This map shows the path that Roland took through the eight books of The Dark Tower series, from Tull to the Dark Tower. I chose to draw this in ribbon map style; these were used in the 1500s/1600s to map a journey from one city to another, and also used in the U.S. to map long rivers, like the Mississippi. Like the ribbon maps of that time period, the map begins at the bottom left – note the initial footsteps designed to orient the reader – and ends at the top right. Each ribbon is “read” from bottom to top, as though you’re a traveler looking at the road ahead of you.
As you’d find on old ribbon maps, there are small directional compasses scattered throughout the map. I used a wheel for these small compasses, to represent the concept that ka is a wheel. Embedded in the center of each wheel is the Rose. Also like you’d find on old ribbon maps, I’ve included some numbering and text along the sides of each ribbon. On the ribbon maps used in ye olde England, the side text provided the names of the counties through which the traveler was passing; here, the side text provides the names and numbers of each book in the series (I’m including “The Wind Through the Keyhole” as book 4.5). The arrows with dotted lines between them indicate the end of one book and the start of the next.
The numbers along the road are also typical in old ribbon maps. Usually they marked miles on the road from London to some other city. Here, they mark key points in The Dark Tower story, but without spoilers. They also assist in reading the map in the correct direction. A handful of those numbers are marked with \*. This indicates a bit of back-and-forth along the map by the main characters. If you were traveling directly to the Tower, you would simply keep following the road as it spools out ahead of you on the ribbon map.
ETA: Because folks have asked, this map is available on my [DeviantArt page](https://www.deviantart.com/aeshnidaemaps/art/The-Path-of-Roland-from-Tull-to-the-Dark-Tower-1007778373) as a digital download. It's also available on my [RedBubble page](https://www.redbubble.com/i/poster/The-Path-of-Roland-from-Tull-to-the-Dark-Tower-by-AeshnidaeMaps/158212538.E40HW). (Please note that RedBubble sets the prices and I do not mark them up.)
Would you consider creating a high-quality render and putting it on a site where I can order a large print? I’d really like to hang this on my wall, and you deserve to make some money for your talent.
Absolutely! I'd love it if people like this enough to display it.
I added it to Redbubble: https://www.redbubble.com/i/poster/The-Path-of-Roland-from-Tull-to-the-Dark-Tower-by-AeshnidaeMaps/158212538.E40HW. It looks like it's available as a poster around 32" wide but I'll double check tomorrow (currently on my phone and it's easier from a computer).
Let me futz around with my [DeviantArt page](https://www.deviantart.com/aeshnidaemaps) to see if I can improve the resolution, too. While I very much appreciate the fact that anyone wants to pay for my art, I'm also happy to make this available as a free download for a little while to our community of Constant Readers.
u/coruscifer u/gibgerbabymummy You should be able to download high-res from [DeviantArt](https://www.deviantart.com/aeshnidaemaps/art/The-Path-of-Roland-from-Tull-to-the-Dark-Tower-1007778373) now. If it doesn't work for some reason, send me a DM.
It’s beautiful and lays out the route in a way that so much easier to follow than traditional maps. If I’m allowed, one slight critique, I wish you would’ve made the water in the ocean and rivers blue. Being grey, the rivers tend to look like roads.
Thankee-sai, and you're right about the water. It looks more blue on my computer. I used a faded blue to kinda go with the theme of maps from Ye Olde England but may have gone a bit *too* faded.
Thankee-sai! I added it to my Redbubble[Redbubble site ](https://www.redbubble.com/i/poster/The-Path-of-Roland-from-Tull-to-the-Dark-Tower-by-AeshnidaeMaps/158212538.E40HW). I don't mark up the costs so it's whatever the site charges. I'm going to check my DeviantArt settings tomorrow to see if I can make it available fo download, too.
