Monday, June 21, 2010

My Next Project Needs a Cartographer and a Cover Artist

Late Friday night, I experienced one of those glorious moments when an idea comes into the head fully formed and ready to be unleashed upon the world. It was as if my brain decided to reward my single-minded determination to get my current book across the finish line after all the trouble it gave me at its inception. At least part of this new project hails from Bat Country and I’m positive that it’s not going to be to everyone’s tastes, but that’s the advantage of a self-published book—nobody but me gets hurt if it turns out to be a stinker. The suck stops here, so to speak. And while I fully expect some folks to turn their noses up at it, I suspect that others will embrace it for being unusual in regards to most of the projects that the OSR has produced up until now. There’s only one way to find out for sure.

Most of the weekend was spent poking and prodding at the idea, trying to see if it would break under rough handling and whether the cold grey light of dawn would reveal its hidden flaws. So far, it remains viable. Yesterday saw me working on the maps for the book, and the fact that they flowed so quickly and easily means that the universe is most certainly trying to tell me something. I see no other option but to just write it as soon as I put the final touches on my current book. It should go fast.

While I’m writing it, I’m going to need some assistance turning my maps into more detailed and attractive pieces. I’ll also need a color cover piece and possibly a logo. This is where you folks come in.

I need someone who can convert my hand-drawn schematics into four black and white maps for me. Three are full pages, one is a half page. They are all non-linear pieces. No straight dungeon hallways on this one. If there were, I could do it myself. Three of the maps are outdoor locations and consist of a fortification, a town, and a wilderness map. The fourth is the fortification interior. I also need someone who isn’t going to dilly-dally since the text is going to be churned out relatively quick.

For the cover piece, I have a particular style in mind, but the parameters are loose and I can relax them if your work impresses me.

This is a paying gig, albeit not one that pays extremely well. Money is tight all around for me, but I want to compensate you for your work. Unless I get really lucky and find someone who can not only do great cartography work but knock my socks off with a cover piece, I’ll likely be looking for two people on this one.

If you’re looking for a little exposure and a little cash, please drop me an email at poleandrope(at)gmail(dot)com expressing your interest and providing me with either samples or links to your work. We can take it from there.

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