Redditor's Tolkien-inspired map of Malay Archipelago is so popular, people want to buy prints
PHOTO: Joshua Tabti
PUBLISHED ONJuly 09, 2021 7:17 AMByXavier Poh
Lord of The Rings fans will be thrilled to know that a hand-drawn Tolkien-inspired map of the Malay Archipelago has became so popular, that netizens are willing to pay for one.
The detailed map, highlighting prominent maritime landmarks, went viral after it was uploaded on Reddit’s Singapore page on July 8 (Thursday) – garnering more than two thousand upvotes and over 100 comments.
"I’ve been a lifelong Lord of the Rings Fan and had always liked J.R.R.Tolkien’s own simple line illustrations for his books,” Joshua Tabti, the artist behind this map, told AsiaOne. The 27-year-old also drew fantasy maps as a kid.
He started to draw maps similarly found in Tolkien’s books while recovering from a broken collarbone in 2019. According to his website, he is from Roubaix, France but lives in London where he studied fine art at Central Saint Martins.
In this video you can see the illustration of the Komodo dragon before it zooms out to show the size and scale of the map on the drawing table.
The Malay Archipelago map took between 40 to 60 hours to complete by hand, using ink and a dip pen which is mainly used in calligraphy.
“I use a dip pen and ink, which is a traditional way of drawing and writing calligraphy," he said. "It lends itself well to this style as the quality of line is much smoother than using regular pens, and you wouldn’t get the same imperfections and tonal qualities with a digital brush.”
Netizens on Reddit are amazed at Joshua’s map, praising his craft and his attention to detail.
A few netizens even offered to pay to own a physical copy of the map.
On his Etsy page, he has sold 66 of these Malay Archipelago maps – with more than 20 adding this item to their basket. There are two sizes available, 59.4 by 42cm at £40.00 (S$75) and 84 by 59.4cm at £45.00.
According to the store page’s description, these maps will be made via digital print on heavy weight paper. The copies will be illustrated using traditional dip pen and ink and annotated with calligraphy.
Joshua has also drawn similar styled maps in locations such as Isle of Man and Wales, United Kingdom.
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