Treasure Map Drawing

Treasure Map Drawing: For Play, But Also to Complete a Major Project

When we think "treasure map drawing", we inevitably think of an activity done with children. For a successful treasure hunt, parents or animators then need to create a personalized map that seems authentic. But the treasure map can have a completely different purpose than play! Indeed, drawing a treasure map also allows visualizing the steps of a major project (professional or personal) to complete it more effectively.

Also, in this article, we're interested successively in these two types of maps!

Making a Treasure Map Drawing for an Activity with Children

For the needs of a school play, to animate a birthday party, or even to organize a game in a recreation center… many situations can lead you to create the drawing of a treasure map.

To obtain a map more real than nature, proceed step by step.

Define the Type of Treasure Map to Draw

You have here the choice between different types of maps for your treasure hunt:

• path with milestones;
• verses including directional information;
• etc.

Your only imperative: the starting point of the map must be easy to locate.

The Choice of Support

Your map can be drawn on an ordinary white sheet of paper that you can then artificially age (we'll see how in a next paragraph.)

You can also use cardboard paper here, for a map more durable over time.

For an even more believable map, also think about one of those blank paper bags used in grocery stores.

The Treasure Map Drawing

Now trace all the specific elements that will allow children to discover the treasure:

• indicate the four cardinal points on your map (at minimum the North);
• draw a cross to specify the treasure's location;
• trace different landmarks specifying the map's starting and ending points;
• add all other directional elements that hunters will need to follow to reach the treasure;
• draw trees, bushes or all other plants;
• decorate the map with buildings, mountains or hills, rivers, etc.
• to perfect the rendering, add some fictional elements, such as a sea serpent, a Spanish galleon, a pirate ship, or even a castle…

Tip: use inks of different colors to draw your treasure map and don't hesitate to mix drawing tools (pencils, markers, paint, etc.)

Giving an Old Look to a Treasure Map Drawing

Different techniques will allow you to age your treasure map drawing to make it more authentic:

• tear the edges of your sheet of paper;
• stamp a still damp tea bag to brown the paper;
• crumple the map into a ball several times to give it a wrinkled appearance;
• impregnate the paper with a brush soaked in cooking oil, before drying the excess with a cloth, which will make the paper slightly crunchy.

Making a Treasure Map Drawing to Complete a Project

The development of a major project, whether professional or personal, necessarily needs to be planned. Drawing a treasure map precisely allows offering a global vision of the project in question.

The map here represents the objective to reach (the treasure) and the necessary path to get there. Also, the tool allows launching into a project knowing exactly where you want to go. The time spent drawing the map allows not wasting your time and energy in a project that will never succeed, for lack of knowing precisely where it's going. You thus save yourself months of wandering and stagnation, and limit the risks of pure and simple abortion of a project that had nevertheless managed to motivate you in the early days.

That's why it's very important to take the time to plan your project, even if it's not possible to anticipate everything.

This approach notably has the great advantage of being playful and combining visualization and planning on the same support. Once finished and displayed, the map even becomes a permanent call to action. Indeed, visualizing your objective at a given moment only remains motivating for a time. The treasure map, always under your eyes, allows constantly updating this visualization, and thus helps you maintain your efforts over time.

In summary, treasure map drawing allows here:

• to define your objective and its intermediate milestones;
• to think about your work process;
• and to study your project's environment.

Drawing the Treasure Map of a Professional or Personal Project

Here too, drawing your treasure map intervenes in several steps. But before rushing to your pencil, start by identifying and defining your objective and its deadline.

Once done, you can begin the steps of creating the map as such.

Symbolizing the Project Objective

Start by choosing different images that perfectly symbolize the objective to reach. All sources of inspiration can be considered (image banks, magazines, artistic iconography…)

Then gather these images that will serve you to draw your treasure map.

Visualizing the Project Path

In a second step, define the contours of the path that will allow you to reach your objective:

• the tasks to accomplish;
• the important steps;
• the resources to deploy;
• the eventual sacrifices to concede;
• etc.

Again, look for a visual element to symbolize each of the steps and elements that compose your path.

Note: throughout the process, there's a great chance that side projects will impose themselves on your mind, which you can also specify on your treasure map.

Tip
To more easily define the intermediate steps of your project, prefer to start from the end, that is, from the objective, and go back up the thread to your present situation. You'll quickly realize that the exercise is largely facilitated.

Drawing the Treasure Map

Draw the symbols of your intermediate steps on your treasure map support. Little by little, the project path takes a concrete form under your eyes. Add to each step the symbols of resources to exploit, potential obstacles to avoid, sacrifices to concede, etc.

Note: in terms of style, you're free to adopt the codes of the traditional treasure map, or to prefer a more formal format. The most important here is to opt for graphics that correspond to you and inspire you. You can also use different methods to enrich your map. It can thus be composed of drawings, but also photos, collages, etc. Similarly, you're free to put your map in color, and even to develop a specific color code according to the actions to take. It's up to you to let your creativity speak, to achieve a map that's meaningful and aesthetic in your eyes!

Integrating Text on the Map

A treasure map can also include text. In the context of project planning, it can be interesting to add a motivating mantra or positive affirmation next to the symbol of your final objective.

You can also add dates on your map, at the level of its starting point and ending point. You'll thus have a temporal reference.

If needed, you can write a small paragraph on the back of the map. This "bonus" paragraph allows you to describe what you hope for from your project, your expectations once your objectives are reached (their impact, their returns, etc.)

Display the Treasure Map Visibly

Now that your map is ready, you just need to display it in a well-visible space that you frequent constantly.

The more it's placed prominently under your eyes, the more drawing your treasure map will be able to play its driving role for your project.

Tip: you can also scan your map, or even create it via drawing software. In this case, you can print it at will, and even use it as a wallpaper.

Conclusion

Organizing an activity for children or visualizing a long-term project… whatever the reasons, you'll probably one day be led to make the drawing of a treasure map.

An activity that will require you to awaken your creativity. However, if you're not very comfortable with drawing practice, know that it's also possible to entrust the creation of your map to a professional illustrator.

A service notably available on the Cartoonely platform. Transmit your project to us, and one of our artists will take charge of its creation. Thus gain time and energy, while benefiting from a result beyond all your expectations!