I am so glad I decided to commit to #the100dayproject and decided on the theme of illustrated maps. My decision was a bit spur of the moment, but I’m having so much fun. Since I usually paint for at least 15 minutes every morning, it hasn’t been hard to work on the elements for my map. I decided on Fire Island which is a nearby summer vacation island.
I’ve been to certain parts of the island, including the iconic Fire Island Lighthouse, so I started what I knew. Today I was doing research and learning about other areas of the island and what might represent these areas. It’s a challenge to represent an area, even one you know well. I’d like to do a map of my hometown, but will it be a map of landmarks meaningful to me, or one that is more universal? It’s a hard call. One that I put off by choosing a different location!
I painted the island itself separately and will add the type and map elements in Photoshop. This way I can resize them and move them around as needed. I had to take some liberties with the proportions of the island, because it is very long and thin. To fit it on the page it would have been a single thin line. Instead, I tried to create a perspective shot of the island, focused on the western edge where the lighthouse is.
I’m planning on finishing up this week. Can’t wait to share it. I’ll be moving on to a new and exciting location for the next map!
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