# MapScribe — Create Antique Styled Maps

> App for drawing antique-styled maps with various brushes and export options. (iPhone/iPad app by Daniel Eskridge.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mapscribe/id1271371859 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Daniel Eskridge](https://appshunter.io/developer/1271371858)
- Category: Productivity, Entertainment
- Price: $2.99
- Rating: 3.30/5 from 46 App Store ratings · 38 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 12.1 · 36 MB
- Released: 2017-08-19
- Data updated: 2026-08-26
- Monetization: paid
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mapscribe/id1271371859/reviews.md

## What is MapScribe?

MapScribe is an IOS App that lets you draw maps on your IPad or IPhone. It has an easy to use interface that lets you quickly "paint" antique styled maps with finger swipes and taps using its map feature "brushes", such as mountains and trees.

Are you an author who needs to create a map for your fantasy novel?

Perhaps you are a video game designer who needs to create a map for players to use to navigate through your game?

Or maybe you are an artist looking to create a unique kind of decor?

...AND You want to do it on your IPad or IPhone

Then, MapScribe is for you.

--Map Resolutions--
MapScribe let's you create maps as jpg files with the following resolutions both vertically(portrait) and horzontally(landscape) oriented: 
• 500 x 700 
• 800 x 1000 
• 850 x 1100 
• 900 x 1200 
• 1100 x 1400 
• 1200 x 1600 

--Fonts--
MapScribe let's you write on your maps with the following fonts: 
• Ariel 
• Bradley Hand 
• Noteworthy 
• Papyrus 
• Snell Roundhand
• Zapfino 

--Brushes--

These brushes allow you to paint features on your map

Mountains 
Hills 
Trees 
Fir Trees 
Palm Trees 
Dead Trees 
Bridge 
Castle 
Town 
House 
Swamp 
Dunes 
Water 
Compass
Sea Monster
Volcano
3 Kinds of grasses
Roads
Tower
Shop
Classic Building
Mine
Jail
Tavern
Mill
City Hall
Church
Townhouse
Arena


- Color Brushes -
Green (for grass) 
Blue (for water) 
White (for snow) 
Snow capped Mountains 
Green Hills 
Green Trees 
Green Fir Trees

## Key features

- Draw antique-styled maps
- Finger swipe and tap interface
- Variety of map feature "brushes"
- Multiple map resolutions
- Selectable fonts for text
- Color brushes for terrain

## Chart rankings

- #128 in Top Paid · Productivity (US App Store)

## Recent user reviews (10 of 38)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mapscribe/id1271371859/reviews.md

### 1/5 — Waste of money

*2025-08-06, version 2.0*

This app is nothing more than a $3.00 drawing pad. There is absolutely nothing else to it. Do NOT waste your money!!!

### 5/5 — 5 STAR APP!

*2025-07-12, version 2.0*

This app is absolutely as advertised as of 2025. Should not be getting any less than 5 stars, it’s an awesome app that is helping me visualize my world.

### 4/5 — Good tool, wish there were updates.

*2024-12-30, version 2.0*

Thought I would give it a try because fantasy map making on mobile devices is something I’ve been wanting. Wish there were updates.

### 4/5 — Great, simple Tool

*2024-04-24, version 2.0*

Having spent a day with the app, only using my iPhone, and after a couple test maps, I was able to create a decent looking map for my RPG.

    Simple in its design, its quick to grasp the different “brushes” and how to use them. By my third map I was able to create a detailed map of my world that looked good.

    Only complaints would be:
1. There’s no fine tuning what you put on, forcing you to undo what you “brush” on till you get it how you want it to look. 

2. The scaling of the “brushes” is something to get used to: the brushes scale in size with both the adjustment bar and the “zoom” level of your screen. No deal breaker, but makes it difficult to scale items correctly or uniformly across the map. Trick I learned was to zoom in to a similar feature (mountain or town) and brushing the feature and adjusting the scale till i got the size i wanted, then carefully paning over (since paning also controls the zoom) to where i wanted the feature and inserting it in there.

3. There’s a decent amount of brushes, terrain and foilage is covered well, but other brushes could be added (sail ships, camps, lighthouses, ruins, animals, etc.). Also the colour brushes go over top of your features, so planning ahead and putting down the colour first followed by the features is a good way to get around that.

