Mini 3D Map of Lordran (Dark Souls)

UPDATE (8/7/19): This item is now for sale in My Store

After messing around with lake maps made out of glass, I wanted to try making a map of landscape. For some reason the first landscape that came to mind was from Dark Souls - a game with no game map, except the one that's in your head. I wanted to see what the land looked like with all of the game areas connected, and this is the end result.

Turning the map over shows the areas that are underground, with Ash Lake and Lost Izalith at the lowest.

I pored over multiple maps created by fans and players, and even dug into the game models to find out the heights of the various locations. Some of the landscapes and zones were tweaked just based on the inability to explore that far, but this seems like the closest rendering to a 3D map outside of the game map itself.

All my references were pretty disjointed but there were a few I kept going back to:

For the height of each zone I used:

• The Dark Souls Map Viewer and Map Explorer by Kayin Nasaki, and

• The maps from kouryakubo.com/darksouls, (translated by Nitren)

For how the areas connect to each other I referred to:

• The maps available on Polygon by Jeffrey Parkin, and

• Images made by reddit user u/Aetol, who I believe also used the Dark Souls Map Viewer. These images also helped in determining the heights of the different zones

For the background landscapes and views in the distance that you can't access, I watched:

• "Off Camera Secrets" Dark Souls Boundary Break by Shesez

I know a printer that is able to print directly onto glass, so I had them print on all 20 layers. It got kind of technical with the layers on the underside, but basically I had to have a block of only white ink underneath the full color on each layer so that it would be opaque and you couldn't see the layers beneath.

Then I lined them up with each other inside an acrylic frame and glued the corners so they would stay in place. Last I put a frame on top of it all to clean it up and cover the glue marks

Poor little Undead Asylum off and away from the rest of Lordran

Below is some detail on where all of the areas are in relation to each other

Here's the rendering I made on the computer to see what it would look like when done:

Fun side note: it looks really cool when you shine a light through it:

And for those with any interest, here's the PDF that I used to send it to print: Download

I've since made many variations of this map: adding labels, and trying to perfect it to reach a level that I like the best. Each one had pros and cons:

20 panes of glass, with each layer UV printed: Adding more panes of glass meant the overall effect was foggy...which was not intended, and something I needed to try to clear up.

20 panes of glass, UV printed: Different glass, same fog. After this one, the print shop was not able to print these anymore, so I needed to find a solution that I could print and create at home.

20 panes of glass, printed on printable vinyl: I was now able to print the layers at home without a print shop, but I wasn't happy with the solid colors getting scuffed after applying with transfer tape.

20 panes of glass, green vinyl + printable vinyl: I wanted the green landscape to be solid, but this meant much more work on my end. I also thought this premium glass would be clearer, but it still looked foggy.

10 panes of glass, Printable vinyl with woodworked frame: Finally the clarity was solved, but I needed a way to frame the entire piece since the original acrylic box would no longer fit this shorter stack of glass panes. This is the version shown in the above short video, and the need to sand and cut the frame meant much more work on my part. I needed a way to make this without a frame.

10 layers of epoxy resin, printable vinyl: The current method I use to make this map - I've removed glass from the process completely. This is the clearest option, and there is no need for a frame (which I think looks cooler). The clarity is the best of all the options, and the edges are no longer in shadow from a wooden frame. My main concern with this option is potential yellowing after 4+ years (all resin yellows over time)

What are your thoughts on all these different options? Is there a method I haven't tried that would solve a lot of my issues? I'd love any feedback so I can perfect these further! And once again, here is the listing page available at my store: Lordran Map Listing

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