My City, My Map Austin: Illustrated Story Map Workshop

My City, My Map Austin: Illustrated Story Map Workshop

Every city becomes personal in a different way.

• A coffee shop you return to every week.
• A park bench where something changed.
• A bookstore, a street corner, a first apartment, a taco window, a studio, a trail, a view.

My City, My Map is a small-group workshop for turning those places into an illustrated story map.

This is not a technical cartography class.

It is a guided creative session where you will choose the places that matter to you, arrange them into a visual journey, and build a map that reflects your experience of the city rather than a standard street grid.

You do not need to be an illustrator.

You only need a city, a few meaningful places, and a willingness to draw your version of them.

What You’ll Make

During the workshop, each participant creates:

• one original illustrated story map
• a titled composition built around personal places
• a scan-ready final artwork for one archival print

Your original artwork goes home with you at the end of the session.

Your included archival print will be prepared after the workshop and delivered or made available for pickup within the stated fulfilment window.

TIMELINE

• 2:00–2:15 PM - Arrival & Warm-Up

Get settled, review examples, and begin your memory prompts.

• 2:15–2:30 PM - Story Before Streets

A short introduction to building a personal map through memory, symbols, and visual cues.

• 2:30–2:50 PM - Choose Your Places

Select 5–8 locations and decide how they connect.

• 2:50–3:35 PM - Sketch the Structure

Plan your layout, route, spacing, and text.

• 3:35–3:45 PM - Break
• 3:45–4:30 PM - Draw & Refine

Add illustration, lettering, symbols, and details with support from the teaching team.

• 4:30–4:45 PM - Finish the Map

Title your work and finalize the composition.

• 4:45–4:55 PM - Print Intake

Confirm scan and delivery details for your included print.

• 4:55–5:00 PM - Close