Francesca Baerald Launches Crowdfunding Campaign for New Art Book
- Artist Francesca Baerald is crowdfunding “Unbound – The Cartography Art Book.”
- The project has raised over four times its £20,000 goal on Kickstarter.
- Available editions range from €150 for Standard to €2000 for a Limited Edition.
Francesca Baerald, known for her intricate in-game and out-of-game maps for titles like Dragon Age, Warcraft, and Dungeons & Dragons, is set to release a new art book titled Unbound – The Cartography Art Book. This oversized, A3 book focuses on her exquisitely detailed, hand-painted maps.
The crowdfunding campaign for “Unbound” has already proven to be a major success, amassing over four times its initial goal of £20,000 on Kickstarter with several weeks remaining. The book will showcase more than 250 maps from Baerald’s contributions to video games, tabletop RPGs, board games, and graphic novels.
If Baerald’s name sounds familiar to some, it may be due to a past interview regarding her unique approach to map-making. Unlike many modern cartographers who utilize digital tools, Baerald creates her maps primarily through physical watercolour painting.
“I believe a perfect map should inspire players and readers from the first glance,” Baerald expressed in that interview. “I see maps not as instruments to find directions in a game, but as decorated, welcoming doorways that drag you into the game’s world.”
The pricing structure for “Unbound” includes a Standard Edition priced at €150, a Premium Edition at €250, and an opulent Limited Edition at €2000, the latter of which is hand-bound in Italy using ancient techniques at Bottega dei Gozzi. The book is reportedly 99% finished, though deliveries are scheduled for the forthcoming summer.
Interested in acquiring your copy?
News Courtesy of Eurogamer
