In the past I’ve created a few typography maps to put together a collection of all 50 states and major cities to offer in my etsy shop.
These maps are fun, but time consuming, as it required me to hand letter a draft of the design, then ink over the entire design again. Once that was completed, I would upload a photo of the artwork to edit and digitize for a completed piece. This process usually takes me about a week to complete, if I really dedicate the majority of my waking hours to it.
I’ve explored and debated about how I could make this process faster, and I finally took the big step that I’ve been wanting to do for a couple of years now. I recently upgraded from paper to an iPad Pro. It was an expensive leap, but it has already proven to be well worth it.
Now, instead of creating a pencil draft on paper, adding an ink layer, photographing and editing, I can simply draw a final draft right in my design app. This saves me literally hours of work.
For instance, last week I received a request for a custom state map design featuring three different states into one final art piece. Normally, I would have to draw out each state as outlined above and then put them together in my design software. This would have taken weeks to accomplish. Don’t get me wrong, the design element of my work still takes a great deal of time, but by using my iPad, it takes me days rather than weeks to complete a custom project like this one.
Here is the completed project that I made. It was designed as a gift for a couple renewing their wedding vows. He is from Illinois and she is from Nebraska. They now live in Texas.
Be sure to check out my other states and cities as the collection begins to grow much faster now that I have my new super-tool. If there is a state that you’re specifically interested in, send me a note and I can get it added!
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