A map in the style of Tolkien

I was asked to do a map for the Battle of 5 Armies and, of course, I said yes. Pass up a chance to paint Smaug on a map????? Never!

So, a few weeks, a lot of acrylic, a portable backdrop stand, and a paint drop cloth later...

here's the 5' high by 9.5' wide unstretched canvas map.























(it took up my whole living room. no lie. I moved furniture and it took up half the walkable space. It was worth it though!!!!) It was hung in the Gate area at 5 Armies by thumbtacks, survived the weekend, and now lives with the Shire of Quintavia.

This piece is a piece of raw canvas and a lot of burnt sienna acrylic paint. Zero period techniques went into creating this. I rough sketched the map with pencil and dove straight in with paint. Nothing is labeled with words as it was necessary for there to be flexibility.

I kept a few different maps handy to keep the style in mind, but only the specific map of the campground was strictly followed.