A dog walkers guide to walkies

So due to a breakdown in research on my original book i am starting a new fresh idea, but i'm still using  some of the research i have gathered from the places i have been, nothing goes to waste eco friendly. As i am a proud dog owner (overly obsessed)  I take my dog with me on most trips out of my house. When the three of us (third person is my owner the Hannah-tron)  go out to discover new places for walkies its sometimes hard to know if the place is dog friendly and what the conditions are like there. So my idea is to come up with a guild to show other people what the places we go waking are like and what they can except. I want to come up with a series of hand drawn maps with all the information and what you need to be prepared for when visiting theses areas. these are shortish walks nothing too big as i feel when they get bigger that's classed as hiking and we are not at that stage yet.

To begin with I have looked at other maps that other illustrators have done and tried to get some inspiration for how i want my maps to look.


http://www.theaoi.com/awards/winner-details.php?id=87

Aaron Meshon from Brooklyn made a map of the place he lives and all the things in and around it. Using Pen and ink and then scanned it in to photoshop to fill with colour.



Wranwright has been walking and drawing the lake district since he first went there at 23. He does very detailed drawings of the areas and also adds a map of the area so you can walk it and enjoy the views.
 http://www.wainwright.org.uk

After looking at a lot of maps its easy to say i am wanting to create a guide to the places I go not just maps. As with a guild you get a map but you also have a key that goes aload side the map with all the useful information you should need. Looking at maps has given me some good insight into the different maps that are available on the market and the different types ie waterproof and non waterproof !

 I have downloaded the Ordnance Survey app to track my walks to the meter to get good information, this also tracks where i have walked very acutely and gives a very good map of the route, which i can then use to plan my own interpretation of my map.
Unfortunately these maps are saved in a format (gpx) that my mac does not recognize so i need to find a way i can download them and print them off.