs and ubiquitous video conferencing, it seems like our sophistication as a group is going up, which I am very excited to see. Thanks for your content!

Amazing vídeo, i didn't started to make my drawings yet, but i'm researching a lot trying to know how to; i am horrible at this, but still i love drawing, your vídeos are helping a lot, not just with the tips, but with my own confidence in making my own skatches ^^

I compulsively buy notebooks I never fill entirely, and your video made me go and scavenge them ! I've been writing ideas/ doodling since forever, all over the place, it is quite a hunt. I also really loved the handmade notebooks!

This is really useful

@mapcrow

2 жыл бұрын

Wonderful!! I’m so glad to hear that!!

Love your art!!! Oh my oh my, the design process is amazing even for a non-DnDer!!! Thanks algorithm brings me here!!

I like your idea of using handmade sketchbooks to overcome the blank page fear. I have a big stack of printer paper that I keep right next to my desk. I keep some blank pages and whatever im currently working on in a folder as sort of a modular sketchbook. I also like to start a lot of my ideas on note pages or scratch work for school. I don't have the same fear when the page is already ruined with homework or a todo list. A lot of my favorite ideas started on math homework.

Subbed you beautiful bastard, getting back into art after a decade and I'm in need of both inspiration and new perspectives since going into art blindfolded after a long period of time isn't making progress

@mapcrow

2 жыл бұрын

Heck yeah! No plan, only art!!

"we already ruined it so its not longer blank" such a huge roadblock cleared with such ease.

Hey! I just discovered your channel and I LOVE all of your videos so far! Just as a suggestion, it's a little bit jarring to have the music start for 2 seconds, then suddenly cut out so you can talk, then start back up again. Maybe you could try fading the music in and out, or grouping as much of the narration together as possible (kinda like Nerdforge does in their videos)? I don't want this to come off as harsh, cause I really love your videos. Keep up the great work, and I'm excited to see what you make next!

That was very interesting, and quite informative :)

@mapcrow

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much! I’m very happy to hear that!!

What is great about the making own sketchbook thing is that first sketchbook you got from your friend is actually a moleskin. its the pocket journals.

HEY! DAEL KINGSMILL REFERENCE! didn't expect that

Well fuck me sideways Kyle. I am currently trying to capture that rough old-school inked style myself, and this is just the stuff to cure my shingles. Fantastic work on Old school essentials too! I'll most certainly continue to refrence your bang-up art moving forward. Cheers!

Very cool, I do think its a bit difficult due to the dark/light balance in the final piece to tell what all is happening. I'm not sure if that's intentional, but like the river being so dark for instance makes it a bit hard to make out as a river to me.

@rich63113

Жыл бұрын

I'm with you here - I love watching the process - but the final product is kind of hard to decipher. I can't really tell what's going on because its so dense, and the contrast is so high everywhere. And I'm not sure what he should do about that - color would certainly help - but it should be doable in B&W

1:54 it's the Witch knight!

Me who doesn't draw at all but enjoys this content because I find it interesting: Ah yes now I will make my own sketchbook, great advice!

@mapcrow

2 жыл бұрын

Go for it! I actually have a video about how to do that from early this year!!

I know that you didn't really touch on this much but I just wanted to say that I love the toad by the side of the path and the beast/god in the faerie ring. Also, your laugh is awesome because it just shows how you love your work.

@mapcrow

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you!! Art should be fun! If it’s not fun, something is up. Cheers!!

i seriously think you should show how you made those notebooks, theyre incredibly cool and id love to try out something similar !

@mapcrow

2 жыл бұрын

I do have a video about making notebooks from January!!

@elfhiem

2 жыл бұрын

@@mapcrow oh !!! i must have missed that when looking at your channel, ill take another look thank you !

@mapcrow

2 жыл бұрын

@@elfhiem Haha! I'll admit, the channel is all over the place!

@elfhiem

2 жыл бұрын

@@mapcrow fair haha, i did manage to find it though so thank you ! i have a question about it though, for the chipboard notebooks like the one your friend gave you, how'd you manage to get the cover to bend properly? in my experience chipboards usually too hard to bend but maybe what we here in canada call chipboard isnt the same in america

@mapcrow

2 жыл бұрын

@@elfhiem If I had to guess, it's probably from a food box or something. Maybe even the back of the notepad he used for the paper! There are tons of things made from chip board, just gotten keep your eyes peeled!

