This 18th-century settlement set is the first in a series coming from French cartographer Nicolas de Fer who eventually became the official geographer to the Spanish and the French court. Perfect to add a bit of narrative drama to your fantasy maps.ĭe Fer Settlement: A Free 18th Century Brush Set It’s full of the sort of stuff that makes these maps fascinating, charging cavalry units, stalwart pike men, soldiers, explosions, battles, villages, and more. This extensive battlefield brush set is based on de Fer’s Le Combat de Leuze ou de la Catoire, a late 17th-century map depicting the fortification of the Belgium city of Leuze-en-Hainaut in 1691, and the Battle of Leuze, a French calvary victory from the Nine Years’ War. Still, like his other work, de Fer’s artistic ability shines as he goes into extensive detail, creating a unique art piece with signs and symbols that stand apart from others and work exceptionally well for fantasy maps.ĭe Fer Battlefield: A Free 17th Century Brush Set The source map isn’t as accurate as other maps from the period. Louis, an early 18th-century map depicting headwaters of the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes region. This is an extensive cartography brush set based on the first plate of de Fer’s Le Cours de Missisipi, ou de St. Want to help support this work?ĭe Fer Cartography: A Free 18th Century Brush Set We end up with a fascinating hybrid style, not precisely hill-profile and yet not thoroughly “modern.” A great set that will help your fantasy maps stand apart.Īll my Map Tools will always be free. Still, more modern iconographic touches for settlements and points of interest exist. For the most part, this is a hill-profile set with its unique style from the almost kanji-inspired flora to the elegant, calligraphic mountains. This is an enormous cartography brush set based on 日本海山潮陸圖 (Map of Sea, Mountain, Tide, and Land of Japan) by Ishikawa Ryūsen depicting the Japanese islands of Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshu during the Edo Period. Ishikawa: A Free 17th Century Cartography Brush Set

It’s a fantastic collection with mountain-profile signs and symbols rendered in a Chinese-calligraphy aesthetic, but the rough woodblock printing technique gives the whole set a lived-in feel that helps it stand out. This cartography brush set was extracted from four woodblock print maps coming from 廣東輿圖 (Map of Guangdong), an atlas and gazetteer depicting the various settlements and locations of the Chinese province of Guangdong during the Qing dynasty. Zuodong: A Free 17th Century Cartography Brush Set Links below will go to individual posts with information about the set, its history, and links to download. All my brushes are released under a CC0 License and are free for personal or commercial use. Here you will find brush sets and tools to create fantasy maps that can add a touch of historical authenticity to any project.

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