     If you are looking to make some old fashioned maps for you RPG’s or Lore and have no prior knowledge in making maps, this is a great tool to use!

### 4/5 — Good, but…

*2023-07-17, version 2.0*

You can achieve similar if not better results by taking an art program, some clipart, and a parchment .png file.
Is it sufficient for it’s task?
Yes.
Would I pay the $3 again?
Not likely.

But it’s good enough at what it does, so it works for me.

### 2/5 — It’s okay

*2023-01-29, version 2.0*

It’s not the best I’ve seen, and it’s hard to work with and frustrating. I kinda wasted my money.

### 5/5 — Best Mobile Fantasy Map Maker

*2023-01-05, version 2.0*

Although this map app is simplistic, it is nice to have a map generator that can be used on my iPad.I would pay even more money to have more features. It would be nice to be able to make some of the building icons smaller. I would also be great to be able to resize an icon once it has been placed. But I really can’t complain as this is pretty great for what it is.

### 5/5 — Nice App

*2022-11-09, version 2.0*

Nice app. does what it says it does. Question for the developer though, are you still updating this app? could we have a redo button? i saw in the reviews that you were able to add a few more features over time….

### 5/5 — Great for what it is

*2022-08-14, version 2.0*

It’s a $3 map making app for your phone and it is worth every penny. It’s not super complicated, it’s not going to replace the serious non-mobile map making tools out there, but it’s a great lite version to have on your phone for rough sketches and quick ideas.

### 1/5 — There’s this problem

*2022-01-14, version 2.0*

I was excited to use this, until I realized I couldn’t pull a pre made map from my photos. How dumb is that? I can save the map to photos. But I can’t retrieve it from my photos. This app has potential, but that was a deal breaker for me.

## Frequently asked questions about MapScribe

### What does MapScribe do?

MapScribe is an iOS application designed for creating antique-styled maps directly on your iPad or iPhone. It offers an intuitive interface that allows users to paint various map features using a selection of specialized "brushes".

### What kind of features can I add to my maps?

The app provides a wide array of brushes to add diverse elements to your maps. These include natural features like mountains, hills, trees, and water, as well as man-made structures such as towns, houses, castles, and roads.

### What are the map resolutions and font options?

You can export your maps as JPG files in several resolutions, including 500x700, 800x1000, and up to 1200x1600. For text, the app supports fonts like Ariel, Bradley Hand, Noteworthy, Papyrus, Snell Roundhand, and Zapfino.

### Who is MapScribe intended for?

This app is ideal for authors needing maps for fantasy novels, video game designers requiring navigation aids for their games, or artists seeking to create unique decorative pieces.

### Is MapScribe free to use?

Based on the provided information, MapScribe is a paid application. It does not appear to have in-app purchases or advertisements, indicating a one-time purchase model.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 2.0 — 2019-02-28

*Added some higher resolution papers (2200x2800, 2800x2200, 2400x3000, 3000x2400, 2400x3600, and 3600x2400)
*Added many new brushes and stamps including colored lines, road, grasses, volcano, sea monster, mountains2, fir trees2, towers, and mines, as well as a whole set for town buildings.
*Rearranged the Brush menu to accommodate new Brushes
*Fixed a memory issue that cause the app to crash on high res maps
*Added main menu item to delete a map
*Added cancel button to main menu so iPhone users can dismiss it without making a selection
*Updated the help/quick reference page
*Increase undo limit from the last 10 to the last 20 actions.
*Added automatic saving so that progress won't be lost if the app is terminated.

### 1.3 — 2018-11-02

Fix for Thai language where a calendar error was reported

### 1.2 — 2018-08-16

Fixed a bug where the app would crash when exporting a map.

### 1.1 — 2018-08-01

- Removed two of the selected brush buttons 
- Changed the remaining brush button to open up the brush selector with a single touch rather than a double touch
- Added brush size adjustment slider
- Added toggle to disable/enable sound in the main menu

### 1.0 — 2017-08-19

No release notes.

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## Related topics

[fantasy map maker](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/fantasy-map-maker) · [fantasy map creator](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/fantasy-map-creator)

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-26.*