I have no idea why I only just found you on here, but I am glad I did. I love drawing iso. I stopped trying with an actual grid as it seemed to be tightening me up. Now I just occasionally draw a reminder diagonal if I want to keep the geometry regularish, but now I'm starting to just let it skew as it wants to and use different perspectives. How come all these architects line everything up at the same angles anyway? lol... and most worlds seem to be in the southern hemisphere with the shadows on the bottom right, and I tend to draw routes which go bottom left to top right too. One of these days, the adventurers are going to get suspicious that there's a (right) hand behind their world, or decide to cross the equator and really mess with me. Love your work - reminded me of Leo Baxendale :) Sub.

So we're just going to gloss over "this was accomplished by diluting some highlighter ink"?! Great vid, you're very talented!

@mapcrow

2 жыл бұрын

I talk about the process more in this video. kzread.info/dash/bejne/rIpsqNKrj5XVf9o.html&ab_channel=MapCrow

I just switched to digital, but this is still helpful! 🌵👽

"Or maybe I'm just calling it quits." Art is never finished; merely abandoned.

i love isometric exercises

I'm just looking for inspiration for an upcoming campaign, but now I suddenly feel obliged to start making tons of maps like this. I guess I should get a blue pencil.

Jesus christ I'll never be this good. Map crow makes me ashamed to DM the way I do. This is all just so impressive.

@mapcrow

2 жыл бұрын

Ha! I feel the same way every time I see other folks DMing! The grass is always greener when you don’t have to mow it, I guess! But we can’t let that stop us from having our fun!! Cheers!!

Just got an office and I've been trying to find something to put on the walls, looks like it's map time!

Does he have another video or something where he mentions how to make those sketchbooks? I have no idea how those are getting put together, especially with the dotted and curved high quality pages

@princegabriel9869

2 жыл бұрын

This is kind of late, but there are plenty of methods and pretty good tutorials out there! I think the simplest way I've seen is to just glue the backs of your pages together, but I've found coptic stitching is pretty fun and aesthetically pleasing (if a little tedious at times) You can buy any kind of page youd like for your sketchbook, you just have to make sure your pages are around the same size/cut them to fit :]

11:12 damn that really is a magic eraser

Love the sketchbook tip- do you think you could show us how to make a sketchbook?

@mapcrow

3 жыл бұрын

Ooo! I'll add it to the list!! Cheers!

Can we see a combat play out on one of these maps? I'm worried if these style maps would get too busy to easily allow for that, but the isometric style allows for more varied terrain vs a top down perspective

@mapcrow

9 ай бұрын

It's not great for tactical combat, no. Even the VVTs that support Isometric have their challenges to overcoming it. BUT, it's great to helping to quickly communicate location to a GM!

I'm a lefty and that's a great idea...

This was very helpful in understanding this style of maps I've seen so often. I'm curious if you have any recommendations for minimalist drawing/shading/hatching? Definitely will be checking more of these out.

@mapcrow

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you! Check out JP Coovert’s KZread for a less hatch heavy style!

the worst part is not even not reaching the "wow, I really am liking this!" feeling, it's freezing in it because it's so good that if something is done, it gets ruined we need drawing 2.0 with undo button for yesterday

@mapcrow

2 жыл бұрын

Haha! Inking can feel like walking a tightrope without a net, which is what makes it thrilling!!

@precascer8221

2 жыл бұрын

in an average to low level like mine, I rather take that risk in shorter stuff hah or stay sketchy since I'm still training, and it's more fun to wiggle and doodle around

Hello ! Very instructive ! Thanks for the tutorial ! It's possible to share your isometric template cyan blue light lines u used to make this fantastic map ?

@mapcrow

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for the kind words! I've added a link to download the grid templates that I use!

Bro, that printer has seen some better days.

@mapcrow

Жыл бұрын

Yep! It's 14 years old! I just got a new one for printing things that need to look nice! Haha

19:52 no project is ever finished, merely abandoned :D

@mapcrow

2 жыл бұрын

True fact!!

Ive been very interested in your videos since Ive found them just the other day, this video has given me a lot to try, because getting ideas on the page is crazy hard. One problem that I have personally, is that my thoughts are so much faster than my hands and they start to run away from me when I get excited and all of a sudden all my ideas that I thought were so brilliant are forgotten and theyre not written down. Do you have any advice for that sort of situation?