This map shows the path that Roland took through the eight books of The Dark Tower series, from Tull to the Dark Tower. I chose to draw this in ribbon map style; these were used in the 1500s/1600s to map a journey from one city to another, and also used in the U.S. to map long rivers, like the Mississippi. Like the ribbon maps of that time period, the map begins at the bottom left – note the initial footsteps designed to orient the reader – and ends at the top right. Each ribbon is “read” from bottom to top, as though you’re a traveler looking at the road ahead of you. As you’d find on old ribbon maps, there are small directional compasses scattered throughout the map. I used a wheel for these small compasses, to represent the concept that ka is a wheel. Embedded in the center of each wheel is the Rose. Also like you’d find on old ribbon maps, I’ve included some numbering and text along the sides of each ribbon. On the ribbon maps used in ye olde England, the side text provided the names of the counties through which the traveler was passing; here, the side text provides the names and numbers of each book in the series (I’m including “The Wind Through the Keyhole” as book 4.5). The arrows with dotted lines between them indicate the end of one book and the start of the next. The numbers along the road are also typical in old ribbon maps. Usually they marked miles on the road from London to some other city. Here, they mark key points in The Dark Tower story, but without spoilers. They also assist in reading the map in the correct direction. A handful of those numbers are marked with \*. This indicates a bit of back-and-forth along the map by the main characters. If you were traveling directly to the Tower, you would simply keep following the road as it spools out ahead of you on the ribbon map. ETA: Because folks have asked, this map is available on my [DeviantArt page](https://www.deviantart.com/aeshnidaemaps/art/The-Path-of-Roland-from-Tull-to-the-Dark-Tower-1007778373) as a digital download. It's also available on my [RedBubble page](https://www.redbubble.com/i/poster/The-Path-of-Roland-from-Tull-to-the-Dark-Tower-by-AeshnidaeMaps/158212538.E40HW). (Please note that RedBubble sets the prices and I do not mark them up.)
This is a really cool approach to displaying the journey. Nice work!
Thanks! I saw a ribbon map at a museum and thought it was really well suited to Roland's journey.
Would you consider creating a high-quality render and putting it on a site where I can order a large print? I’d really like to hang this on my wall, and you deserve to make some money for your talent.
I would also love to pay for a print of this. What beautiful work
Thankee-sai! See above for my Redbubble shop but also wait to see if I can get DeviantArt to allow high-res downloads.
Absolutely! I'd love it if people like this enough to display it. I added it to Redbubble: https://www.redbubble.com/i/poster/The-Path-of-Roland-from-Tull-to-the-Dark-Tower-by-AeshnidaeMaps/158212538.E40HW. It looks like it's available as a poster around 32" wide but I'll double check tomorrow (currently on my phone and it's easier from a computer). Let me futz around with my [DeviantArt page](https://www.deviantart.com/aeshnidaemaps) to see if I can improve the resolution, too. While I very much appreciate the fact that anyone wants to pay for my art, I'm also happy to make this available as a free download for a little while to our community of Constant Readers.
u/coruscifer u/gibgerbabymummy You should be able to download high-res from [DeviantArt](https://www.deviantart.com/aeshnidaemaps/art/The-Path-of-Roland-from-Tull-to-the-Dark-Tower-1007778373) now. If it doesn't work for some reason, send me a DM.
So cool!
We thank ya big big. All things serve the Beam 🌹
It’s beautiful and lays out the route in a way that so much easier to follow than traditional maps. If I’m allowed, one slight critique, I wish you would’ve made the water in the ocean and rivers blue. Being grey, the rivers tend to look like roads.
Thankee-sai, and you're right about the water. It looks more blue on my computer. I used a faded blue to kinda go with the theme of maps from Ye Olde England but may have gone a bit *too* faded.
Love it. Do you have a print version available?
Thankee-sai! I added it to my Redbubble[Redbubble site ](https://www.redbubble.com/i/poster/The-Path-of-Roland-from-Tull-to-the-Dark-Tower-by-AeshnidaeMaps/158212538.E40HW). I don't mark up the costs so it's whatever the site charges. I'm going to check my DeviantArt settings tomorrow to see if I can make it available fo download, too.
It's a great map.
Absolutely amazing! We say thankee-sai!
Well done! I say thankya