Mapmaking Software For Every Fiction Cartographer
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Fictional maps are a huge part of worldbuilding. If you want your audience to better visualize your world, having a visual guide is a lot of help.
We’ve all started with doodles. Some of you might even be talented artists with lots of time on your hands. However, for those needing a little help, there are some mapmaking software you can take advantage of.
Mapmaking Software
Here are some of the best mapmaking software to help build your world. Use them whether you’re writing a novel, getting ready for a tabletop campaign, or simply a hobbyist cartographer.
1. Inkarnate
Inkarnate is a browser-based software that allows you to make fantasy maps for different purposes. You can use it anywhere, at any time as long as you have internet access.
It’s pretty user-friendly; even someone with no art background can use it intuitively. It also comes with an extensive library of art assets including terrain brushes, pre-made objects, and customizable maps. They’re largely suited for fantasy though but can be adapted to sci-fi.
The free version includes a respectable amount of assets but you can only export your map at a 2k resolution. If you have the cash to spare, the paid version ($5 monthly or $25 yearly) offers way more assets, 8k export quality, and a commercial license.
They also have a fairly active community on Reddit, where you can ask for tips, showcase your work, and hang out with other mapmakers.
2. Wonderdraft
Wonderdraft is another mapmaking software with a generous learning curve. If you’re looking for a Tolkien-esque style of graphics, then is it.
There’s no need to learn graphic design as you can easily survive with their asset library and terrain tools. But compared to Inkarnate, it only offers a limited amount of assets which may be constricting to some. Although, additional art packs can be downloaded and integrated without any hassle.
Like Inkarnate, the art style leans heavily towards fantasy. It’s also more suited to large maps and can be difficult to use when designing towns, cities, and the like.
Wonderdraft is a downloadable software that you can use offline or when the internet is weak. While that’s convenient, keep in mind that you’re not able to easily switch computers when working on a map.
Unfortunately, Wonderdraft has no free version. It is, however, available for an affordable one-time purchase of $29.99. All updates are free though they rarely happen.
3. Campaign Cartographer 3
Campaign Cartographer 3 is a downloadable software with a bit of a learning curve. Its UI is a bit old, which makes it a bit clunky and harder to learn. But it is reliable and gets the job done.
It lets you make detailed maps within minutes, with a large selection of styles and assets to suit your needs. You can use it to design floor plans up to entire planets. It’s pretty easy to adapt to other genres aside from fantasy too.
It also has add-on software you can use to better make your maps, such as City Designer, Perspective Designer, and Dungeon Designer. The base software is plenty powerful by itself. It’s not available for Mac or Linux though and only for computers that run Microsoft Windows 10, 8 (and 8.1), Windows 7, Vista, XP, or 2000.
And because it’s been around for a long time, there’s a thriving community of users you can interact with, as well as a ton of professional tutorials to get you started.
Campaign Cartographer is priced at £29.95 (about $37) in the UK, but is priced at $44.95 if you change it to the US. That doesn’t include the price of the add-ons, which are priced just slightly lower. It’s quite expensive, but worth it for anyone who’ll be doing a lot of cartography.
4. DungeonFog
DungeonFog is a browser-based software specifically for tabletop games like DnD. It’s designed to quickly create dungeon maps, scene maps, and building maps—basically, any map you need for a tabletop campaign.
It’s not limited to fantasy-style maps either. There are a ton of assets that range from medieval to cyberpunk settings. Bear in mind though, that it’s more suitable for small-scale maps than large ones.
It’s a great timesaver for Dungeon Masters as you can clone existing maps, duplicate or rotate rooms, and snap them to a grid as needed.
It has a free limited version you can play around with. The paid version is also quite affordable, starting at $4.9 a month to $49.90 a year. A premium version with a commercial license is also available for $99.90 annually.
5. Flowscape
Flowscape isn’t a mapmaking software, but can be used as one. It’s a modeling program that lets you create 3D animated scenes.
It’s perfect for storytellers, artists, or game developers who want to rapidly design landscapes with minimal technical skills. Depending on the size of the assets you use, you can create entire continents or focus on a single building. Because it is 3D, you can also play around with different perspectives and angles to fit your story.
There are plenty of terrain and vegetation tools as well as a large asset library you can use to quickly generate scenes. You can also control environmental elements such as lighting, weather, and other atmospheric effects for an immersive effect.
It’s a downloadable program you can use offline. The price is $10 on their website or you can buy it on Steam.
6. Dungeondraft
Dungeondraft is made by Megasploot, the same developer that created Wonderdraft. But while Wonderdraft is for exterior and world maps, Dungeondraft focuses on interior maps instead.
Aside from that, the two are pretty much similar. It’s a light, downloadable software you can use offline. It has a limited amount of free assets but you can download more art packs depending on your needs.
Like its sister software, it doesn’t have a free version. It is, however, also affordable for a one-time purchase of only $19.99.
Mapmaking for Fiction
You’ll notice that most mapmaking software is best suited for fantasy. This is probably because the genre demands the most visual details in worldbuilding.
A lot of these software, however, can be adapted to different genres such as science fiction. It might take a bit of fiddling around though. Even software that isn’t specifically for mapmaking can be adapted to the task—it’s just going to be less convenient.
There’s nothing wrong about sticking with pen and paper, though. If you enjoy that more, then by all means continue doing so. The mapmaking software above is just a convenient alternative you can use.
What is your favorite mapmaking software? Share them in the comments below!
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