We’ve been following Alyssa Faden’s wonderful map-making work on the internet and have extremely please to now see her great artwork in the Annual 2014. With the November issue, you can create overland maps in Alyssa’s style, including her signature floating clouds.

The Annual issue includes more than 250 symbols, 16 bitmap fills, 40 drawing tools, as well as a 6-page mapping guide to follow along.

As a subscriber you can download the November Annual issue from your registration page. If you haven’t subscribed to the Annual 2014, you can do so here.

This month’s symbol pack is brought to you by fantasy cartographer TJ Vandel, also known as Schwarzkreuz on the Cartographer’s Guild forum.

We loved his idea of creating a dungeon symbol set specifically for dwarves. The style works on its own, but can also be used as an extension to the Dungeons of Schley style from Symbol Set 4, as TJ has carefully crafted the symbols and textures to mesh with Mike Schley’s wonderful artwork, without sacrificing his own touch. 190 symbols, 29 textures and more than 50 new drawing tools allow your dig deep into the mountains and fortify your halls in fine dwarven style!

As a subscriber you can download the September Annual issue from your registration page. If you haven’t subscribed to the Annual 2014, you can do so here.

We are very happy to release another great Annual issue by Pär Lindström. Originally designed for the adventure collection Mythos Expeditions by Pelgrane Press, the style came out too beautiful to not make it into an Annual issue. The style lets you depict the itinerary and visited locations for modern journeys or expeditions as would be found in many modern horror or pulp adventures.

Quick and easy to use the Modern Journeys style lets you whip up a gorgeously illustrated maps in minutes. Choose from 150 Symbols to depict your locations, show the travel routes and identify the mode of transportation used.

As a subscriber you can download the September Annual issue from your registration page. If you haven’t subscribed to the Annual 2014, you can do so here.

The August Annual is here and introduces a new resource and method for importing real-world data in CC3. Not relying on Fractal Terrains 3, we take public domain vector data from the Natural Earth project (in ESRI format for the initiated) and convert it to DXF files, which in turn can be imported into CC3.

This opens the door to easily include real-world coastlines, country and state borders, rivers and all sorts of other data in your CC3 map. You can just create your own beautiful map of earth or a specific country, or use it as a basis for alternate earths, possible futures and other deviations.

As a subscriber you can download the August Annual issue from your registration page. If you haven’t subscribed to the Annual 2014, you can do so here.

Whether you want a world overview, and solar system map, a starship deckplan, or a map of a star empire many light years across, we have the software for you. CC3 has limited SF facilities alone, though you can certainly do an old-style Traveller map, but Fractal Terrains, Cosmographer 3, symbol sets and Annuals, you have a much wider array.

This map is created with CC3 plus the August issue of the Cartographer’s Annual 2013.

This sector map was created with Created with Cosmographer 3 and CC3 for Ashen Stars.

Created with Cosmographer 3 and CC3 for the Traveller RPG. More here.

Created with Cosmographer 3 and CC3 for Ashen Stars

Cosmographer 3 calculates and shows 3D distances for star systems as in the small isometric sample.

Created with Cosmographer 3 and CC3

Created with Cosmographer 3 and CC3

Top down satellite cartography with CC3 and Annual 2012.

Created by forum user Micco40 in about ten minutes using FT3 and CC3.

Created with Fractal Terrains 3

The July Annual introduces a new contributor to our subscription: Steff Worthington, who’s beautiful map artwork you can peruse on his WordPress page.

Inspired by one of his maps – a depiction of Athurian quasi-historical Britain – the style produces clear, legible and very beautiful maps. They are based on a selection of bitmap textures, accentuated by a small selection of symbols and careful text labelling. Take a look at the example map of Scotland (done in CC3) shown here and compare it to Steff’s original artwork.

As a subscriber you can download the June Annual issue from your registration page. If you haven’t subscribed to the Annual 2014, you can do so here.

You can create a wide range of cities and urban areas with CC3 and its add-ons and symbol sets. This article shows you a selection, and the software you need to create them.

