r/papertowns

A multilayer painting I made of my beloved city (with led illumination)

3D virtual reconstruction of the city of Troy VI (ca. 1200 BC), identifiable with “Homeric” Troy. Created for the book "De Troya a Roma. La historia tras el mito", published by Desperta Ferro Ediciones (2026). Author: Pablo Aparicio Resco (source)

3D virtual reconstruction of early Rome, traditionally associated with Romulus and Remus, at the end of the 8th century BC. Work created for the illustrated book "De Troya a Roma. La historia tras el mito", published by Desperta Ferro Ediciones (2026). Author: Pablo Aparicio Resco (source)

The void-skimming fast star that is the Stratometaship is finally depicted* in full tetrachromatic** glory.

Technique: grid drawn in adobe illustrator, everything else drawn in procreate, grid concealed.

For those keen on more place descriptions: https://www.patreon.com/wizardthieffighter/posts/stratometaship-162682632

*"Check out this new illustrated map I drew."
**full glory only available to avians

I'm working on a synthesis of Leiden's city defensive works from the Medieval and Early Modern periods and how those were developed throughout the city's history. Comparing several contemporary city maps gives a solid basis for the research, along with archaeological finds and historical records such as financial accounts (defensive works are expensive!).

This is one of my favourite maps because of its colours and because it shows the city medieval city walls in a transitional period, before the city expanded further outwards. You'll notice three bastions that were added quickly after the sieges of 1573-1574. If you look at all the towers along the wall you'll notice that most of them are short and have no roof. Originally those were the same as towers with roofs, but they were 'decapitated' in the 16th century. They were too vulnerable to artillery fire, meaning they would collapse and would become useless. If they collapsed into the moat, those spots could even become scalable.
At this time the backs of the medieval city walls were filled with earth to withstand artillery fire. Most of Leiden's medieval city walls had been curtain walls; so no parapets or battlements existed along the walls before this period.

It was built between 1503 and 1522 for protection from the attacks by the Crimean Khanate at the beginning of the Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars. 

Following the partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the occupational Russian government ordered to tear down most of the wall and all the gates, except the Gate of Dawn.

I used to live in Las Vegas, it’s a very fascinating place. This bird’s eye view was produced at the height of the prosperity of the area. The railroad had just arrived three years earlier, and New Town or East Las Vegas quickly was established one mile east of the existing settlement and thrived. At this point the city rivaled Denver, Tucson, and El Paso in size. The city even featured an early street car system.

What became known at that point as West Las Vegas began as part of a Spanish Land Grant in 1835, and was captured and brought under American control in 1846 by General Kearny and his forces. The two remained separate cities divided by the Gallinas River until merging in 1970, and have historically been markedly different in terms of demographics, culture, and style. Traditional and historic adobe structures remain in modern day western Las Vegas while eastern Las Vegas has numerous standing examples of stately Victorian homes and remnants of the thriving commercial district.

The Montezuma Resort displayed in the inset is located north of Las Vegas and a rail spur was built to allow visitors to travel easily to the area and enjoy the natural hot springs. The current building at the site dating from 1886 after the first two burned is known as Montezuma Castle and is home to a campus of the United World College.

On November 4, 1390, the Teutonic Order attacked Vilnius Castle. The attack was led by the Order's marshal Engelhard Rabe and the Lithuanian Duke Vytautas, whom Jogaila had removed from power. The Livonian Order knights, the son of King Henry of Lancaster, Henry, Earl of Derby (England), and 300 knights also participated in the campaign. During this attack, the wooden Crooked Castle (Latin: curvum castrum), or the Upper Castle (orbiste hus), was burned, but the Upper Castle and the Lower Castle were not taken. The settlement was also burned with the castle.

My attempt at making a 1:1 scale Kraków

This is a hand-drawn fantasy map in an isometric perspective, crafted in the signature Qatlasmap style for Spellsword LLC's upcoming The Dragonwilds project.