Although typically geographical, cartographic fantasy can include planetary, galactic, and cosmological maps conceptual maps and speculative maps. Cartographic fantasy has its historic origins in mythology, philosophy, literature and natural sciences. Whilst cartographic fantasy has been popularized by novels of these genres it has also become a standalone hobby and artistic pursuit. Stefan Ekman says that, 'a 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.' Fantasy cartography usually manifests from worldbuilding and often corresponds to narratives within the fantasy and science fiction genres. Awdryįantasy 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. Study and creation of maps of imagined places or eventsĪ map of the fictional kingdom of Aredia, which is a generic campaign setting used in role-playing games A Visualization of The Cartographic Process A map of the fictional Island of Sodor from The Railway Series by Rev.
