This project was a commission from a friend. The idea was to make a large-scale map of Middle Earth (My friend is a huge Lord of the Rings fan, as am I) made up of other smaller maps, each styled to look like they’d been made by the civilization that lives there. After many meetings of the minds, six months of planning and six month of work, this is what we ended up with.
Top Left corner: A map of the Grey Havens. Drawn in silver, black and gold inks on light tissue paper, this map is meant to have been made by ancient elves. The words, written in elvish, are that of a song Sam and Frodo overhear being sung by wood elves on their way to the Grey Havens to make their final journey across the sea.
Center Top: A map primarily of Mount Gundabad. Drawn on thick, worn paper, is was intended to be a map used by the goblins that live there. It includes poorly scrawled lines and some drops of blood.
Top right corner: The Iron Hills. A topographical map, this piece is dwarf-made and features holes in the corners where it was repeatedly nailed and re-nail to walls. There is also a short account of the dwarves that ruled there written in their own rune language.
Right middle: This is a quaint map of the Shire. Handwritten by a kindly hobbit who lived there all his life, never venturing, or for that matter even thinking about, anywhere but the few streets to which he was born. This is evident in the way the map is not quite aligned with the cardinal direction, and his emphasis on such places as the best fishing spots and his favorite trees.
Center Middle: The Misty Mountains and the Mines of Moria. Another dwarven creation, this map depicts not only Moria and the mountain it resides in, but also the area around, such as Lorian, Fangorn, and the road to Mirkwood. There are two secrets held by this map; One is the glittering dust of mithryl scattered across its surface. And the other, a glow-in-the-dark drawing of the door of Moria itself.
Right-center Middle: Mirkwood. Elven-drawn and simple, this map shows all of Mirkwood as seen by outsiders, along with the lonely mountain.
Far Right Middle: A sailor’s map of the Sea of Rhun.
Bottom left corner: A map of the western coastal areas. For this one, I wanted to give the impression of it having been owned by a sailor or merchant; having seen a lot of salt air and good practical use.
Bottom Center: This is a map used by an old military commander of Gondor. It shows the whole eastern area of both Gondor and Rohan, as well as their borders with Mordor and Isengard.
Bottom Right Corner: The dark lands of Mordor. Dirty and ruined, this map has seen better days. Scribble out by some orc or daring prisoner years ago.
A compass pieced together from three different maps.
