Special Guest: Francesca Baerald – The Cartographer of Fantasy Worlds

Francesca Baerald is an internationally renowned artist and cartographer, celebrated for her illustrated maps created for books, video games, and role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, Warcraft, Diablo IV, Dragon Age, Game of Thrones, Gloomhaven, Warhammer, and many more.
She works with watercolors, inks, acrylics, and oil paints to bring imaginary worlds to life, collaborating with major publishers such as Wizards of the Coast, Blizzard, Square Enix, Games Workshop, Penguin Random House, and Dark Horse.

In 2024, she received two prestigious awards: the Gold Medal at the ENNIE Awards for Best Cartography (Dragonbane, Free League) and the PLAY Magnifico Award.

Her maps are not only narrative navigation tools, but true works of art. They tell stories, evoke atmospheres, and transport viewers to fantastic worlds with a rare balance of technical precision, imagination, and aesthetic sensitivity. Her style blends a love for the fantastical with refined artisanal craftsmanship, placing her work at the crossroads of contemporary illustration and artistic tradition.

At Romics 35, Francesca Baerald will be featured in special talks revealing the behind-the-scenes of her art and creative process; the program will also include an exhibition dedicated to her extraordinary works.