by Many fantasy cartographers were excited when I launched Gomboust, my first brush set focused on the urban environment. I immediately started making plans to release a second set. After all, what’s a fantasy setting without a wondrous city to explore?
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Today I’m proud to release Braun, a 16th-century urban cartography brush set based on the incredible work of Georg Braun taken from Civitates orbis terrarum—easily one of the most significant volumes of cartographic antiquity featuring bird’s eye maps of over five hundred and forty Renaissance cities. As you can imagine, this was a massive project, and it involved many more artists and cartographers. (A more extensive list is on Braun’s wiki page.) Georg Braun was the principal on the project, so the naming honor goes to him. Most of the signs extracted for this set came from the prints of Lyon, Ghent, Utrecht, and a bit from Paris. Every map was a little different, and I focused on making sure the size, print quality, and line work all worked seamlessly together. With so much more out there, I could see a Braun supplement coming in the future as well.
I really like the density represented in these symbols. Every little building is rendered no matter how mundane, and the added detail gives an extra layer of texture to a map. It feels vibrant and alive and has a “lived-in” quality that’s perfect for the right fantastical city map.
As I mentioned when I launched Gomboust, wielding these brushes is more advanced than topographical sets. To capture your vision, you’ll want to plan or at least have a decent knowledge of your tools. Spend some time with the brushes, and learn what’s available. Be willing to edit and adjust them. It’ll allow you to make critical decisions and help fully realize your vision.
Braun isn’t enormous, but it’s effective. Its simple style and strong linework make repetition harder to spot, especially if symbols are merged and edited together. It includes the following:
- 20 Single Homes
- 20 Groups of Homes
- 40 Small Blocks
- 30 Large Blocks
- 35 Unique Blocks
- 20 Churches
- 10 Small Bridges
- 5 Large Bridges
- 20 Dead Trees
- 30 Leafy Trees
- 20 Unique Points of Interest
- 20 Windmills
- 10 Crosses
- 10 Walls
- 10 Wells
- 10 Fountains
- 10 Shadoofs
- 10 Boats
The button below links to a ZIP file that contains a Photoshop brush set (it’ll also work in GIMP) as well as a set of transparent PNGs in case you’re using a program that doesn’t support Adobe brush files. I’ve separated them by type: City Blocks and Points of Interest & Flora. They’re black, and they’ll look broken if viewed in Chrome, but trust me, they’re all there.
As with all of my previous brush sets, Braun is free for any use. I distribute my sets with a Creative Common, No Rights Reserved License (CC0), which means you can freely use this and any of my brushes in commercial work and distribute adaptations. (Details on this decision here.) No attribution is required. Easy peasy!
Enjoy Braun? Feel free to show me what you created by sending me an email or finding me on Twitter. I love seeing how these brushes get used, and I’d be happy to share your work with my readers. Let me see what you make!
🌏 Braun In Use
Want to see this brush set in use? I put together a sample map using Braun. There are three versions, a black-and-white version, one colored, and a decorated sample. Click on any of the images below to view them larger. Perhaps this will inspire you in your projects!
Support this Work
Brushes and tools released through the #NoBadMaps project will always be free and released under a public domain CC0 license. If you’d like to support the project and help me cover the cost of hosting, research, and tool-set development, I’ve put together three ways you can help, and all are detailed below.
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I’m not just a map enthusiast. I’m also a novelist! The easiest way to support me (and get something in return) is by purchasing one of my cosmic horror urban fantasy novels.
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A simple and quick way to support the #NoBadMaps project is through a one-time donation of any amount via ko-fi. Your support helps keep this project going and is appreciated.
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K. M. Alexander 
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