Fantasy cartography
Study and creation of maps of imagined places or events / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Fantasy cartography, fictional map-making, or geofiction is a type of map design that visually presents an imaginary world or concept, or represents a real-world geography in a fantastic style.[1] Fantasy cartography usually manifests from worldbuilding and often corresponds to narratives within the fantasy and science fiction genres. Stefan Ekman says, "a [regular] map re-presents what is already there; a fictional map is often primary – to create the map means, largely, to create the world of the map."[2]
Whilst cartographic fantasy has been popularized by novels of these genres it has also become a standalone hobby and artistic pursuit.[3][4][5] Cartographic fantasy has its historic origins in mythology, philosophy, literature and natural sciences.[6][7] Although typically geographical, cartographic fantasy can include planetary, galactic, and cosmological maps; conceptual maps;[8] and speculative maps.[1] Fantasy maps are created and presented across different media[9][10] such as books, television shows, movies, video games, tabletop games, and websites; and are characterized by aesthetics, themes and styles associated with the world or concept they are portraying. The increased popularity of geofiction and worldbuilding has led to and been supported by the emergence of design programs tailored to creative cartographers.[11][12]