DM_Andy
patreon
Time Lapse Video: Lothburgh - Deaver's Apartment
🕑 Added 2026-01-20 20:04:32 +0000 UTC
Hello everyone! I've been asked numerous times for a peek behind the curtain in my map-making process, so for the first time, I recorded my entire process from start to finish for my recent Lothburgh map for Deaver's Apartment!
This video represents a total mapping time of 17 hours for building this map, condensed to a 10 min time lapse, so apologies if it's too "jumpy" for you and hard to watch. I wanted to keep the video short(ish), but that means it's very jumpy, unfortunately.
Here is a rough outline of my creative process when map-making:
Research (Not shown in the vid). Here is where I will do all my research on the area I'm mapping. If it's from a module, I will read all the information about the area in great detail to give me context. I'll do some Google searches and see how folks have used this location, what popular homebrew there is about it, and what, if any, are the pain points folks have expressed with the map. If it's not something from a published adventure and my own creation, I might do historical and architectural research so I can make sure I'm creating a map building that makes sense. From researching flora & fauna to studying various architectural designs and reference books, I have from my own library. Additionally, I will start building a mood board of various art, images, and other references to give me inspiration and ideas of the look and feel I want for the map.
Sketch (Not shown in the vid). I will create a rough sketch with pencil so I can just flow out ideas onto a page for layout. Here is where I'll consider the map area, grid area, token placement, and what angle I'm trying to achieve for the map. This is very rough and looks more like chicken scratch, but it helps me create a first idea of what the map will look like.
3d Model. I use a 3d program that has basic geometric shapes on a 3d plane that allows me to roughly build out the map, height, elevation, and building layers. Here is where I think of the logistics of how my roof will fit over the interior, how my floors will stake, and make sure I have enough token area for placement so I can capture both a perspective angle, but also be sure to have a playable area. This phase also helps me ensure I get my angles correct when creating the actual map, though often times I do change the angles a bit to align better with the grid. I mix a true perspective and token playable area to ensure the map not only looks good, but is usable in a session.
Blueprinting. Here is where I will draw out the blueprint in Inkarnate. The blueprint layer helps me keep things align and it acts as the skeleton for my process. This also helps me ensure my angles work both for perspective and token placement. Sometimes I will upload a screenshot from the 3d tool into Inkarnate so I can ensure more complex building perspective maps are aligned correctly (Such as my Gothic Town Square map).
Map Making. I have a rougher approach when it comes to actually building the map, but I will often start by building the map frame, such as the ceiling lines & walls. This helps section off each room so I can go back and add room details. I will add the assets to flesh out each room, and when the map is full and ready, then I will add all of the shading and highlighting, followed by the lighting effects.
Exporting (Not shown in the vid). Here is where I will export the map and its variants in 8k from Inkarnate. This process can be quite lengthy, as exporting an 8k image can take a while, plus I normally have multiple variants. For instance, the map shown in this video had eight exports I needed to do (and this was considered small compared to my other maps). I exported the base map with lights, without lights, then the alternate variant, both with and without lights. After that, I do the same for the "night" version since night is a two-fold process for me. I apply night filters both in Inkarnate and Photoshop to get the night look that I'm happy with. Additionally, for any overlay tiles (like roofs, floors, trees, etc), I will export as .png's directly from Inkarnate (This is a relatively new feature they have implemented).
Photoshop (Not shown in the vid). Here is where I will resize the image to have an even PPI, apply the color moods, grid, and weather overlays, and save each process. I have built my color moods using the raw camera filters, and I will often tweak them slightly for each map to achieve the color mood that I'm going for. I will also manipulate my weather overlays files to account for interior locations where I might cut out the "rain" from inside or blend in the fog so you don't see too stark a line between the interior and the foggy weather outside.
File Processing (Now shown in the vid). Once I have the base 8k maps saved from Photoshop, I run them through another tool to compress all of the images as much as I can without losing image quality. Oftentimes, the base export from Photoshop can be around 20-30mb which you know would be way too big for any VTT. Normally, after compression, I can get the 8k files around 10mb. Here is where I will also resize these images to 4k as well as create the Webp files. Additionally, I will do the same with my overlays, where I'll compress the .png's and convert to 4k. Lastly, I will organize all of my map files into the folder structure that you all downloaded them from and package them up in .zip files.
And there you have it! The full start-to-finish applies to every single DM Andy Map. Some maps take longer, some not so much. For example, mansions are by far the most intensive maps to do since every single section of the mansion is detailed and decorated with multiple floors.
I hope you enjoyed this time-lapse! I'll try to do this at least once a month as well, so you can gain some more insights into my creative process.
Music credit: RPG Music Maker Travis Savoie
Cheers,
DM Andy
Comments
DM Andy
Thanks so much!! I have always wanted to add more perspective to my maps ever since I first started, but asset availability kept me in the strictly top-down lane. Nothing wrong with strictly top-down at all, and in fact, it's probably the most VTT-friendly map style out there. But I could not resist where my artistic passion takes me, and building out perspective has been a huge joy for me to work with (But not without its headaches, especially trying to find that balance of VTT / Token-friendly movement!). You are correct in that I'm using Inkarnate to make my maps in, although I'd say these days 90+% of my assets are custom. I've sourced my assets from a few who offer commercial liceneses including River Dog Studios and The Builder's Atlas. But most of my assets are designed by myself and commissioned to an artist to bring to life. Inkarnate does have an art asset management tool that allows you to bulk import custom assets and textures. You can also import "paths" (like the brick wall upper asset I use for the tops of the wall). I think with their studio license, you can have up to 10,000 custom assets (I think I'm about halfway full!).
InnScribeMaps
Hello Dm Andy! This looks amazing! I love semi-isometric vibe (been experimentig myself with it). Tell me, are you using custom assets in Inkarnate or are these built in assets? (Second part of video is Inkarnate?) I am Dungeondraft user so am curious if i can port my assets to Inkarnate. 😉
DM Andy
Thank you so much! I'm really glad I was able to share my process with you. And yeah, lighting is a beast, but after a LOT of trial and error, I think I have it down to a fine-tuned process. I didn't have a Phonograph assets so I figured I'd create one from scratch using the shape tool, line tool and various textures to create it. I've done that a few times when I needed an asset that I didn't have such as the church bell from the Gothic City Church map. The nice thing is now I can save that asset to be re-used on other maps. Some of the paintings I created (like a map within a map) while others I used public domain images of actual classical art by Rambrandt as they had that look and feel I wanted for the art Deaver would hang. Glad you liked it!
DM Andy
It's pretty wild to watch the whole process isn't it? Even I'm like "Wow.. did I really do all of that??" when I watch the vid haha.
Carlos Fuentes
I have a whole new respect for the entire process. Insane work.
Ethan Millsap
Absolutely amazing the creativity behind this whole process. Was really interesting to see what your process was for getting the lighting done for your map. Also using individual building blocks to make the paintings and the phonograph. Holy cow.
DM Andy
I'm glad I was able to share this with you! I realize outside of sneak peeks, I don't share a lot of behind-the-scenes work, and I want to get better at doing that. Glad you like it.
bumbleduck
This is incredible! I knew a lot of work went into making your maps as stunning and detailed as they were! But it's a whole other thing to see it slowly come to life! Its awesome!
