My Favorite Sites For Pictorial And Cartoon Maps

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I love pictorial and cartoon maps. When done well they can really give a sense of place for the region they represent.

Pictorial maps go beyond a presentation of information into the realm of interpretation. They concentrate attention on a particular point of an area and often simplify geographic features to make that point.

They can also add humor and satire to geographic information.

Here is a list of some of my favorite cartoon map sites to look at for inspiration.

• http://www.mapformation.com/portfolio/cartoon.htm A map design firm that includes cartoon maps in its portfolio. Also do campus maps.
• www.byronmarshall.com/maps.html I love the look of these cartoon maps.
• www.cartoonstudio.co.uk Theme park, feel the fun. Makes me want to go visit.
• www.dewberryfarm.com A virtual visit to the farm.
• wikipedia.org/wiki/Pictorial_maps Wikipedia entry on the history of cartoon, or pictorial, maps.
• www.travel2montenegro.com Map of Montenegro. I like that there is just enough artwork to make the information meaningful and contextual, but not so much to overwhelm the viewer. Often cartoon maps can degenerate into an exercise in humorous art and lose the importance of the geographic information (roads, directions, etc.)
• www.cartoonstudio.co.uk/Pages/UnitedKingdomMap.html Another map with enough visual interest, rich in geography, not too overwhelming.
• www.cornbellys.com/images/cartoonMap.jpg/ Nice images, but no sense of scale (everything is about the same size) and no pathways (maybe they don't exist?). I would consider this an illustration, not a map. Maps need the importance of scale and distance.
• www.alton-in-partnership.org/Alton_Chamber_Map_96dpi.gif/ Another great map that uses illustration to convey geographical feeling of places on the map.
• www.yosemite.ca.us/ I appreciate perspective drawings (3D drawings shown from a particular viewpoint) as works of art. They have their place and this is a great one. However, perspective drawings should be separated from perspective maps. Perspective drawings because they don't have a constant scale. Perspective maps use a conventional map base (and have constant scale) with pictures placed on it at correct locations.
• www.riverweytrips.co.uk// Beautiful! Map of a trip on the River Wey, Surrey, in England.
• www.carolmendelmaps.com/mapsd/ Incredible! This to me is an ideal pictorial map. Clickable to see additional detail.
• www.stevegrayillustration.com/ Unique, identifiable style.

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