Cartographer Francesca Baerald Crowdfunds Hand-Painted Game Art Book

Celebrated artist and cartographer Francesca Baerald is releasing a new art book showcasing her hand-painted maps from major gaming franchises, including Warcraft, Diablo, Dragon Age, Octopath Traveler, and Dungeons & Dragons. The project, titled Unbound - The Cartography Art Book by Francesca Baerald, compiles over 250 maps from her work across video games, tabletop RPGs, board games, and graphic novels.

The art book is currently being crowdfunded on Kickstarter, where it has already raised more than four times its original £20,000 goal with weeks to spare. Baerald is known for creating her maps almost exclusively through physical mediums, painting in watercolor rather than relying on digital creation software. This unique methodology helps her craft detailed, immersive designs.

Speaking on her artistic philosophy, Baerald previously noted that a perfect map should inspire players and readers from the very first glance. She explained that she views maps not simply as instruments to find directions in a game, but as decorated, welcoming doorways that drag you into the game's world.

Unbound is designed as an oversized, A3-format book prioritizing print and paper quality. The project is already 99 percent finished, with copies scheduled to ship next summer. Several tiers are available for backers, starting at €150 for the Standard Edition and rising to €250 for the Premium Edition. A highly exclusive Limited Edition is priced at €2,000, which will be hand-bound in Italy using ancient techniques by the book-binder Bottega dei Gozzi.