Nice work. In regards to the ferry operator I feel he/she/it needs to have a good reason to depart from the current location. From a business perspective it makes more sense for him to be closer to the broken bridge. When I think along these lines I come up with backstories for npcs. Maybe there was once a path to the ferry but since the operator has been cursed to operate the ferry for one-hundred years people have become extremely hesitant to use his services.

Heya! Is Old Roads possibly going to be available for people who missed the Kickstarter?

Huzzah

Ahhh yes, the Slumbricid

Fantastic. Beautiful and instructive. Are you saying verbs (17minuteas onwards)? IS this a metaphor for actions? I don't hate it; just wondering.

@mapcrow

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you!! Verb is a game design term coined in the book linked in the description. A verb, in this use, denotes the different actions allowed or conveyed by the game space.

@nyanarchy

2 жыл бұрын

@@mapcrow Uh, I don't see a book linked in the description. There's the templates, your mapping project, music link, twitter link and links to Sean Poppe and Dael Kingsmill. Could you give a name for the book you are describing?

The iso grid seems slightly off or skewed in perspective, but I can’t tell if it’s just a trick of the eye. Not even sure if it matters or if there’s a reason?

@mapcrow

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah, after doing this for a whole year, I found out that I've been working in Diametric not Isometric! Haha! The principles are exactly the same, but the Isometric grid is a bit taller.

What is the blue pencil brand and type?

@mapcrow

3 ай бұрын

Prismacolor Col-Erase Erasable Colored Pencil

8:08 yes, stay hydrated! but also, watch some tutorials on vocal fry so you can make creepy and demonic voices in a healthy and less tiring way 😌🙏

Just discovered your incredible work! Do you sell an art book or collection of art books of your isometric art?

@mapcrow

Жыл бұрын

Nothing in print right now, but I hope to reprint Old Roads this year, which you can find in pdf on my itch store.

@aroundatable

Жыл бұрын

@@mapcrow Thanks for the quick reply. I definitely need to check out your store. Do you ever work on commission?

@mapcrow

Жыл бұрын

@@aroundatable Not at the moment. I have a full teaching load at my college, and I'm working on a book.

@aroundatable

Жыл бұрын

@@mapcrow Best wishes with your current endeavors!

Well you got a subscribe from me

@mapcrow

Жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed this! This is an earlier video, so my editing style has changed a lot since then. Check out the playlist for "Map Making" for some other more detailed videos on the subject.

So uh... you gon' show us HOW to make a sketch book? I mean I know it doesn't look super complicated but... maybe for those of us who made INT our dump stat? 😅

@mapcrow

Жыл бұрын

I did! There is a video called the perfect sketchbook from a year ago!

@mormosplaysgaems

Жыл бұрын

@@mapcrow Thanks! Ill check it out! 😄

The pencil grip: 🥸

What is the map scale? Seems like all that is there is in eyesight. Isn't it overwhelming for players? Or are all those things much further apart then they seem?

@mapcrow

2 жыл бұрын

I am more interested in evocative art to fill the game with details to pull from than I am in consistent scientific scale. That’s just not a priority for me. This is a story aid, not a GPS map, in my mind. Just my way of doing it. Haha

Let me just say that you have great skill for drawing evocative landscapes. But the title of the video is a bit misleading. I expected to hear some practical (or rather technical) advice on how to make maps you can actually use at the table. I don't think anyone can replicate what you do based on watching this video.

u cover bookmaking in this, but in ur videos, u don't go over it. is there a chance u might show ur process in terms of bookmaking??

@mapcrow

2 жыл бұрын

I talk more about it here. kzread.info/dash/bejne/dqah1piOhqvbpdI.html&ab_channel=MapCrow

could u plz come work with me in my business

How would you use this map? It does not look like a in game map and it also hardly supports tacktical combat. Looks like a map for GM to get inspired that can't be used in a session.

@mapcrow

Жыл бұрын

You’ve basically got the idea. Not everyone runs a tactical game. Inspiring the GM and showing more than just what the floor looks like seems like a good idea to me. If you would like more of my thoughts on the matter, I have a video called “how to use maps in rpgs”.