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One of my favorite movies that I watched in 2021 is Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom. It’s the mix of fiction and reality – the thin line between fantasy and what could be real – that appeals me.
In the beginning of summer 2021, I received an unusual commission request: can you remake the map of New Penzance Island in a higher resolution? I didn’t want to admit that I’d never heart of New Penzance Island, nor of the movie Moonrise Kingdom, so I started googling it.
“Set on an island off the coast of New England in the 1960s, as a young boy and girl fall in love they are moved to run away together. Various factions of the town mobilize to search for them and the town is turned upside down – which might not be such a bad thing.” (source IMDB).
I then started making the map in Wonderdraft, based on other (lower resolution) maps that I could find online and on the description of the commissioner. I loved to work on something that was completely different from the typical fantasy maps and more in the style of those maps some of you might remember from the high school classroom.
The island that Wes Anderson created for his story feels 100% believable. The shape, the setting, the rivers… I would have instantly believed everything if I was told that it was a real world place after all.
After the usual back and forth communication about this special fantasy map commission, I made good progress in Wonderdraft and could soon deliver the final product.
Gladly, the commissioner was very happy with the result!
Not long after this commission, I decided to watch the movie for myself. And as I already said, I was impressed and absolutely loved the story and the way it was depicted!
Inspired by Moonrise Kingdom, I went on to look for more fictional ‘small island movies and series’ on Netflix and came across Midnight Mass. Besides all the miraculous events taking place in this mini-series by Mike Flanagan, the thing that impressed me personally the most, was the beautiful portrayal of ‘small island life.’
Midnight Mass and Moonrise Kingdom together, inspired me to create my own island village called Golley which I’ve placed just off the coast of Summerfrost in the Tales of Asnia:
This village map is also available in the webshop, both with and without labels.
It will also be a place you can visit in the upcoming game Beasts & Glory.
Got some great ideas of stories that could take place on Golley? Let me know by messaging me or reach out to me on Instagram! Inspirational stories are always welcome.