We are all now intimately familiar with the opening credits for Game of Thrones, which features an artistic and intricate rendering of a map of Westeros. In fact, those opening credits have now become as iconic as the ones for classic shows like The Twilight Zone. But what if the artfully done landscapes and buildings of Westeros were a little less medieval style, and little more high tech and modern?
Thanks to Bored Panda we’ve learned about an artist named Julio Lacerda, who decided to apply a little modern satellite technology to the topography of George R.R. Martin’s imaginary land. Aside from being an accomplished illustrator, Lacerda is also a cartography enthusiast. So he probably figured that one hell of a unique way to usher in the show’s eighth and final season was to create a map of Westeros, as it would look via Google Maps. And he wasn’t wrong, as you can see his original Facebook post below. And for a larger version, click here .
Lacerda consulted the different existing maps from various A Song of Ice and Fire sources, while managing to give the whole thing a realistic flavor. The map was created using everything from NASA aerial photographs to the latest 3D software. But the most impressive part of all of this? He managed to do this in only two days.Some fans have noticed that Westeros looks like the real world topography of Ireland and the U.K. combined. While this has probably always been the case, it certainly looks more that way when presented in a realistic fashion. For those of us who haven’t read the books, this map is actually really helpful at visually realizing just how far the distances are in Westeros, something that’s easy to forget on the show due to the abstract nature of the map in the credits. And how fast everyone seems to get around.
Images: HBO
