6/1/2026 at 8:07:34 PM
Hi all — thanks for the comments and discussion. A few people correctly pointed out that calling these maps "hand-painted" was misleading, and that’s correct. The previous version of the map, which I replaced a few days ago, was entirely hand-painted. These new maps are mixed-media...probably about 80% Adobe Fresco (a tablet drawing app), but both also incorporate physical watercolor and Copic marker layers that I scanned into the final artwork. Most of my maps are still primarily hand-painted, with just place names in Photoshop. My Cuba map is probably a better example of that approach. The goal of this update wasn't about art...I wanted maps that better tell the full story of the Hawaiian Islands. The history and geography of all those atolls and maps are fascinating, and I do geek out/recommend a Google Earth/Wikipedia rabbit hole of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands for anyone interested in remote islands.by erik-gauger
6/1/2026 at 9:12:01 PM
I have a fondness for map making and I enjoy your style regardless of digital or physical media. Have you ever created an article on your process? I'd be interested in reading about your flow.by _fs
6/1/2026 at 9:45:34 PM
Appreciate it, and I’d almost rather tell you about my workflow on my latest project, because it was 400 hours of work…the art was totally physical art…(176 fruits)...but the workflow was very digital, and there were so many parts to it that it is almost laughable…My maps are really easy to create; they became a little more sophisticated when a Travel Channel pilot asked me to make maps for their show, and, thinking the show would last longer than the pilot, I invested all this time in working on different maps. Basically, I need rights to the source outline, and that’s usually pretty easy. Sometimes I have bought a stock art outline to make sure I had rights. There are 3 ways to get that on watercolor paper or bristol. I can trace it on a light table, I can copy it by hand, or I can do the outline in Fresco and print to watercolor paper (I have only been able to do this for the past 6 months and is the dream workflow for this). Then I usually try different things, but its basically about building blue outlines with a fine watercolor brush or a Copic pen for the water and earthtones or greens for the landmass. Then using bigger brushes to slowly build the interior colors. My goal is often to do something a bit weird or challenging the way people think of the colors of a certain place. In the case of the two Hawaii maps, I was traveling but had cancelled plans, so I had two days alone with my Tablet, and I just kept trying different things. It ended up being about 3 key layers: making those depth layers very transparent and light. At home, I had started creating physical watercolor and Copic to the islands, and integrated that as a very light transparent layer; I can never get Fresco watercolor to feel right (although there are also 4 layers of Fresco watercolor spatter on the islands.) My scanner is only 9x12, so the biggest challenge of any of these projects that involves larger physical artwork is stitching the parts together in Photoshop. I always thought that maps enhance travel or science writing…National Geo and Outside as examples…and so I try to create maps when it can help my story. For all this detail I gave you though, full handpainted maps (like Malta and Tunisia) were probably just an hour or two to completion.by erik-gauger
6/1/2026 at 10:10:28 PM
You should make a work flow YT video! It would be worth a watchby throwoutway