Maps for movies

These hand-drawn maps depict the Kingdom of Aël, a realm born in my childhood imagination. Back then, it was called Eilburg – a place that never left my mind. Over the years, I kept redrawing and refining it, from my early sketches as a boy, through my teenage years, to these finished pieces as a professional illustrator.

This medieval-style map shows the kingdom on its continent. I aged the watercolour paper with coffee, drew the map in ink, folded it, and made the hole in the middle using sandpaper. Everything is based on real medieval maps, including the circle, which was typically used to depict the entire known world. If you look closely at the map, you will see several monsters, which I also took from maps of that time. These monsters were used to remind travellers not to venture too far into unknown areas, such as the deep sea or the far north. Compare the two maps to see what has changed in and around the kingdom over time!

This map is created with pencil and watercolour, and lettered in ink calligraphy, it is both a journey back to where it all began and a glimpse into a world that exists only on paper – yet feels very real to me. It could appear in opening credits or a prologue to set the stage for the story, but it may also serve as the basis for an animated opening sequence, much like the evolving maps seen in Game of Thrones.

North of the Kingdom of Aël lies the realm of Forgoth, ruled with an iron hand by the despotic Magardoth. Its capital, grimly known as the City of Death, rises from the bleak lands like a curse upon the earth. At its heart stands a towering black-and-blue keep — Magardoth’s palace, cold and unyielding as its master.

Fortunately, Aël is spared much of his reach, shielded by the soaring mountains and the dense, treacherous forest of the enigmatic wizard Pallatio — a place few dare to cross.

Where the River Aël cuts through the mountains stands the Statue of the Guardian, ever watchful over the Kingdom of Aël. Ancient enchantments lie upon it: should Forgoth ever dare to strike, the Guardian will awaken to aid Aël in driving back Magardoth’s armies.

At the mouth of the River Aël, beneath the thundering cascade of a vast waterfall, lies the kingdom’s capital, spread across both banks. The river’s mouth is spanned by the longest and greatest bridge in the world — not merely a crossing, but a monumental multi-storey structure housing a sprawling bazaar. It would be hailed as one of the wonders of the world, were it not for the floating palace.

Perched upon a levitating isle whose mystery has eluded even the most learned scholars, the palace is home to Queen Alondula II. In Aël, airships drift through the skies as a common means of travel, making it no challenge at all to reach the palace itself.

For more than forty years, Queen Alondula II has ruled Aël with wisdom and a rare spirit of liberty. She had not been destined for the throne — until, in her youth, tragedy struck: her elder sister fell from the floating palace to her death. To this day, no one knows the hand behind the murder.