Draw an Accurate Mental Map of the World
How much do you really know about the geographical features of the continents? Is your mental picture of Europe accurate? Take out a piece of legal sized paper and see if you can draw an accurate map of the world without looking at any maps. Then compare this to an actual map. You'll probably be surprised about how much you don't know about the geography of the continents. If you weren't impressed by your drawing...don't feel bad. There are ways you can easily learn how to draw an accurate map of the world by hand...from memory
Steps
Getting Ready
- Obtain a sheet of legal-sized, or larger, paper. Letter-sized paper will not work unless you would like to make your continents extremely small.
- Divide the Paper into thirds. North America and South America will take up one third while Asia, Europe, Africa, and Australia will take up the other two.
Drawing Asia
- Draw the outline squared boot with stumpy toes in the leaned back position. The rightmost side of the boot should be This will be Arabia.
- From the right-side end of the squared boot, draw a diagonal line towards towards the right that slopes gently downward. Let the line barely pass over (without touching) the toes of the squared boot of Arabia. After passing by Arabia, continue the line for a short bit.
- Continue the diagonal line you previously drew, but this time, make it slope much more steeply towards yourself. When this new line is about the same length as Arabia, turn it around to make a V. V for victory! This V is India
- When both sides of the V are symmetrical, draw an abnormal mitten giving you the thumbs down (don't take it seriously...you're doing a great job).You should draw the thumb first (making it the leftmost) and then draw the rest of the mitten. This mitten is abnormal, so the thumb should extend farther downward than the rest of the mitten (which should extend downward to the same level as India.
- After the mitten, draw the outline of a big, rounded, fat belly. This is China.
- Then make a "C" shape, and now make a curved line which is level with the bottom of the "C" shape. This is North and Southern Korea.
- Then make an "S" shape (Sea of Okhotsk-Russia) then a slightly curved line and create another "S", but don't continue the top of the "S", make a slanted line and a curved line going West (Bering Strait) and Arctic Ocean.
- Raise the line "A little" then slope slowly into Europe.
- Now you have made a simple outline of Asia!
Drawing Europe
- I always imagine Western Europe being like a hippo with Spain and Portugal being the snout, France being the head and Italy being a very long leg.
- Another way to draw South America is to flip the map so it starts from Chile and Argentina and that will make it look like a turkey that is really stuffed.
- Also there is a side on the map that has a starting of a heart and when you are at the other half of the instead of making a v on the top you make the top piece of a square.
Tips
- Legal-sized, or larger, paper. Letter-sized paper will not work unless you would like to make your continents extremely small.