City Designer 3 is (unsurprisingly) the best resource for urban areas – the following examples were created with CD3.

This is from the Annual Vol 5 – a 1930s style map.

a This map was created with the black and white city style released in the Annual Vol 4

Two styles in one, here in the Annual Vol 1. One is remininiscent of 18th to 19th century maps, while the second creates the look of contemporary street maps.

This map emulates the famous town and city maps of British cartographer John Speed (1542-1629). It was created with the John Speed City style from The Cartographer’s Annual Vol 1.

This style from the Annual Vol 3 does not require City Designer 3

The June Annual has been designed by Pär Lindström – by now one of our most prolific contributors to the Annual. He came up with the idea of this extremely quick to use black and white style, which lets you whip up a battlemap for the next game in no time at all.

Pre-drawn rooms, buildings and mine parts take care of all of the complicated detail work for you. Be it a stretch of forest, an abandoned mine, a farm, or even a town or section of city, all of this can be created with this style in just a few minutes.

As a subscriber you can download the June Annual issue from your registration page. If you haven’t subscribed to the Annual 2014, you can do so here.

You can create a wide range of dungeons and floorplans with CC3 and its add-ons and symbol sets. This article shows you a selection, and the software you need to create them. Dungeon Designer 3, Symbol Set 2 and Symbol Set 4 have an extended set of dungeon symbols, the Annuals and CC3 have a more restricted selection.

While it’s featured in Cartographer’s Annual Vol 1, this inn is created with CC3 plus Dungeon Designer 3 (DD3).

Tendrill’s Oak Inn – created with CC3 and DD3

This next four images were created with Symbol Set 2: Fantasy Floorplans plus CC3.

Temple of the Fire Demon

Gothic Cathedral

A close up of the cathedral.

Cathedral Close-up

Chesery’s lair

Another black and white style created with CC3 plus Cartographer’s Annual Vol 4

The Blood Cult’s Hideout

This map was created by master cartographer Jon Roberts using Cc3 with Cartographer’s Annual Vol 5.

Jon Roberts Dungeons – Jon Roberts Dread Dungeon

This vertical dungeon was created with Cc3 and Cartographer’s Annual Vol 5.

If you want 3D view, this amazing isometric view created by Herwin Wielink is for you.

Isometric Dungeon

Here are a selection of images from our latest and greatest symbol set – Symbol Set 4: The Dungeons of Schley.

Dungeons of Schley

Dungeons of Schley – Detail

And finally, for that old-school look we have the The Cartographer’s Annual Vol 1 style feature in “how to create a drawing style”

Old School Dungeon

ProFantasy’s Software allows you to create a wide array of maps in historical styles, from Mercator to medieval strip maps. This article shows examples and lets you know which software is required in addition to CC3 to create them.

If there are any historical styles you’d like us to match, let us know in the comments.

This Mercator-style map captures the flair and style of 16th and 17th century hand-coloured maps. Those centuries – the so-called “Age of Exploration” – were an era of immense European exploration and expansion and the art of cartography flourished to document and publish the newly discovered information on the shape of the world.

This map was created with the Mercator Historical Style from Annual Vol 1.

This map emulates the famous town and city maps of British cartographer John Speed (1542-1629). It was created with the John Speed City style from The Cartographer’s Annual Vol 1.

Strip maps such as those by John Ogilby are created to to chart roads and journeys, they are a perfect vehicle to convey a sense of travel and adventure for your players. These are both created using the Cartographer’s Annual Vol 3 Strip Map style.

Perfect for  Caribbean swashbucklers, use this style to map the hidden coves and tropical islands.

This style emulates classic deptictions of the battles fought in the Napoleonic wars of the late 18th and early 19th century. It is featured in The Cartographer’s Annual Vol 3.

This style from the Annual Vol 5 is based on the 1920s and 1930s Baedeker guides.

Also from the Annual Vol 5 is this matching street map style.

For overland maps in a 1930s style, there is this style from the Cartographer’s Annual Vol 7.