Anton Thomas: hand-drawn maps
Artist Anton Thomas spends years drawing huge maps in pencil and pen, such as a world map with 1,642 wild animals.
What it is
Anton Thomas is a New Zealand artist who spends years hand-drawing enormous maps in coloured pencil and fine pen. His best-known work is Wild World, a map of the planet with no people and no political borders, home instead to 1,642 wild animals. On Instagram he shows these maps coming together piece by piece.
Why we picked it
Wild World took three years, and the time went into research as much as drawing. Thomas set himself simple rules: wild animals only, only species native to each region, and only species still alive today. So every mammal, bird and sea creature sits in its real range, and the whole thing works as an illustrated animal map you can wander across for ages.
The feed shows how a hand-drawn map like this is built: continent outlines, rivers and terrain, the first animals settling into place, close-ups of finished sections. Those close-ups are the best part of the account, letting you travel across the map on your phone. Before Wild World, Thomas spent five years on a portrait of North America, from Alaska to Central America, packed with hundreds of city skylines, and that map appears in the feed too.
Where to start
- Close-ups of Wild World, region by region, with their animals.
- Process posts where the map is still half empty.
- The North America map with its city skylines.
- The artist's website, which sells prints and puzzles of his maps.
Who it's for
Map lovers and geography fans, anyone into wildlife, and parents and teachers explaining to kids which animals live where. And anyone who appreciates a piece of work that takes years.
Quick answers
How many animals are on the Wild World map? 1,642 animals, birds and sea creatures, each placed in its natural range.
How long did it take? About three years. The North America map took him around five.
What is it drawn with? Coloured pencil, with details worked in fine pen.
